Building capacity in Not for Profits

Outcomes reporting in human services is complex, resource-intensive and challenging.

As we count down to the release of our third Working Paper on the subject, recognition that there is a considerable gap between the almost universal aspirations associated with outcomes reporting in human services and the resources needed to actually implement processes designed to achieve this aspiration is critical.

The team at UWA Business School and Grant Thornton Australia have invested significantly in order to examine this question by implementing the National Outcomes Measurement Research Agenda—a research project aimed at delivering practical information and tools designed to assist the human services sector in Australia to realise the opportunity inherent in outcomes reporting. 

Indeed, Working Paper No. 2 in this series examined what is actually happening in the human services sector in Australia with respect to outcomes identification, measurement and reporting. 

While a lack of skills and financial and other resources has made the pursuit of outcomes reporting difficult for many organisations, the research reported in Working Paper 2 identified that the identification and measurement of outcomes assists in many areas including in relation to efficiency identification, discussions with clients regarding their needs and wants, and in building frameworks for collaboration within organisations and between them.

Building on Working Paper No. 1, the Grant Thornton and UWA Business School team invites you to revisit Working Paper No. 2 in the series and to reconsider some of the issues that were identified in the publication of this significant report.