What are the outcomes?
Outcomes are the changes beneficiaries experience in their lives following on from the outputs of the organisation’s activities. The impact plan defines what the outcomes are, setting out the changes that are expected to come about in beneficiaries’ lives. The organisation is able to relate these outcomes to its mission, as well as to the context of its beneficiaries.
What is the timeline for their delivery?
The outcomes timeline is made clear, establishing when or over what period the outcomes are expected to take place (this corresponds to the measurement system). A number of the outcomes may be significantly long-term. In such cases, it is helpful to identify intermediate outcomes that can demonstrate how progress toward the long-term goal is being achieved. The timeline also indicates how long the outcomes are expected to last and the change remain observable. This sets the parameters by which drop off is understood (where the outcome is not sustained, e.g. through beneficiary relapse).
Have beneficiaries been consulted?
As the outcomes represent changes to beneficiaries’ lives, it is important to ensure that these changes are indeed experienced and valued by beneficiaries. Consultation can serve to affirm that the outcomes are real and desired, and relate meaningfully to the needs, aims and expectations of beneficiaries identified in the organisation’s research of the context. Beneficiaries may be further integrated into the understanding of outcomes through contributing to the definition of what the outcomes are, and what the goals should be.
