9. Outcomes-focused contracting
The outcomes logic model can be used outcomes-focused contracting and delegation.
In any contracting or delegation it's important that everyone's clear about what those being contracted are accountable for. In Easy Outcomes you need to first choose between one of three possible types of contracting:
1. Contracting for attributable indicators (outputs) only.
2. Contracting for attributable indicators (outputs) and for 'managing for outcomes'.
3. Contracting for not fully controllable outcomes.
Outputs can be viewed as steps (or more technically as indicators) which are influenceable, controllable, measurable and attributable (you can actually prove that it a particular player changed them). You can find out more about this from the Explanation page on this site. In the screenshot, if we decided to use the first type of contacting, the waiting staff would only be contracted to some specific measures around the step 'Food and drinks adequately prepared' (for example, walking around the room every 5 minutes).
If we decided to use the second type of contracting, they would also be contracted to 'manage for outcomes'.* This is different from them being held accountable for achieving high level outcomes.
If we decided to use the third type of contracting they would be accountable for achieving high level outcomes and would get a bonus if the guest developed strong social networks and lose money if they did not.
It may seem strange that people can be contracted for 'not fully controllable outcomes' in the third type of contracting. This happens in the private sector when CEOs get rewarded or punished on the basis of changes in their company's share price. When using the third type of contracting, people usually demand a higher reward in those times when outcomes are achieved so they can 'insure' themselves against those times when they are not. You can find more detail on all this at the Systematic Outcomes Analysis site.
*There needs to be some easy way to know whether or not someone is 'managing for outcomes'. One way is to accept that they are 'Managing for outcomes' if they have carried out an Easy Outcomes analysis and have had it successfully peer reviewed.