How to Use

 

The Community Services Outcomes Tree website can be used by community sector organisations and their funders to:

  1. Identify the outcomes of community sector organisations or their activities;
  2. Support the measurement of these outcomes through the use of a semi-automated survey tool;
  3. Support the reporting of outcomes measured through the CSOT through the use of our reporting template.

 

1. Using the Community Services Outcomes Tree to identify the outcomes of community sector organisations or their activities:

The outcomes framework is presented in the form of a ‘tree’ with twelve leaves (see the Homepage). Each leaf is an outcome domain, for example “housing”. Each domain is comprised of a set of outcome areas. These represent the key outcome topics or themes found in the literature, in other outcomes frameworks and measurement instruments. The easiest way to review and select outcomes for measurement is to:

  • Explore the various domains and outcomes on the Homepage.
  • By hovering on each domain name you will see a drop-down list of its associated outcomes.
  • If you click on a particular outcome it will take you to a description of what that outcome means (based on the reviewed literature).
  • When you find the outcome(s) you want to measure, click “add to library” and it will be stored there for review.

More tips and processes for selecting outcomes are available here.

For a full picture of the Tree, click on the Outcomes Tree tab and the Printable Version of the Outcomes Tree.

 

2. Using the Community Services Outcomes Tree to measure outcomes through the semi-automated survey tool:

The semi-automated survey tool can be accessed here. This tool can be used to easily create and customise an outcomes survey. Step-by-step instructions are provided. The survey can be imported into common survey platforms such as Qualtrics, Survey Monkey and Microsoft Forms.

 

3. Using the Community Services Outcomes Tree to report outcomes using the report template:

The report template can be found here. Step by step instructions are provided. The template can be adapted to individual service/program contexts and provides a structure through which to report important, accessible and meaningful data. A number of report examples can be seen here.

 

Note: both the survey tool and reporting template have been used with the CSOT across a number of projects and are provided here for consideration. Equally, those using the CSOT may choose to adapt or develop their own survey and reporting template.