“Increased Knowledge” Isn’t an Outcome (At Least Not for Outcome Harvesting)

If you’ve ever written a logframe or results framework, chances are you’ve typed something like:

“Increased awareness of gender-based violence among students

”“Improved capacity of community health workers”

“Enhanced stakeholder engagement”

Sound familiar?

These statements are common in the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) world, especially in donor reports. They’re tidy, broad, and built to align with indicators that are often predefined. They’re also perfectly acceptable, in the logframe universe.

But if you’re writing outcome statements for Outcome Harvesting (OH)? That style won’t work.

Here’s why.

OH Outcomes Are About Real, Observable Change

In our recent Outcome Harvesting webinar, one participant asked:

“In logframes, we phrase outcomes like ‘increase in X’ or ‘improved Y’. Do we do the same in OH?”

The short answer? No.

OH is a qualitative method that asks a very different question:What changed, who changed, when did it happen, and where?

Your outcome statement in OH needs to be grounded in observable facts, not aspirations or summary categories. In other words, it must pass the “When–Who–Did What–Where” test.

Let’s look at the difference.

Logframe-style:

“Improved access to education for girls.”Okay—but who says it’s improved? What changed? How do we know?

Outcome Harvesting-style:

“In October 2024, the Ministry of Education in Accra revised its school re-entry policy to allow pregnant girls to return to school.”

That’s time-bound, actor-specific, concrete, and verifiable.And it’s not just semantics—it’s the foundation for the next OH steps like triangulation and contribution analysis.

Why This Matters in Practice

OH isn’t about claiming vague shifts. It’s about tracing specific behavior or practice changes—and then exploring how your project (and others) may have contributed to them.

If you write:

“Increased capacity of youth leaders,”you’ll struggle to substantiate it later. How would someone outside the programme verify that? What exactly changed? What behavior or decision illustrates that increase?

Compare that to:

“In March 2023, youth leaders in Mukono District independently organised a town hall meeting to discuss local water issues, something they had previously avoided due to fear of political backlash.”

Now that’s an outcome.

Writing OH Outcomes: A Simple Formula

When drafting OH outcome statements, use this structure:

🟢 When did the change occur?

🟢 Who changed?

🟢 What did they do differently?

🟢 Where did it happen?

Here’s a clean example:

“In June 2022, local radio hosts in Northern Malawi began broadcasting weekly segments in Tumbuka on disability rights, after years of focusing only on education and health topics.”

This tells us what happened, who did it, when, and where, giving you something to substantiate later.

Why the Logframe Still Has Its Place

Now to be fair, the logframe has its purpose. Donors often require standardised indicators, and phrases like “improved capacity” allow you to measure shifts across multiple actors or locations. You can track things like:

• Number of people trained

• Percentage increase in knowledge scores

• Shifts in perceptions (via surveys)

But Outcome Harvesting is playing a different game. It’s asking:

“What real-world shifts occurred and whether or not they were in the plan?”

It’s about surfacing, not just measuring. And for that, specificity matters.

Practice Makes Perfect

If you're new to OH, don’t worry. Writing sharp outcome statements takes practice. Start with raw stories of change, then shape them into concrete statements. Ask yourself:

• Is this something someone outside the project could verify?

• Does it describe what actually changed, not just what was delivered or intended?

• Does it read like a behavior or practice shift—not just a feeling or intention?

If yes, you're on the right track.

Want to see real examples or practice drafting OH outcomes yourself?

Replay the full webinar recording and access the editable outcome statement template in the M&E Academy. Not yet a member of the M&E Academy? No worries, you can join here.