Re-inventing government, Osborne and Gaebler, 1992

•What gets measured gets done

•If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure

•If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it

•If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding failure

•If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it

•If you can’t recognize failure, you can’t correct it.

•If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support.

The Importance of Documenting Progress Toward Change
(Taken from Kellogg Foundation “Developing a Basic Logic Model for Your Program”)

•Grant applications frequently lack solid descriptions of how programs will demonstrate their effectiveness

–Grantees think activities are ends in themselves

–They report the numbers of participants they serve or the numbers of programs offered held as though they were results

Documenting Progress

•Conducting an activity is not the same as achieving results from the accomplishment of that activity

•For example, offering a swimming class is different from reducing the number of drownings

•Tracking data like programs offered or participants registered does monitor your program’s implementation and performance

•But those data are outputs (activity data, measures of effort), not outcomes (the results you expect, measures of effect)

Documenting Progress

•Conducting an activity is not the same as achieving results from the accomplishment of that activity

•For example, offering a swimming class is different from reducing the number of drownings

•Tracking data like programs offered or participants registered does monitor your program’s implementation and performance

•But those data are outputs (activity data, measures of effort), not outcomes (the results you expect, measures of effect)

“Proof” Versus “A Substantive Contribution to Your Intended Change”

•How will you demonstrate that your program contributed to the change you intend?

•A well-crafted logic model can assert it is reasonable to claim that your program made a substantive contribution to your intended change

•When programs operate in real communities where influences and forces are beyond your control, evaluation is generally more about documenting a program’s contribution than about proving something

–Fewer drownings might result from more lifeguards or better trained lifeguards than from your swimming classes

•Community programs operate in complex environments where the scientific “proof ” is seldom attainable

Basic Logic Model Template

•Resources

–In order to accomplish our set of activities we will need the following:

•Activities

–In order to address our problem or asset we will conduct the following activities:

•Outputs

–We expect that once completed or under way these activities will produce the following evidence of service delivery:

•Short- & Long-Term Outcomes

–We expect that if completed or ongoing these activities will lead to the following changes in 1–3 then 4–6 years:

•Impact

–We expect that if completed these activities will lead to the following changes in 7–10 years:

Getting Started

•Determine the purpose of your logic model

–Who will use it? For what? Who are the key stakeholders?

–Leader, program director, supervisor, director, funders, county/city council, parents, board of directors, etc?

•For our purposes we’ll use your – leader’s - point of view

“Do the outcomes first”

•Since most programmers think primarily about outputs (evidence of service delivery), start your logic model with outcomes – the changes you expect as a result of your program, your intended results

–Focuses you on what’s most important to the effectiveness of your program

Outcomes and Impacts should be SMART:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Action-oriented

• Realistic

• Timed

Short –Term Outcomes

•Results you expect to achieve one to three years after your program activity is underway

•Changes in attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, skills, status or level of functioning (measures of effect)

•For the program you’re working on, what are examples of outcomes (we’ll stop at the short-term level)?

Examples of Outcomes

•Development of emotionally supportive relationships with adults

•Increased social competence

•Higher self-esteem and confidence

•Improved study habits

•Improved peer relationships

•?

Outputs

•The direct results of program activities

–Size and scope of the services offered

–Products delivered by the program

–Was the program offered to the intended audience in the intended “dose”

–Number of classes taught, program participation numbers, number of hours of instruction

–Outputs are measures of effort, not measures of effect (outcomes)

Examples of Outputs

•Number of participants served, participant demographics

•Number of programs, sessions, trainings offered

•Number of service projects completed

•Participant satisfaction rates for program

What Activities Are Planned?

•Based on what you know about effective ways to change behavior or build assets, what specific activities will work toward your outcomes?

•How are these activities connected to your program – why and how your program(s) work with your participants?

Can Our Short-Term Outcomes Contribute to Long-Term Impacts? (It Takes a Village)

•Reduced substance abuse among teens

•Reduced teen pregnancy rates

•Reduced drop out rates

•Reduction in teen crime rate

•Increased percentage of students attending college