This section of the website provides brief information on how to take an outcomes approach. For more detailed help, download
Managing Outcomes: A Guide for Homelessness Organisations.
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.
Authors: Sara Burns, Sally Cupitt