Charities Evaluation Services

This page describes how to identify your outcomes and outputs.

“The CES outcomes model cuts through the confusion about monitoring and outputs and targets and so on and it encourages us to focus on the difference we make. It’s a really simple and powerful system.”

We could now complete the CES Planning Triangle by adding the outcomes and outputs leading to the aims and objectives:

Specific aims lead to identifying your organisation's outcomes - the changes you want to bring about.

Objectives (or activities) lead to identifying your organisation's outputs - detailed activities, services and products your organisation carries out or provides.

Case example:  Employment project

If we continue with our example of the employment project, a sample of their specific aims and outcomes might look like this:

Specific Aims	Outcomes
	»
To increase user's lifestyle stability	Users get temporary accommodation
	Users get permanent accommodation
	Increased ability to budget
	Less chaotic lifestyle
To enable users to find employment	Users attend a work placement
	Users get voluntary work
	Users get paid work

   

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The employment project's objectives and outputs would look like this:

Objectives	Outputs
	»
To provide training on core job skills and job search skills	Numeracy and literacy training
	Communication skills training
	Interview skills training
	Job search training
To provide information and advice on housing and resettlement	Information materials
	Advice sessions
	One-to-one support

Focusing on your outcomes and being able to measure them is not a substitute for knowing and being able to  measure your outputs, but it allows you to measure what your activities are actually achieving.   

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