8.4 Achievement of project goals and objectives

A wide range of activities were delivered by NSPP projects, as detailed in Chapters 5 and 6. MDS data illustrates the intensity of project activity over the six month period of data collection to date. A total of 16,222 individual activities and 2,425 group activities were reported.

A diverse range of process-related goals was cited in the project documentation/data for the 49 projects evaluated. Most projects, including those still in their infancy, reported having achieved their objectives.

The range of self-reported achievements included:

• Development of collaborative arrangements.
• Involvement of community and family.
• Quantity of individuals and families that the project had been in contact with.
• High levels of satisfaction with training activities or resources, and evidence of knowledge or attitude change as a result of training level of community awareness of the project. In some cases projects reported that they had become well known in the community they served, and word of mouth meant that advertising of events became increasingly unnecessary as people brought family, friends or colleagues along to events. As described in Section 5.9, 65% of projects reported very high levels of community acceptance.
• Training of workers to recognise at risk colleagues and workers' improved capacity to respond.
• In one community, the establishment of a drop in centre has provided a very positive space for young people who would otherwise have nowhere to go to seek support and assistance for LGBTI issues.
• Reports that suicide was talked about more readily in the community; thereby generating increased awareness and improved knowledge of how to access help when required. In some communities, people were interested in learning how to help and suicide had become 'everyone's business'.
• Increased numbers of calls to crisis lines in line with promotional activities.

Setting easily achievable goals and taking one step at a time emerged as a strategy that worked well in these suicide prevention projects. Several projects commented that the project goals or timeframes they had listed early in their inception phase were unachievable and reported that they had later modified these goals to reflect the real life difficulties of implementing projects of this nature in communities. It was often reported that in many communities, connections first needed to be forged and trust built before work could commence on specific suicide prevention activities.

Projects reported that they aimed to provide holistic, coordinated outcomes and flexible service delivery within their staffing and budgetary limitations. Developing linkages between organisations, people and communities were high priority areas of work for many projects, with 92% of projects reporting that they collaborated with other organisations (see Section 5.10), and extensive referral networks were developed (see Section 6.4.12). The degree to which consumers experienced seamless, coordinated service delivery, could not be measured as consultations with consumers was not within the scope of this evaluation.

Key findings

• Most projects, including those still in their infancy, reported having achieved their objectives.
• Developing linkages between organisations, people and communities were high priority areas of work for many projects, with 92% of projects reporting that they collaborated with other organisations, and that extensive referral networks were developed.

8.4.1 Perspectives of DoHA grant administrators

Representatives from DoHA Central Office (CO) and State and Territory Offices (STO) that administer the NSPP-funded projects were given the opportunity to comment on how project impacts and outcomes were reported.

Many expressed concern that the existing reporting mechanisms (through the EDR form, progress reports and final reports) did not adequately capture data on outcomes and impacts, which meant that in some cases it was difficult to justify whether projects should continue to be funded.

Their assessments of project outcomes and achievements were therefore largely based on word-of-mouth reports from project staff or other stakeholders and the content of the progress and final reports.

Key findings

DoHA staff that administer the NSPP-funded projects expressed concern that the existing reporting mechanisms (progress reports, final reports) did not adequately capture information about project outcomes and impacts.