What is a good participation outcome?

‘If the people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of change do not know that it is happening – then it probably is not happening…’ Lord Herman Ousley, Former Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality.

What is a What's Changed participation outcome?

• A participation outcome is where a tangible change has occurred, one that is measurable and is usually service related.
• What’s Changed is concerned with recording and measuring this tangible change using the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes.
• A What's Changed participation outcome measures an external tangible change for young people that is recognised and acknowledged by young people.

Other types of change
We recognise however that there are different types of change including

• Organisational changes such as in recruitment practices. These are very important outcomes for the organisation and can be recorded using Hear By Right, but What’s Changed is about outcomes for children and young people.
• Individual changes for the individuals involved such as an increase in confidence. These again are important but are not external outcomes and are highly individual, therefore these outcomes do not constitute a What's Changed story.

A What's Changed participation outcome is where a tangible change has occured that is recognised and acknowledged by young people. It is not a measure of individual or organisational change, these are often part of the process of participation. The distinction between participation processes and participation outcomes is important in order to clarify what constitutes a What’s Changed outcome.

What is a What's Changed story?

A What's Changed story is the narrative describing the whole process of a What's Changed participation outcome. The stories, covering a range of themes and provided by a range of organisations/people are all available from the archive of What's Changed Stories

Follow the link to see a more indepth illustration:
What is the difference between participation processes and a What’s Changed story?

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