Organisation Development

Outcome based evaluation measures whether the OD programme made a real difference in the lives of people and the performance of the organisation. At the start of the OD programme the OD practitioner with the key stakeholders from the organisation will have identified the desired outcomes required from the programme both in terms of Return on Investment and Return on Expectations.  These outcomes will be prioritized and measurements will be developed to reflect progress towards these outcomes, referring to specific interventions and the creation of targets for those outcomes.

In order to conduct an outcome based evaluation it is important to identify information needed to analyze those measures, and ascertain the best way to gather that information.

Penna, R., and Phillips, W describe eight models for applying outcome-based evaluation in

Overview of Eight Outcome Evaluation Models

	Model	Description	Key Concepts	Strong Points	Well Suited For
	1. Logic Model	Diagrammatic representation of a programme, showing what it is supposed to do, with whom, and why	Inputs, outputs, outcomes; arrows show relationships between elements in the model	Easy to use; provides easily understood representation of programmes’s theory of change	Program overview; presentations; program and evaluation planning
	2. Outcome Funding Framework	Key management focus on the achievement of specific, sequential results; emphasis on results, not activity	Investor return, results, key milestones, performance targets, outcome statement	Highly disciplined approach that serves both programme investors and practitioners; Web-based software has strengthened usability	Government and philanthropic grantmaking; programme and organization management
	3. Results- Based Account- ability	Real-time approach that describes what desired results look like, defines results in measurable terms, and uses measures to drive action plans for improvement	Results, experience, indicators, baselines, strategy, action plan and budget, accountability	Thorough system for planning change efforts and improvements in programme, agency, or system performance; uses lay language and provides direct link to budgeting; useful for integrating different outcome systems	Project planning and start-up; development of team report cards; programme/agency improvement plans and budgets; budgeting and evaluation design
	4. Targeting Outcomes of Programs	Tracking progress toward achievement targets; evaluating degree to which programmes impact targeted conditions	Knowledge, attitude, skills, and aspiration; process, outcome, and impact evaluation	Fairly easy to use; helps integrate programme development and evaluation; practitioners and managers can use same concepts	Programme design and evaluation
	5. Balanced Scorecard	Business-based model designed to provide integrated management and accounting for multiple variables impacting organization performance by connecting them to a set of performance indicators	Strategy, alignment, short- and long-term objectives; financial and nonfinancial measures; lagging and leading indicators; performance measures and drivers; internal and external indices of success	Allows for a graphic assessment of the degree to which an organization’s resources and efforts support its goals	Monitoring either a single program with several associated initiatives or multiple programs within an organization; analyzing alignment of resources and initiatives to strategic targets
	6. Scales and Ladders	Graphic tool that centers around a series of scales and their placement within a matrix designed to illustrate progress along a continuum of stages	Scales; mutually exclusive, multiple, and floating indicators	Places an organisation, team or intervention on a continuum; shows incremental and relative progress, stabilization, or decline; individual data together tell a complete story; behaviorally anchored description of levels of change	Demonstration of aggregate progress; measuring concepts that are not easily quantified
	7. Results Mapping	Outcome-based evaluation tool designed to systematically capture otherwise nonquantifiable anecdotal evidence	Causal and synchronistic attribution; levels and milestones	Way to systemize, standardize, gather, and utilize lessons embedded in anecdotal information	Turning anecdotal information into a useful tool for programme presentation, evaluation, and assessment
	8. Program Results Story	Uses stories to capture organizations’ achievements and present them in a results-based format	Results, stories, anecdotal evidence	Easily understood approach for presenting results; brings outcomes to human interest level; captures and conveys richness of information	Presenting program and results to multiple audiences