What are outcomes?
Outcomes are the effects of your activities; the changes, benefits or learning that occur as a result of the work you carry out. They are changes over time: something that is noticeably different for a person or target group, after a week or six months.
For most homelessness organisations, outcomes will describe a change in their service users, for example, noticeably improved independent living skills, addressing substance misuse or stabilising mental health.
In '
Managing Outcomes: A Guide for Homelessness Organisations' we focus on outcomes for individuals. However, you may also want to effect other outcomes, such as changes within the community or in public policy.
What outcomes are not
Take care not to confuse outcomes with outputs or user satisfaction feedback.
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Outputs are all the detailed activities, services and products of your organisation. Outputs might include keywork sessions, groupwork sessions, or advice and information.
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User satisfaction usually involves asking clients what they think about different aspects of your service, for example, location, opening hours, or how helpful workers were.
Outputs and user satisfaction are important. They may also be assessed and the information used to help improve services. However, they are not outcomes.
The outcomes approach
Taking an outcomes approach to service delivery means more than simply adding another piece of paperwork to your systems. The outcomes approach is a continuous cycle of enquiry and service improvement based on factual information about what is being achieved.
The Outcomes Learning Cycle
To fully adopt this approach, your organisation must:
- Clarify outcomes - what are we trying to achieve? Agree on the intended outcomes of an activity, service, or programme. (See below for more information on how to clarify outcomes.)
- Measure outcomes – what are we actually achieving? Record the outcomes that you achieve in a systematic way to enable the information to be collated.
- Analyse and draw learning - what can we learn from the outcomes achieved? Collate the information and draw learning about what is and what is not working.
- Make changes – what changes should we make as a result of this learning? Plan and implement changes to service delivery.
Outcomes information can be shared with funders to demonstrate the achievements of a service, but its primary purpose is to enable learning and service improvement.
Clarifying outcomes
Over many years Charities Evaluation Services has successfully used the Outcomes Planning Triangle to help in the process of clarifying outcomes. This was also used successfully by CES in delivering the outcomes training programme commissioned by the London Housing Foundation, in which over 220 homelessness agency staff were introduced to outcomes: what they are, how to identify and measure them. To find out more, go to
Linking outcomes to aims and
Managing Outcomes - A guide for Homelessness Organisations (PDF).
Authors: Sara Burns, Sally Cupitt