Outcome mapping is a project progress measurement system that was designed by the grant-making organisation International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It differs from traditional metrics in that it does not focus on measuring deliverables and its effects on primary beneficiaries but on behavioural change exhibited by secondary beneficiaries. The outcome mapping process consists of a lengthy design phase followed by a cyclical record-keeping phase. Outcome mapping is intended primarily for change focussed organizations that deal with complex systems and issues in changing environments, though it was originally designed for evaluating the impact of research in the developing world.
History
The outcome mapping manual was first published in 2001 by the Evaluation Unit of the IDRC. It is based on the outcome engineering model developed by Barry Kibel of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Much of the terminology and procedures that occur in outcome engineering are also present in outcome mapping.
Overview of method
The key difference between outcome mapping and most other project evaluation systems is its approach to the problem that a project's direct influence over a community only lasts for as long as the project is running, and developing agencies have difficulty in attributing resultant change in those communities directly to the actions of the project itself. The outcome mapping approach is to focus less on the direct deliverables of the project and to focus more on the behavioural changes in peripheral parties affected by the project team. Thus an outcome mapped project report will focus less on the project's actual progress and more on the project's influence (both deliberate and unintended) during the project's progression.
Report-backs based on outcome mapping would tend to contain more anecdotal evidence than more traditional measurement approaches. Because of its deviation from traditional evaluation philosophy, outcome mapping may not be accepted by all donor organisations.
Outcome mapping consists of two phases, namely a design phase and a record-keeping phase. During the design phase, project leaders identify metrics in terms of which records will be kept.
Design phase
Writing two visionary essays
Project leaders begin the outcome map design by writing two short essays about what effect they would like to see their project have on the community and how they believe those influences would come about, written from a wishful thinking type of perspective, with the presupposition that their project is successful beyond their wildest dreams. The sole purpose of writing the essays is to facilitate a mind-shift among project leaders to the larger environment in which their project resides. In outcome mapping terminology, these essays are termed a vision and mission statement, but they have little in common with vision and mission statements used in strategic planning.
Identifying boundary partners
The philosophy of outcome mapping is that anyone the project influences is in fact a partner in that project. For this reason, project leaders draw a schematic (with the project in the centre) about which parties will be influenced by the project in any way (direct boundary partners), and which parties will in turn be influenced by those parties (indirect boundary partners). Project leaders select three or four boundary partners upon which they will focus additional activities (called primary boundary partners). Typically the direct recipients or beneficiaries of the project's deliverables will be one of the primary boundary partners. All further processes and reports within the outcome mapping with focus on various aspects of the primary boundary partners. In IDRC sponsored projects, project leaders are encouraged to include policy makers (e.g. governments) in their list of indirect boundary partners.
Defining progress markers
For each primary boundary partner, project leaders write a statement of desired overall behavioural change (called an outcome challenge) and a list of eight to eleven specific behavioural changes or actions the project would like the boundary partner to exhibit by the end of the project (called progress markers).