Outcomes and Evidence

Program Manager establishes each outcome measure under its program. The measure name and unit describe what the team intends to report, while numerator and denominator definitions explain the basis of any ratio. Monitoring Officer uses those definitions when preparing the period result and its supporting evidence.

A result records the reporting period, numerator and denominator, with an evidence attachment under the measure. The denominator guard makes the ratio unavailable when the denominator is missing or zero. The team must not publish a percentage or claim an impact result from that invalid basis, even when a numerator has been entered.

• Measure definition. Describe what each input counts and which unit the result uses. Keep the definition attached to the program so the reporting period is interpreted against the intended measure.
• Period evidence. Record the start and end of the reporting period and attach evidence for the submitted numerator and denominator. Monitoring Officer checks that the evidence covers the period being reported.
• Unavailable ratios. Inspect missing and zero denominators explicitly. Leave the ratio unavailable until a valid basis is supplied through the agreed reporting process; do not replace that absence with a successful-looking percentage.

Agree the numerator and denominator definitions with Program Manager before entering results. For a measure about completed program work, decide exactly which work belongs in the period and which population forms the denominator. Use the same definitions when comparing periods so an apparent change does not merely reflect changed counting rules.

Define the evidence the monitoring team retains and who may inspect it. Agree how a corrected period result is reviewed and how unavailable ratios are described in the report. A recorded numerator and denominator support a defined calculation; any broader statement about program impact still needs the appropriate interpretation of that evidence.

Rehearse a measure whose numerator counts completed activities in a reporting period and whose denominator counts the activities included under the agreed definition. Monitoring Officer records 18 and 24 with the period evidence. Ask Program Manager to explain why those inputs match the definition before discussing the resulting ratio.

Repeat with a missing denominator and with zero. Both cases must leave the ratio unavailable and must not become a recorded percentage or impact claim. Inspect the evidence period and compare it with a milestone’s completion date where relevant. Finally, have another authorized reader interpret the measure from its name, unit and definitions without relying on an explanation held only by the reporting officer.

• Outcome Reporting Periods — Period inputs and evidence under each declared measure.
• Milestones Due — Program checkpoints with completion evidence that may inform the reporting review.
• Active Programs — The operating context behind the measures being reported.

Follow expense verification and outcome reporting and review reports before using the results in a program completion discussion.