What is GTO and why is it valuable?
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Funders want to see high-quality outcomes, evidence that their financial resources are making an impact. At the same time, practitioners and frontline providers face several challenges in implementing high-quality programs. While researchers often demonstrate the positive effects of prevention programs and interventions, the same level of outcomes are not as easily seen in practice. Whether an organization already has a specific program in mind or a need they want to address, they do not always have the knowledge or capacity in place to develop a strategic plan, implement with quality, and/or monitor and evaluate—all of which are important for getting to outcomes.
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Getting To Outcomes® (GTO)—an application that was developed to help bridge the research to practice gap—is a 10-step accountability process to help communities and organizations plan, implement, and evaluate the impact of their programs. Drs. Abe Wandersman and Pam Imm of the Wandersman Center are two of the co-developers of GTO, an internationally recognized best practice process.
GTO is both prescriptive and flexible. Each of the 10 steps of GTO has demonstrated its ability to make prevention programs successful and help organizations achieve desired results. GTO is also a capacity-building intervention that assists organizations in incorporating the knowledge and skills of being strategic and data-informed into their routine practices.
At Wandersman Center, we provide GTO training, technical assistance, and GTO manual and tool development so that organizations can reach their desired outcomes and, therefore, demonstrate to funders and stakeholders that their work can make a positive impact.
Examples of projects with which we have used GTO support training include To Improve Family-School-Community Partnerships with the Carolina Family Engagement Center (CFEC) and Improving USAF Prevention and Resilience with the United States Air Force and To Strengthen Sexual Assault Prevention Programs with the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DoD SAPRO). The latter two are in conjunction with the Rand Corporation.
GTO is both prescriptive and flexible. Each of the 10 steps of GTO has demonstrated its ability to make prevention programs successful and help organizations achieve desired results. GTO is also a capacity-building intervention that assists organizations in incorporating the knowledge and skills of being strategic and data-informed into their routine practices.
At Wandersman Center, we provide GTO training, technical assistance, and GTO manual and tool development so that organizations can reach their desired outcomes and, therefore, demonstrate to funders and stakeholders that their work can make a positive impact.
Examples of projects with which we have used GTO support training include To Improve Family-School-Community Partnerships with the Carolina Family Engagement Center (CFEC) and Improving USAF Prevention and Resilience with the United States Air Force and To Strengthen Sexual Assault Prevention Programs with the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DoD SAPRO). The latter two are in conjunction with the Rand Corporation.
10 Accountability Questions
The GTO system is based on 10 empowerment evaluation and accountability questions that contain elements of successful programming:
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Planning
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Evaluation & Improvement
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7. How was the quality of implementation?
8. How well did the prevention activity work? 9. How will continuous quality improvement strategies be incorporated? 10. If the prevention activity is successful, how will it be sustained? |
