Welcome to the WhatWorks Outcomes Portal (v 1.0)!
The Center for What Works and The Urban Institute recently completed the initial phase of a research project to provide the first sector-wide framework for nonprofit program outcomes and indicators for success.  Currently, there are 14 outcomes frameworks and a draft for a Common Outcomes Taxonomy, all to assist service providers and funders to identify well-researched program outcomes and key indicators to measure, compare, and improve program impact.

WhatWorks has developed two online tools to bring this research to your organization.

Outcomes Framework Browser


Navigate through the 14 programs areas and browse their respective outcomes and indicators. Once you choose a program area of interest, or the more general common outcomes taxonomy, the screen will display a program description, an Outcomes Sequence Chart for that program area, and links to the program outcomes so you can view the outcome indicators. Want more? Read about the Success Equation Generator.

Success Equation Generator1


Success Equation Generator, allows users to define their ultimate goal and then choose up to three outcomes most relevant to their program and that goal, along with relevant indicators for measurement. Once this process is completed, the system generates a customized document -- a description of success for the organization, complete with outcomes and indicators for that organization’s use. It can be printed and discussed within an organization. The Success Equation, a powerful tool that simplifies the often overwhelming process of identifying measures of performance.

To access the complete research, including the paper Building a Common Outcome Framework to Measure Nonprofit Performance, details of each of the program areas, and a report on the nonprofit taxonomy of outcomes, click here: http://www.urban.org/center/cnp/projects/outcomeindicators.cfm

This is version 1.0! The envisioned achievement of the larger portal is to facilitate benchmarking for nonprofits — providing the sector with a central repository for systematic comparison. Specifically, this includes a common language for nonprofit programmatic performance including the outcomes, indicators, and eventually comparative data.

We look forward to your feedback. Please contact us with any issues, comments, or suggestions: tools@whatworks.org
1 - Adapted with permission from Benchmarking for Nonprofits: How to Measure, Manage, and Improve Performance by Jason Saul, copyright 2004, published by Fieldstone Alliance, Inc., St. Paul, MN, www.fieldstonealliance.org.