Outcomes

Outcomes and Program Evaluation

[Page 1187]The focus on outcomes in program planning and evaluation has been shaped by a number of social, cultural, economic, and political forces. Not only are those who design and implement a program concerned about outcomes, but funding agencies, community partners, government officials, and the participants themselves are also interested in the merit, worth, and ultimate results of a program intervention. As previously suggested, one impetus has been a focus on accountability and an interest in the degree to which intended results have been realized through program efforts and investments. From an accountability perspective, a focus on outcomes helps to answer the question of whether funds have been put to good use and if the program warranted the investment of time and money it was given. By examining outcomes, a program evaluation is able to assess whether a program accomplished what it promised to achieve.

Another impetus behind the focus on outcomes has been an interest in effective program design and a deeper understanding of how particular strategies can lead to particular desired results. Part of the work of articulating outcomes includes ensuring that there is a shared understanding of the relationship between activities or strategies and results achieved. With a theory of how the program is intended to work made clear, it is possible to better understand which program elements are critical, the level of investment needed, or perhaps where a program has or could falter or fail.

Most notably, a focus on outcomes is often synonymous with a focus on measurement. Indeed, the use of the term outcomes is commonly qualified by authors of funding proposals and program guides as measurable outcomes. The focus on being measurable emphasizes the point that the value of outcomes is beyond that of an organizing principle or guide. The usefulness of an outcome lies in one’s ability to measure a program’s progress toward this desired result. Using credible data to measure the degree to which outcomes have been achieved has been seen as critical to effective program improvement, important for informing training and resource allocation, significant in determining future funding and expansion possibilities, and often necessary to the sustainability of program efforts. Sustained evaluation of outcomes across time or program sites leads to greater confidence in the particular activities and strategies chosen as contributing to the types of results desired.

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