The Power of Outcome Management

A Closer Look at TBS Canada’s Guidance

Happy Tuesday, Transformation Friends. Another week, another opportunity to go Beyond the Status Quo.

Recently, I stumbled upon the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Outcome Management Guide and Tools, while exploring ways to strengthen value measurement in the public sector. It’s a framework from 2009 that deserves more attention.

Maximizing Public Value

(In case you missed it, I also wrote about the TBS’s Business Case Guide last time, which I also stumbled on in this research).

Beyond the Checkbox: Rethinking Business Cases in Government

Outcome Management is not project management. It’s not about delivering projects on schedule and budget. Rather, it’s about ensuring initiatives provide real public value. Too often, we concentrate on outputs without following through on whether they lead to meaningful outcomes.

The change:
Planning for and tracking outcomes rather than assuming a delivered project equals success.

There are lot of great takeaways from the framework, even through it’s 15 years old. One thing to note is that In more contemporary thinking, we now differentiate between outcomes (the broader results of the change we create through our initiatives that affect real-world behaviour and circumstance) and benefits (the measurable advantages our initiatives deliver). Ideally, a robust framework manages both, but this guide keeps it simple by focusing solely on outcomes. That simplicity is useful, and it’s easy enough to layer in benefits to create a more complete picture.

Grab your morning coffee, and let’s get started.

Why Outcome Management Matters

We can’t transform the public sector by simply executing projects. We need to ensure those initiatives lead to meaningful outcomes. That’s where Outcome Management comes in.

At its core, Outcome Management applies the same discipline and rigour to achieving results as Project Management does to delivering outputs. It forces us to ask:

Why are we doing this in the first place?

In the private sector, value usually comes in financial form: profitability, market share, and shareholder value. But in government, it’s more complex. Public sector outcomes span social, environmental, and economic dimensions, with no simple formulas to measure success.

Tracking outputs alone isn’t enough.

This guide provides a structured approach with tools, checklists, and templates to help departments define, track, and manage outcomes more effectively. It also aligns with existing frameworks like the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) and Results-Based Management (RBM), ensuring that Outcome Management doesn’t operate in isolation but integrates with broader government priorities.

So, when should you use this guide?
Ideally, from the very start when an initiative is still being conceptualized. It helps define the value proposition, set clear intermediate outcomes, and establish tracking mechanisms. But it’s not a one-and-done exercise. Regular check-ins ensure we stay aligned with the intended results and adjust as needed.

Bottom line?
We don’t only want to measure success after the fact. Rather, it’s more about actively managing it throughout, assuring the outcomes happen.

Concepts and Principles

To manage outcomes effectively, we first need to define an outcome in the context of this guide. An outcome is simply “something that follows as a result or consequence of the change we create [when we deliver new capabilities or enablers.]” In public sector transformation, outcomes represent the real-world changes we seek to achieve, whether social, environmental, or economic. Unlike outputs, which focus on what is delivered, outcomes measure whether those deliverables made a difference.

Intermediate vs. End Outcomes

Achieving meaningful change takes time, and waiting until the end of an initiative to measure success is a risky game. That’s why we need intermediate outcomes: leading indicators that allow us to track progress along the way. These serve as milestones, making it easier to assess whether an initiative is on the right trajectory or needs course correction.

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada has developed a results chain model to map these relationships, reinforcing the need for a structured approach.

Measuring Outcomes: Quantitative vs. Qualitative

If we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it. However, not all outcomes lend themselves to neat numerical tracking. That’s why we need a mix of:

• Quantitative measures (e.g., cost savings, efficiency gains)

• Qualitative measures (e.g., employee morale, public trust)

A common mistake is assuming financial metrics alone define success. As Kaplan and Norton pointed out in their Balanced Scorecard framework, focusing only on financials overlooks key drivers of long-term impact, such as innovation, satisfaction, and internal process improvements.

The Role of Outcome Management

Outcome Management in the Government of Canada plays out at two levels:

1. Program-Level Outcome Management – Ensuring government programs deliver on their intended impact for Canadians.

2. Project-Level Outcome Management – Ensuring individual projects contribute to the capability-building required to achieve broader program outcomes.

This guide focuses on the project level, helping practitioners align projects with the government’s ability to deliver meaningful programs and services.

The core idea? Project completion is not success. Achieving real-world impact is.

From Concept to Execution

Defining outcomes is just the beginning. Success lies in managing them effectively throughout an initiative’s lifecycle. The TBS framework provides a structured process to ensure outcomes are planned, tracked, and realized.

1. Launch Outcome Management

Before diving into Outcome Management, organizations need to confirm they are ready to undertake the process. This involves assessing whether the right governance structures, stakeholder alignment, and data collection mechanisms are in place. Conducting a readiness assessment at this stage helps identify potential gaps and ensures a solid foundation before moving forward.

2. Develop Outcome Realization Model

At this stage, organizations define the logic behind their initiative and how specific projects and activities contribute to broader strategic goals. Using a Logic Model (or Outcomes Map), they establish a clear visual representation of how outputs lead to immediate, intermediate, and final outcomes. This step ensures alignment with organizational priorities and helps surface any flawed assumptions early.

3. Develop an Outcome Realization Plan

With a structured model in place, the next step is developing a plan to ensure that outcomes are actively managed and tracked over time. This includes defining which outcomes to measure, assigning accountability to outcome owners, and establishing performance metrics and reporting processes. A well-structured Outcome Realization Plan acts as a living document, evolving as new information emerges.

4. Monitor the Delivery of Outcomes

Once an initiative is underway, ongoing monitoring is crucial to keep progress on track. This involves tracking changes, identifying risks, and ensuring alignment with intended outcomes, allowing organizations to adjust course as needed. Monitoring should be proactive, not reactive, ensuring that small misalignments don’t escalate into major roadblocks.

5. Realize and Optimize Outcomes

The final stage focuses on sustaining and maximizing outcomes over the long term. Organizations establish an Outcome Management Office (OMO) to oversee continuous improvement and ensure that results remain aligned with strategic objectives. This stage also includes harvesting benefits, reinvesting savings or efficiencies, and communicating success to maintain momentum for future initiatives.

Wrap up

Managing outcomes is a mindset shift. Too often, public sector initiatives focus on what gets delivered (projects, systems, reports) rather than why it matters. Outcome Management ensures we bridge that gap, shifting from measuring effort to measuring impact.

As we wrap up, here are three key questions to reflect on:

• Are we defining success based on outcomes, or just deliverables?

• Do we have a clear logic model linking what we do to the desired results?

• How are we tracking progress and adjusting course to ensure impact?

When we apply the same discipline to outcomes as to project management, we ensure that the time, money, and effort we invest make a difference.

Until next time, stay curious and I’ll see you Beyond the Status Quo.