Outcome Evaluation should look for clear and measurable outcomes from the project. The timing of an Outcome Evaluation needs to be carefully programmed. If undertaken too soon, final impacts may not have had time to "work through", but if undertaken too late, resources will be wasted if the project is not efficient or effective.
Outcome Evaluations are intended to answer questions such as "what is the extent of the identified outcomes, and what were the costs of achieving this?"; and, where comparisons can be made with similar projects, "do these resources and outcomes together represent value for money?"
The process used in an Outcome Evaluation may be set out as a series of sequential steps, as follows:
