Leah Kral's quote puts this into perspective:
"Evaluation and metrics must be meaningful and actionable. They should help you decide if a program is worth pursuing. They should help you test your theories and learn from experiments. I make a point of calling metrics "strategy-based metrics" because they should be based on a program or organization's strategic plan and help staff make decisions about the strategy."
Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create clear and compelling outputs and outcomes:
1. Understand the Difference Between Main Objective, Outcomes, Outputs and Strategy:
- Main Objective – This is a meaningful and measurable milestone that, when achieved, will signal to your team that the initiative has been exceptionally successful. In Atlas Network Academy courses, we sometimes refer to this as your "champagne-popping moment."
- Outcomes – These are the goals you're targeting by carrying out your outputs. They are key measurable and meaningful milestones that, if reached, will indicate to you that you are on track to successfully achieve your main objective.
- Outputs – These are your strategic tangible deliverables, the key products you'll produce or activities you'll conduct that are critically important to achieve your goals.
- Strategy – This is the high-level plan or approach designed to achieve your desired outcome. It outlines the actions that need to be taken to capitalize on strengths, mitigate weaknesses, and address external factors and the main risks.
One way to think about outputs vs. outcomes is outputs are controlled by you while outcomes are "market responses" that reflect how stakeholders respond to your work.
2. Begin with the End in Mind:
Before deciding on outputs and outcomes, consider your overall goal for the proposed work. What is the impact that you want to achieve through this project or initiative? How will your country, city, or community be better if you are successful? Once you have envisioned what success looks like, consider what a corresponding indicator of success could be – what has to happen for you to say “We did it!” This is your main objective.
After deciding on your main objective, consider what would have to be “true” about milestones achieved in order for that objective to be reached. These are likely to be your outcomes. They are results which tell you whether or not you are getting closer to achieving your overall goal.
Finally, consider the products that will need to be delivered and activities that will need to be conducted in pursuit of the outcomes identified. These are likely to be your most important outputs.
3. Create S.M.A.R.T. Objectives:
- Specific: Clearly state what you intend to achieve.
- Measurable: Define how you will measure your success.
- Achievable: Ensure that your objectives are ambitious but realistic and attainable.
- Relevant: Objectives should align with your effort's purpose.
- Time-bound: Pay attention to your project or initiative timeline and make sure it allows you enough time to achieve your outcomes.
4. Connect Outputs with Outcomes: Clearly explain how your outputs will contribute to achieving the outcomes. This linkage demonstrates the logical progression of your work's impact.
5. Utilize Metrics and Baselines: Specify the metrics and indicators you'll use to measure progress and success. If useful, include baseline data to provide context and show the starting point for your initiative's impact.
6. Monitor and Evaluate: Once your initiative is funded and underway, consistently monitor and evaluate your progress toward the specified outputs and outcomes. It is reasonable to expect that, along the way, you could determine that the outcomes set at the beginning may not be the useful measures of success you expected them to be. Be prepared to adapt your approach as needed to stay on track toward your main objective and vision of success.
