Getting To Outcomes accountability questions
| Accountability questions | What's addressed in each GTO step | Relevant literature |
|---|---|---|
| Step #1: What are the underlying needs and conditions to address? (NEEDS) | Provides information about conducting a needs and resource assessment and links to additional resources | Needs assessment; resources assessment |
| Step #2: What are the goals, priority populations and objectives (ie, desired outcomes)? (GOALS) | Provides worksheets for defining priority populations and creating realistic and measurable goals and objectives | Goal setting |
| Step #3: Which science- (evidence-) based models and best practice programmes can be useful in reaching the goals? (BEST PRACTICES) | Overviews evidence-based programming and what works in prevention and treatment across various domains (eg, individual, family, peer, school and community) and provides links to the evidence-based programme literature | Science and best practices |
| Step #4: What actions need to be taken so the selected programme fits the community context? (FIT) | Prompts readers to review the characteristics of existing programmes and priority populations to reduce duplication and facilitate collaboration with other area programmes | Collaboration; cultural competence |
| Step #5: What organisational capacities are needed to implement the programme? (CAPACITY) | Prompts readers to assess several aspects of organisational capacity or the resources the organisation possesses to direct and sustain a programme | Capacity building |
| Step #6: What is the plan for this programme? (PLANNING) | Presents information and worksheets for key planning elements such as an implementation timeline, assignments of responsibility, needed and available resources and locations for activities | Planning |
| Step #7: How will the quality of programme and/or initiative implementation be assessed? (PROCESS EVALUATION) | Provides information and several tools to assist practitioners in assessing which activities were implemented, the quality of the implementation and the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation | Process evaluation |
| Step #8: How well did the programme work? (OUTCOME EVALUATION) | Presents outcome evaluation and a basic framework for measurement; several evaluation designs; brief overviews of quantitative and qualitative methods and topics, including sample size, timing of assessments, informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, data storage and establishing benchmarks | Outcome and impact evaluation |
| Step #9: How will Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) strategies be incorporated? (CQI) | Prompts practitioners to reassess Questions 1–8 after completing the programme to assess and derive feedback evaluation information about planning, implementation and outcomes to improve the programme | Total quality management; continuous quality improvement |
| Step #10: If the programme is successful, how will it be sustained? (SUSTAIN) | Presents several factors that practitioners should consider when attempting to sustain an effective programme: (a) ‘buy-in’, (b) effectiveness, (c) diversity of funding, (d) staff training, (e) presence of a programme champion and (f) political capital of the programme | Sustainability and institutionalisation |