The Academy of Social Justice Commissioning is pleased to announce a one-day workshop on setting and measuring outcomes in service provision.

The term ‘outcomes’ is used a lot in and around commissioning and service delivery, as a simple way of describing the end goals for the citizens who make use of the services we offer.

But working out what these desired outcomes are, how to describe them, and how to establish whether they have been achieved, is not always as simple. It can sometimes seem like the road is littered with challenges, contradictions, and unintended consequences. Nonetheless, figuring out how to work to outcomes has become more or less essential for many public servants and those working in the voluntary and community sector.

This free hands-on workshop will tackle both basic concepts and some of the latest thinking in order to equip attendees with a clear way forward to build an outcomes focus into their work, whether they are commissioning services or delivering them.

Taking place on Monday 3rd December in Oxford, the session will cover:

1. the reasons for setting and measuring outcomes;
2. how to identify the right outcomes for a project or service;
3. contrasting approaches to measurement;
4. the pros and cons of using targets and outcome based payment.

Speakers and presenters will include:

• Nigel Ball — Deputy Director, Government Outcomes Lab
• Neil Stanworth — Founding Director, ATQ Consultants; Government Outcomes Lab Fellow of Practice

The event will be hosted at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Attendance is free, so please register your interest — but note that attendance is limited to members of the Academy of Social Justice Commissioning, and places are not guaranteed; they will be allocated to ensure a good cross-sector mix of attendees. Membership of the Academy is also free; apply to join here. Any queries should be emailed to academy@noms.gsi.gov.uk.