Outcome Funding and Management
Fred Magdoff and David Holm
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Outcome funding is a tool developed by the Rensselaerville Institute that places emphasis on the outcomes of projects. Results are gauged by measurable and verifiable changes in the behavior or conditions of a set of people. The outcome funding approach is used to develop, review, select, and manage projects. Many grant-making agencies and project managers have found it an effective way to sharpen their thinking about what results are desired and expected from a project and to assure that the project achieves those results. Northeast SARE is convinced that the best way to ensure concrete and easily discernable outcomes is to focus on the those outcomes all the way through the process.
Central to the outcome funding approach is a clearly defined outcome statement (what grantors expect ultimately to achieve), performance targets (specific changes in beneficiary behavior, actions, conditions, or degree of satisfaction), and milestones (interim steps that beneficiaries achieve toward meeting those targets).
Northeast SARE’s outcome statement is: Agriculture in the Northeast will be diversified and profitable, providing healthful products to its customers; it will be conducted by farmers who manage resources wisely, who are satisfied with their lifestyles, and have a positive influence on their communities and the environment.
Proposals need to show how specific performance targets will advance us toward reaching Northeast SARE’s outcome statement. Performance targets need to pass what we call the “so what?” test. This test probes whether a specific technique—whether it be direct marketing or comprehensive nutrient management or anything else—will forward Northeast SARE’s outcome statement.
Let’s say you have a meeting with 100 participants in which people learn about a particular sustainable technique. So what? Twenty people who attend the meeting then call you for more information. So what? And then, five people actually implement this new technique. This last item passes the so-what test and is a meaningful outcome — a performance target — because it directly contributes to the program’s goals as indicated in the outcome statement. Instead of focusing on the activities of the project, the events and procedures become vehicles to achieve a performance target. Of course, it must be decided whether the proposed activities and milestones are appropriate and sufficient for a project to reach its targets.
The outcome funding approach has not resulted in major changes in the type or scope of projects that Northeast SARE funds, but projects now need to focus on achieving specific outcomes and may need longer performance periods to be able to assess changes. In addition, people developing and carrying out projects with an outcome approach must involve representatives of the population that will be affected, and this involvement should begin in the proposal development stage. This is the only way to be sure that the target is desired and appropriate and that the methods used are the best ways to reach the target.
To learn more about how to develop performance targets and milestones download the Northeast SARE Performance Target Handbook.
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