Any difference between outcome, output and result?
In public policy, 'output' is usually used to refer to an immediate, tangible yield (the 'product'). In turn, this may or may not result in certain 'outcomes', which however are not necessarily under direct control of the policy process. Finally, outcomes can have (and be measured in terms of) 'impacts'.
Hypothetical example: government may publish a report on healthy school meals, following a lengthy consultation; the report is the output of said process. This then leads to schools changing their meals offering ('the outcome'); in turn, this may end up showing improved obesity rates etc. among pupils ('the impact').
I think the public uses the words interchangeably, but results to me speaks to something at the end of an action so if I train 10 people and 9 pass the test is the result of me teaching them well. The outcome of the teaching is that they know psychology or research methods a bit better and the output is the material that they produce as and when they are taught as in tests or papers or something like that. So a paper is an output but not necessarily an outcome. A result is an indicator of a likely outcome.
Just clarifying: so, "result" would be encompassing "outcome" and "output"? Would it be above the other two or distinct from them?
In public policy, 'output' is usually used to refer to an immediate, tangible yield (the 'product'). In turn, this may or may not result in certain 'outcomes', which however are not necessarily under direct control of the policy process. Finally, outcomes can have (and be measured in terms of) 'impacts'.
Hypothetical example: government may publish a report on healthy school meals, following a lengthy consultation; the report is the output of said process. This then leads to schools changing their meals offering ('the outcome'); in turn, this may end up showing improved obesity rates etc. among pupils ('the impact').
Thank you Simon and Maria, your responses have been very useful.
An outcome is an intended or unintended product, information, object, or event that is produced as result of a plan, decision, process, effort, or set of actions. A result is an intended product, object, output or event that is produced as a consequence of an organized or orderly process, plan, effort, or well-thought out decisions and pre-meditated behavior. A result occurs because it is what one wants or is working to achieve. An outcome can also occur because it is what someone intends to achieve, but it can also occur because of other unforeseen factors or events that are out of someone’s control.
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