Guidance on Outputs & Outcomes

A service may be specified in various ways. Proposed inputs, outputs, outcomes and/or impact may all be used in some way to define the service.

It is unclear at this stage whether the commissioners in Manchester will be purchasing advice delivery in 2010 that is defined in terms of outputs or outcomes.

The Draft Service Specification (1.1.3) states: “The ability to measure success in terms of desired outcomes, at each stage of service delivery, will be required and the purchasers chosen partners will be expected to propose objective measures which can be incorporated within the contractual agreements to assess benefits realisation for the purposes of reward / risk.”

Much of the early planning consultation and discussion have been around either inputs (opening hours, advice locations etc) or outputs (typically, “new matter starts”).

There has also been some reference to the impact objectives set out in Manchester’s long-term Community Strategy and its shorter-term Local Area Agreement. These have now been briefly highlighted in the Draft Service Specification (2.5.7), which refers to them as outcomes.

It is important to recognise that these are not potential outcomes for individual services. Examples of service outcomes might be:

• 750 debt advice clients report more manageable repayment arrangements or reduced personal anxiety;
• 1200 welfare rights clients report a rise in income from benefits.

Achievement of such outcomes will of course contribute to the wider impact objectives identified, but not in a way that services can isolate the cause and effect of their own work.

Useful sources of guidance on Outcomes are:

• Outcomes Fact Sheet (Big Lottery), a brief introduction;
• Your Project And Its Outcomes (Charities Evaluation Services), a more comprehensive practical guide, including a glossary of terms.