Outcome harvesting

This 27-page brief, written by Ricardo Wilson-Grau and Heather Britt, introduces the key concepts and approach used by Outcome Harvesting (published by the Ford Foundation in May 2012; revised in Nov 2013).

"Outcome Harvesting is a utilisation-focused, highly participatory tool that enables evaluators, grant makers, and managers to identify, formulate, verify, and make sense of outcomes they have influenced when relationships of cause-effect are unknown.

Unlike some evaluation methods, Outcome Harvesting does not measure progress towards predetermined outcomes or objectives, but rather collects evidence of what has been achieved, and works backward to determine whether and how the project or intervention contributed to the change."