Outcomes ≠ outputs in the nonprofit world. There is an important distinction between these two concepts. If your organization is trying to measure your social impact, understanding the difference between outputs and outcomes is critical. To illustrate, let’s talk about tacos.
- An example: tacos
- Outputs
- Outcomes
_____________
An example: tacos
You’re buying lunch from your favorite taquería and you ask the vendor, “How’s business?”
“We sold 100 tacos today,” she replies.
“…Oh! That’s… good. Right?”
Hard to determine. 100 tacos. Is that good?
Outputs
“Tacos sold” is an output. It is the end product of the restaurant’s processes. It is an important measurement, but it’s not the whole story of success.
Often, organizations focus on output reporting and the story ends there. Here are examples of common metrics you’ll see in social programs:
- people trained
- meals delivered
- condoms distributed
Outcomes
Outcomes, on the other hand, are the level of performance or achievement that occurs because of the activity. These are the next-level results of what the output achieved.
In our taco example, what are those tacos doing out in the world? This includes customer perceptions of tastiness, ability to satiate hunger, increased knowledge of Mexican food, etc.
Sometimes outcomes are harder to quantify, but they are a much clearer expression of the success of a program. Here are potential outcomes from the examples above:
- people trained → increased knowledge of trainees
- meals delivered → reduced hunger
- condoms distributed → reduced instances of HIV
If our business owner was measuring outcomes, she might have said “people LOVE our tacos and our market share has increased since last year.” Plus, she would have the data to back it up.
_____________
So if you work in nonprofits, are you reporting the right thing? Archer Impact can help you measure and manage your organization’s social impact. Contact us for a free consultation.
Also, do you like tacos? ¡Vaaaaamos!