Case Studies of Performance-based RCPP Projects

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is the only US Department of Agriculture (USDA) program explicitly authorized to pay for environmental outcomes, through what it calls “performance-based payments”. Since the creation of alternative funding arrangements (AFAs) within RCPP as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, a diverse set of projects have been successfully executed to pay for over $32 million worth of outcomes.

This paper describes those seven projects in detail, along with the challenges they encountered executing this new kind of contracting. It ultimately makes recommendations for how decision-makers can support and expand performance-based projects.

Suggested citation: Harry Huntley. 2024. “Case Studies of Performance-based RCPP Projects”. Environmental Policy Innovation Center, College Park, MD.