Create and outcomes triangle and logic model
The outcomes triangle gives an overview of how archives contribute to local priorities, either overall or to a specific policy theme such as learning and education. It shows the different levels of outcome that archives can contribute towards.
The logic model illustrates the main links between service activities and local outcomes. It shows understanding of the benefits of archives to individuals, communities and places, and how these in turn contribute to the achievement of intermediate and overarching strategic outcomes.
Decide how to capture your thinking and decisions
Find a way to capture your thinking and decisions from each step as you go, for example on flip charts or ‘post-it’ notes, into a Word document or directly into the outcomes triangle and logic model templates that are available to download.
Outcomes triangle template (insert blank word document template)
Logic model template (insert blank PowerPoint template)
List your overarching and intermediate outcomes
Using the triangle template, start by identifying the overarching strategic outcomes you need to demonstrate that archives contribute towards for your chosen policy theme (or for several policy themes if you are creating a generic framework). Then identify your intermediate outcomes. Use your local strategic plan, vision statements, partnership agreements, corporate plan, other strategic or partnership documents.
You can use the examples on this page to give you ideas
Check out ‘what to include’ for definitions of overarching strategic outcomes, intermediate outcomes and service outcomes
List your service outcomes
Now list your service outcomes. Use your strategy, organisation business plan, department or service plans, action plans, partnership or funding agreements. You can also use the examples on this website for ideas.
List the activities your archive provides or supports
Transfer the different levels of outcome that archives contribute toward onto the logic model template. Now identify and group the activities you provide or support. For example, facilities, events, development and outreach work or volunteering opportunities. This does not need to be very detailed unless it is useful to you to do it that way.
Identify the benefits of delivering your service outcomes and the contribution to intermediate and overarching strategic outcomes
List the benefits to individuals, communities or places if you achieve your service outcomes. Then look at your local intermediate and overarching strategic outcomes and identify how or why each service outcome and the benefits contribute.
For example, if a service outcome is to get more older people involved in volunteering in archives and this is achieved, one of the benefits might be an increased understanding of local services and community issues among individual older people. This in turn will contribute to an intermediate outcome of ‘more older people playing a full part in their local community as active citizens’ and to an overarching strategic outcome that ‘older people are more socially and mentally active’.
Think about where the strongest connections might be and what local or national evidence is available to support them. Use the logic model examples to give you ideas.
Identify and challenge your assumptions about the links between activities and service outcomes
Think about how the activities you provide or support lead to the service outcomes being achieved. Do all the activities clearly contribute to the desired service outcomes? Look at all your activities and all your service outcomes in turn. Challenge the robustness of your assumptions. Do you know of any local or national evidence to demonstrate the links?
Complete your outcomes triangle and logic model
Use the lists you have developed to create your final version of an outcomes triangle and logic model. Your logic model could be in table or list form or in a diagram (as shown in the examples). If you are creating a logic model diagram, use arrows to illustrate connections between activities, outcomes and benefits. Don’t try to connect everything, be pragmatic and only draw lines between those that best illustrate the case you want to make and where the most robust evidence is available.
Repeat these steps if you are developing an outcomes framework for a number of themes.