Objectives, Outputs, & Outcomes oh my! Clearly defining your objectives, outputs, & outcomes in grant applications

• Have you seen grant applications ask you to define your objectives, outputs, and outcomes? 
• Have you been told your objectives are not measurable? 
• Are you confused about the difference between outputs and outcomes? 
• Have you asked to better connect your outputs and outcomes to your objectives? 

All of these questions are common issues that occur with more and more frequently with funding agencies requiring evaluation plans and evidence-informed decision making to be part of grant applications and implemented projects. The terminology can get confusing and misunderstanding the differences can lead to a really good idea going unfunded. 

In this blog I will be defining these terms and providing you some ideas on how you can better connect them in your grants.

Definitions

Understanding what these words mean in the context of projects is the first step to being able to write a successful grant, including objectives, outputs, & outcomes.

Objectives: Objectives are statements of action that describe what you need to accomplish in order to meet your goals (Government of Canada, 2017)

Outputs: Items and / or activities produced by the project, which means that as long as a project is completed an output is created. Outputs are generally tangible and easy to measure, not the reason why the project was created. (Alonzi, 2019)

Outcomes: They are the reason why the project was created and are accomplished because of the successful completion of project outputs. While organizations strive to improve outcomes, not all projects have success. (Alonzi, 2019)

Example 1:

A project is designed to provide Grade 5 children with free access to recreational programming across the City. By using the pass, Grade 5 students will have FREE access to skating, swimming, different sports, rounds of golf, and other activities.

Objective: To increase the amount of total physical activity grade 5 children get each week.

Outputs: 1,200 grade 5 children registered for the pass; 700 grade 5 children used the pass.

Outcomes: Using the pass led to a significant increase in physical activity among children who used the pass; Children who used the pass indicated they felt an increased belonging to their community.

Example 2:

A food skills program was implemented by a local non-profit to increase the amount of healthy non-processed food a family eats each week.

Objective: After completing the program, families will be able to decrease the amount of processed foods eaten by families each week by preparing their own non-processed foods more often.

Outputs: Number of families who participate in the program

Outcomes: That families feel they have the confidence and skills to prepare their own meals; That families eat less processed food each week.

Identifying your Objectives, Outputs, & Outcomes

Once you understand what these terms mean, it is easier to identify what your objectives, outputs, and outcomes are in your project.

Step 1. Define your objectives. The best way to define your objectives is to develop SMART objectives, as described by Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canada, 2017). SMART objectives stands for…

• Specific: Describes a specific action, behaviour, outcome or achievement that is observable
• Measurable: It is quantifiable and has outcomes associated with it so it can be measured.
• Audience-specific: It is appropriate and relevant to your target audience.
• Realistic: It is achievable with the available resources.
• Time-Bound: It states the time-frame within which the objective will be achieved.

Remember that you can have more than one objective, so don’t make them too complicated or extensive. Use this opportunity to create phases of a project so you can have unique objectives for different phases.

Step 2. Define your outputs. Thinking about your objectives, what outputs will help you achieve your objective? What are the items or activities produced by the project? They should be things easily measurable, like participants, engagement in a social media campaign, and promotional products produced.

Step 3. Define your outcomes. These should be directly linked to your objectives, so ask yourself, what is the specific and measurable element of your project that are identified in your objectives. Remember the outcomes are the desired actions that occur due to the program outputs.

When developing outcomes, you also want to think about how you will measure them within the context of your project and project’s budget. For instance, if your project is about physical activity will you objectively measure physical activity with accelerometers, will use a validated tool like the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, or will you use a simple question about the total minutes of physical activity per week? The more rigorous and accurate the measure is, the higher the cost to the organization and burden on the client.

Contact Us

I hope this has provided you some ideas on how to define the objectives, outputs, and outcomes in your projects. If you need help with developing your objectives, outputs, and outcomes, a grant application or creating an evaluation plan, please contact Healthy Way Consulting at andrew@healthywayconsulting.ca. We are here to help non-profit organizations like yours! We look forward to finding ways to work with you to continue improving our community.