Management - Detecting Outcomes for Analysis
As the idea of outcomes becomes important for many nonprofits, there is a desire to gather as much information as possible. Gathering will not be enough, however. Evaluation of the information will be of critical importance.
In its Series on Outcome Management for Nonprofit Organizations, The Urban Institute offers several uses for outcome analysis that will be essential in identifying how to improve services and, yes, outcomes.
- Identify outcomes that need attention. Organizations should collect data on more than one outcome indicator so they have enough information on service outcomes (including the quality of service delivery) to base proposals for change. Recent findings can be compared to earlier periods.
- Identify client groups that need attention. Programs with different types of clients often find that outcomes vary widely by client characteristics. These can include age, gender, race or income level.
- Identify service procedures and policies that need improvement. This information can be used to improve procedures, facilities or staff whose outcomes are not as good as others. Typical breakouts of this data include particular office or facility, particular service delivery practice, amount of service provided or individual staff member/team of workers. Data on service characteristics combined with client characteristics may provide a more comprehensive perspective for interpreting outcome data.
- Identify possible improvements in service delivery. At the very least, the data can help support proposals to change particular program practices or policies.
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