Outcomes Measurement
Resources
| Program
Logic Model
Glossary
Activities — The methods of service delivery carried out by staff.
Anonymous data — Information where you do not know who provided the responses. See Confidential Data below.
Baseline — Data gathered to provide a comparison for assessing program changes or impact.
Comparative standard — Data used as a comparison or a standard of achievement for a specific indicator or outcome.
Compliance monitoring — Tracking and reporting information on what and how much service a program delivers, the clients it services, how much money it expends and, possibly, the outcomes it achieved, in relation to what an organization has agreed upon, generally referring to contractual arrangements made between an organization and its grantmaker on the use of funds.
Confidential data — Information where you do know, or can find out, who provided the responses but keep the information to yourself.
Data — Information collected in a systematic way that is used to draw conclusions about a program or its outcomes.
Evaluation — The systematic application of social research procedures for assessing the conceptualization, design, implementation and utility of health or social interventions.
Goal — Broad statement of the ultimate aims of a program, generally beyond the ability of one organization to achieve on its own.
Indicator — The specific, measurable information that will be collected to track success of an outcome. Another commonly used phrase is “performance measure.”
Inputs — The resources available to the program that allow and support service delivery, including, for example, money, staff, volunteers, materials or equipment.
Instrument — A tool used to collect data, including survey questionnaires, interview guides, observational checklists and written record extraction forms.
Objective — A specific, measurable accomplishment within a specified timeframe.
Outcome — The changes in the lives of individuals, families, organizations or the community as a result of this program; benefit for participants during or after their involvement in a program; the impact of the program on the people it serves.
Outcome evaluation — Systematic examination of the impact of the program and what resulted for the participants, clients, consumers or customers. Another commonly used phrase is “summative evaluation.” See Process evaluation.
Output — The product delivered or the unit of service provided by the program, usually described numerically, such as number of people served or number of hours of service delivered.
Outcome measurement — A systematic way to assess the extent to which a program has achieved its intended results; generally used in the not-for-profit world.
Performance measurement — Similar to outcome measurement but generally used in business and government arenas.
Process evaluation — Systematic examination of the degree to which a program is operating as intended, looking at what service it provides, how is it provided, who receives services and how much service is delivered. Another commonly used phrase is “formative evaluation.” See Outcome evaluation.
Program logic model — A representation of the linkages between the inputs to a program, the resources available to it and the activities carried out and the outputs and outcomes those resources and activities are believed to produce.
Qualitative data — Numerical information gathered in a structured way.
Quantitative data — Descriptive or subjective information provided in narrative terms.
Reliability — The extent to which data collected are reproducible or repeatable.
Target — Specific level of achievement for an indicator or outcome.
Validity — The accuracy of information collected.
Sources for Glossary
Development Leadership Network, Success Measures Guidebook, 2000.
The Evaluation Forum, Organizational Research Services, Inc. and Clegg & Associates, Inc. Outcomes For Success, 2000.
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Outcome Evaluation Strategies for Domestic Violence Programs, 1998.
Rossi, Peter H., et al., Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, 1999.
United Way of America, Measuring Program Outcomes: A Practical Approach, 1996.
Resources
| Program
Logic Model