After reading a previous blog ‘Grounds Maintenance: Spend less and repair our environment’ I was asked if I’d share some examples of outcomes.

Before I do, it’s worth reiterating that outcomes, ideally six to eight, describe what the performance of a contract must achieve to have satisfied beneficiaries needs. These examples focus on grounds maintenance but are not specific to any organisation. Although, there is no reason why they couldn’t be, as is or with a little tweaking.

Example outcomes

• Improved wellbeing: residents and visitors understood, appreciated and enjoyed the visual, experiential and economic benefits of open spaces, in particular the more natural environment. If desired and was appropriate they contributed to its upkeep.
• Increased biodiversity: local native species rich grassland wildflowers thrived in low nutrient soil, which attracted and increased the diversity and quantity of wildlife.
• Improved climate resilience: local native species rich grassland wildflowers thrived in low nutrient soil throughout the year, and changes/additions in hard and soft landscaping increased the sponge effect.
• Lowered carbon footprint: from a reduction/change in the type, frequency and amount of direct and indirect inputs required to perform the contract and the outcomes achieved, with the improved more natural environment having absorbed more carbon.
• Bought, spent, used and disposed of no more than necessary: to satisfy beneficiaries needs; this included buyer, supplier, respective supply chains and beneficiaries, and other interested people, as they performed and influenced the performance of the contract.
• Safe, courteous and tidy service with no unnecessary disruption: for our purposes I don’t really need to expand on this outcome, it’s pretty self explanatory, although it also includes keeping members of the public safe.
• Valuable, profitable and effective commercial working relationship: aligned interests and expectations, and collaborative relationships, for buyer, supplier and respective supply chains, achieved the other outcomes and this outcome to a degree well beyond the sum of respective contributions.

These outcomes, while somewhat straightforward, give a clear common direction, in terms of expectations and interests. However, further measures, input, output and other outcomes, allow us to determine when and to what degree the performance of a contract has achieved each outcome. They enable us to determine what we mean by increased, improved and lowered, which also enables us to confer individual and joint responsibilities on the parties to a contract.

And finally …

Outcomes are the backbone of a procurement, they are immensely useful, for example, in communicating a common direction and understanding. They allow potential suppliers to use all their expertise, they are also the fundamental building blocks for a performance framework and should be the focal point for tender questions you ask potential suppliers. Outcomes should permeate throughout every aspect of each procurement and the performance of each contract.