The situation

The organisation had applied for the same funding stream three times and been unsuccessful each time, with feedback describing the application as strong on need and weak on delivery model. Internally the program was well understood. On paper it read as a list of activities with hoped for results attached.

What we did

One working session surfaced the model that already existed in the team's heads. We wrote it down properly: inputs, activities, outputs, short and medium term outcomes, and the causal reasoning connecting them. The outcome framework named what would be measured, how, and by whom. Only then was the application drafted.

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What the measurement found

Nothing about the program needed to change. What needed to change was that the reasoning had never been made explicit, so an assessor had no way to test whether it would work.

The result

The application was successful at $340,000 across three years. The program logic and outcome framework are now reused in every subsequent submission the organisation makes, which is where most of the ongoing value sits.

A note on de identification. Client names, sites and any detail that could identify an individual have been removed or generalised. Figures are the client's own, reported with consent.