Results-oriented Budget Practice in oecd countries odi working Papers 209

Outcomes 
(Actual)
The results, impacts or consequences of actions by the 
Commonwealth on the Australian community. Actual 
outcomes are the results or impacts actually achieved. 
They include the impact of all influences, not just the 
Commonwealth. “Outcomes” in OECD’s working 
definitions
Chan et al (2002) 

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Term Definition 
Source 
Outcomes 
(Planned)
The results or impacts on the community or the 
environment that the government intends to achieve.
Outcomes are specified in Outcome Statements.
“Intended Outcomes/Outcome Goals” in OECD’s 
working definitions
Chan et al (2002) 
Outcomes
Outcomes are the impacts on, or consequences for, 
the community of the activities of the government. 
Outcomes reflect the intended and unintended results 
from government actions and provide the rationale for 
government interventions. Improving the health status 
of the population is an example of an outcome. 
Ellis and Mitchell (2002) 
Output
Direct products or services stemming from the 
activities of a policy, program or initiative, and 
delivered to a target group or population 
Treasury Board of 
Canada Secretariat, 2001 
Output-Based
Management
A management approach designed to assist 
government and agencies in resourcing the outputs 
(goods and services) required to achieve intended 
outcomes. Output-based management focuses on 
identifying intended outcomes, determining which 
outputs are required to achieve the outcomes, and 
purchasing those outputs from the most cost-efficient 
and effective producer from the public or private 
sector. This approach is intended to emphasise the 
relationship between what agencies produce and the 
impact on society. 
Chan et al (2002) 
Outputs
The Public Finance Act (1989) states 
“Outputs” means the goods or services that are 
produced by a department, Crown entity, Office of 
Parliament, or other person or body. 
For an output to be meaningful as an accountability 
tool it must be described in ways that enable the 
producer of the output to be held to account for its 
delivery. To this end, output performance measures 
have traditionally been thought of in terms of quality, 
quantity, timeliness and cost. More sophisticated 
measures of output quality may well make reference to 
the outcomes the output contributes to Government 
can intervene via other activities such as regulation, 
funding, making grants or investing.
Kibblewhite and Ussher 
(2002)
Outputs
Outputs are the goods or services (usually the latter) 
which government agencies provide for citizens, 
business and/or other government agencies. 
Kristensen et al, 2002 
Outputs
Outputs are the goods and services produced by the 
organisation. Outputs are delivered to an external 
Kristensen et al, 2002 

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