ETO is essentially a philosophy.  It is the belief that outcomes are not achieved without effort and that by relating specific efforts to desired outcomes you can better understand, and continually improve, the impact of your efforts.  This philosophy has been adopted by some of our industry's most powerful organizations.  Organizations such as Annie E. Casey Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with thousands of others, are employing an ETO philosophy to reinforce what's working, adjust what isn't, and easily report their quantified successes.

Recently, we have also seen an ETO philosophy take root in a variety of communities.  These communities apply ETO to manage the performance of a service continuum that includes both public and private agencies.  These "ETO Cities" are sprouting across the country.

Those who subscribe to the ETO philosophy commit to the discipline of diligently capturing data associated with all phases of service delivery.  This data can provide an auditable and attributable record that can be reviewed and analyzed to assess progress and make evidence-based decisions about how to adjust your services to optimize your performance.  For most organizations, relating efforts to outcomes is an evolving process.  It's something that you get better at the more you do and learn.  It's an "ETOlution."

Through ETOlution, you evolve from an organization that is driven by human spirit, good intentions and funder reporting requirements to supplementing those ideals with a strategic approach to affecting social change.  When you complete your ETOlution and make ETO part of your daily operation, your organization becomes better - one that:

• has aligned its mission, funders’ expectations, and daily work by connecting efforts to clearly articulated, measurable, and reportable outcomes;
• allows case workers to better see the fruits of their labors and change tactics based on real time, easily accessible data;
• provides program managers, executive directors, and board members clearer insight into what’s working, and what’s not, so successes can be reinforced and adjustments can be made;
• has turned scorched dialogue with funders into celebratory discussions of what more can be done; and most importantly;
• makes a bigger difference in the lives of the individuals and communities you serve while inspiring other organizations to do the same.

At Social Solutions we are avidly commited to the ETOlution of human services organizations. We have helped thousands of organizations with their ETOlution since our inception. Some of these organizations are just begining their journey and some have reached highly advanced stages.

To support the ETOlution of an organization, we provide ETO Software®, a set of ETO Services, and perform a variety of ETO Advocacy efforts.

To learn more about Embracing ETO the Practice, watch this video from our Co-Founder Adrian Bordone.