Outcomes approaches eg Charities Evaluation Service

Outcomes approach asks the stakeholder what the benefits are, rather than the organisation  making assumptions.  This gives them much better results because an organisation may not know how much difference it has made, perhaps if the main differences happen after the organisation has left.

Therefore it always requires a framework to engage with stakeholders, so it is one of the structured and formal approaches and will usually benefit from an independent expert facilitator to help with the process.

Example of an organisation that can help with this : http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/

This page is part of a longer article on how best to measure and report social good.  I hope you enjoy it and I'd be delighted with comment and criticism.  You can find out more about the whole series at this page.

Although these standard approaches take more work and often require an independent consultant or auditor to verify the work done, this makes them much more credible with organisations that provide the funding, or with Council Members/ Trustees/ the concerned Public who want to be sure that their money is being spent wisely.

SWOT

Strengths

Weaknesses

Established approach which is based on stakeholder feedback, giving robust results

recognised by authorities as an approved reporting structure which is helpful when seeking funding or approval for new programmes

Does not assign a financial equivalence value which limits its use for making investment decisions

Opportunities

Threats

Engaging with stakeholders in a structured manner has many benefits including:

  • Understanding what is needed and how this is changing
  • Ensuring that the views of all of the different groups of stakeholders are understood, rather than just clients
  • Gaining support from stakeholders, and if appropriate, lobbying on their behalf

 

 

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