10An Outcomes Orientation

10 An Outcomes Orientation

10.1 Granting activities should be designed and implemented so that grant recipients focus on outcomes and outputs for beneficiaries, while seeking the most efficient and effective use of inputs. Chief Executives and agency staff should focus on achieving government policy outcomes.

10.2 Granting activities should have a performance framework that is linked to an agency’s strategic direction and key performance indicators. Agency staff should determine operational objectives that can be used to evaluate a granting activity. Specifically, agency staff should determine what change is expected as a result of a granting activity (the intended outcomes) and then measure the actual outcome.

 An agency’s strategic direction outlines at a high level what it seeks to achieve. It is recorded in an agency’s Portfolio Budget Statements.

 The operational objective is a statement of what the granting activity is intended to achieve. Granting activities should be based on clearly defined and documented objectives. The objectives should be a concise, unambiguous, realistic statement of what the granting activity is intended to achieve.

10.3 Agency staff should ensure that the objectives of particular granting activities are clear and specific. This will make it easier to develop supporting documentation, such as selection criteria, limit wasted applications and aid in the development of an appropriate performance framework, based on proportionality considerations. Agency staff should develop operational objectives which:

 are clearly linked to the outcomes set by government;

 are linked to an agency’s strategic goals and/or directions and stated in such a way that clearly communicates what is to be achieved, measured, evaluated, and/or assessed;

 include quantitative, qualitative and milestone information or are phrased in such a way that it is clear when these objectives have been achieved;

 are authorised or endorsed by Ministers, the agency Chief Executive or senior agency staff, whichever is appropriate;

 are shared with potential applicants, grants recipients, and where appropriate beneficiaries; and

 are reviewed regularly, and whenever changes are made to the granting activity.

10.4 In adopting an outcomes orientation, agency staff should ensure that outcome, output and input measures are clearly specified, as this will facilitate effective and efficient evaluation of granting activities and the services and activities funded by the grant.

 Outcome measures assess the extent to which the granting activity is meeting both the strategic directions and operational objectives of the agency. Outcome measures relate to changes effected in the community and may include: the level of usage of facilities built with grant money; the level of community involvement resulting from projects; and levels of service delivery.