Outcome Evaluation: A Case Study

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Outcome evaluation is used to measure the longer-term effects of programs and is related to judgements about whether or to what extent a program goal has been achieved. For example, outcome questions for a smoking cessation program might include “did the program succeed in helping people to stop smoking?”, “was the program more successful with certain groups of people than with others?” or “what aspects of the program did participants find gave the greatest benefit?”. It is the preferred evaluation method because it measures sustained and significant changes which have stood the test of time. Given the time lapse, an impact evaluation needs to consider the likelihood of other confounding influences and agents that may have had positive or negative