1. The Common Outcomes Process of the United Way of Greater Houston
Agency Empowerment and Program Quality Improvement
Roger Durand, Ph.D.
University of Houston-Clear Lake

2. Overview Purpose A brief history
The Common Outcomes Process: Purpose and operation
Global accomplishments
Other, tangible results
“Are United Ways doing any good?”
Summary and a concluding comment

3. My role…..
I served and continue to serve as an evaluation consultant to the United Way of Greater Houston on the “Common Outcomes Process.”
Participant-observer
A comparative perspective: consultant to three other United Ways

4. A brief history…..
Its 2007 adoption married for the first time a previous United Way focus on outcomes assessment with a new emphasis on the improvement of program management.
The initiation of a strong strategic planning process by CEO Ms. Anna Babin
A history and culture of collaboration between the UWGH and provider agencies.
Encouragement by external consultant, Mike Hendricks, of a common outcomes emphasis and a collaborative approach to program assessment and management at the UWGH

5. The Common Outcomes Process: Purpose and Operation
The use of affinity groups – provider agencies with a shared or similar mission meet together collaborating with the UWGH to –
Develop a common logic model
Adopt common performance measures
Compare data results
Share “best practices”
Examples: Senior Services; Domestic and Sexual Violence; Substance Abuse Services
Purposes: A new way of conversing with funders and stakeholders about community impact. Also, encouraging conversation among like or similar agencies about best practices.

6. Global accomplishments
The empowerment of agencies regarding evaluation
Program improvement and far-reaching community change

7. Other, more tangible results – Part 1
Refined and well thought-out logic models based on diverse, first-hand agency experience
Better quality measurement tools
Mitigated “we versus they feelings” between agencies and UWGH
A forum for best practices
Avoidance of difficult discussions about performance goals and success standards

8. Other, more tangible results – Part 2
The COP took considerably more time to implement than expected
Increased the burden on UWGH staff
Sometimes took a long time to find a common agency ground on outcomes
Uncertainty among agencies about whether it resulted in increased funding

9. “Are United Ways Doing Any Good?”
UWGH? Yes….absolutely!!
Some keys….
Visionary leadership of UWGH and its CEO
Hiring Mike Hendricks and a staff recruited with considerable analytical abilities
Grass roots development of data metrics, which encouraged funders and improved agency management
Success bred success

10. Summary and a concluding comment

11. Some useful references….
Liliana Rodriguez-Campos and Rigoberto Rincones- Gomez, Collaborative Evaluations: Step-by-Step. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013.
Michael Quinn Patton, Developmental Evaluation. New York: The Guilford Press, 2011.
David Fetterman, Empowerment Evaluation in the Digital Villages, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012.