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.

What outcomes are not

Take care not to confuse outcomes with outputs or user satisfaction feedback.

• Outputs are all the detailed activities, services and products of your organisation. Outputs might include keywork sessions, groupwork sessions, or advice and information.
• 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.