Add Outcomes & Indicators

Learn how to define outcomes and measurable indicators for an action plan in PEARS.

The Outcomes and Indicators section defines the changes you expect your programming to produce and the measurable indicators that will track progress. Outcomes are organized by time frame: short-term, medium-term, and long-term.

Navigate to the Outcomes and Indicators Page

After completing the Outputs section, PEARS directs you to the Outcomes and Indicators page. You can also access it from the action plan detail page by clicking Outcomes & Indicators in the progress panel.

Screenshot: The Outcomes and Indicators page showing the Short Term, Medium Term, and Long Term tabs, with the Add Outcome button and the list of existing outcomes with their indicators

Add an Outcome

1

Select an Outcome Term

Click the tab for the time frame of the outcome you want to add:

• Short Term — Changes expected in the near term (e.g., increased knowledge or awareness).

• Medium Term — Changes expected over several months (e.g., behavior changes).

• Long Term — Changes expected over a year or more (e.g., health or economic outcomes).

2

Enter the Outcome

Click Add Outcome and enter the following:

• Short Name — A brief label for the outcome (up to 100 characters).

• Full Name — A detailed description of the expected change.

3

Add Indicators to the Outcome

Each outcome must have at least one measurable indicator. Click Add Indicator and enter:

• Indicator Name — A description of how the outcome will be measured.

• Type (if available) — Some organizations include a Type field to choose how the indicator is reported in the Action Plan Report. Select Qualitative (a textbox is provided for reporting) or Quantitative (a number field is provided for reporting). Selecting Quantitative reveals the Denominator field.

• Denominator — For quantitative indicators, optionally enter a denominator value.

• Survey Question — Optionally link the indicator to a specific survey question for automated data collection.

Screenshot: The Add Indicator form showing the Indicator Name text field, Type dropdown with Qualitative and Quantitative options, Denominator field, and Survey Question dropdown

TIP: Linking indicators to survey questions allows PEARS to automatically pull response data into your action plan reports.

4

Add Additional Outcomes and Indicators

Repeat the steps above to add all outcomes and their indicators across each time frame. You can add multiple outcomes per term and multiple indicators per outcome.

5

Continue

Click Continue to proceed to the Mark as Complete page.

NOTE: Every outcome must have at least one indicator before the Outcomes and Indicators section can be marked as complete. If any outcome is missing an indicator, PEARS will display a validation warning.