Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 123

Practice Issues
b) When the agency is considering trying out something new, and wants to
find out if others have tried something similar; the agency can then know
of the potential pitfalls and how to avoid them.
c) When the agency is aware of a process or procedure which takes up a
lot of staff time or resources, and wonder if other agencies have found a
better way of doing things.
It is useful therefore to identify an area where improvement is needed,
and consider if it is to benchmark a process, a service delivery system or
a cost. The aim of benchmarking may be to help in learning and adapting,
to increase productivity by saving on resources or to give clients a better
experience.

What do we mean by impact?
Another related concept in discussing monitoring and benchmarking is
impact. And we hear a variety of meanings about what impact is. Most
will say that impact is about outcomes, and outcomes refer to the more
direct benefits or effects of a programme, or service brought about by an
intervention or the introduction of a service or programme. However, we
need to realize that outcomes can sometimes happen with or without the
intervention. Impact is the change in outcome that the intervention causes
over and above what people would have accomplished on their own. It
is the wider and more long-term consequences of actions on the social,
economic and physical environment. It is usually about the development in
the long term.
For many, outcomes are changes in behaviours, skills, knowledge, attitudes,
conditions or statuses. They are related to the core business of the
programme, and are realistic and attainable within the programme’s sphere
of influence. Most would ask that outcomes be developed as Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound (SMART). Therefore,
what is important is for a programme or service to agree with the funders
and commissioner of the service on the level of change or prevention
of deterioration expected and then determine the information that is
useful and feasible to collect. It is therefore useful to be realistic about
achievements and to be able to realistically measure the level of attainment
by the intervention.
The practical thing is to identify a realistic level of change that could be
reasonably associated with the activities of the programme. For example,
122