Effectiveness means doing the right things in relation to a defined outcome.
Efficiency and perfectionism as barriers to impact orientation.
Efficiency or perfectionism are widespread. Measures are implemented with little effort or the implementation of measures is fine-tuned down to the last detail. The contribution of a specific measure, especially one that has been carried out historically, to the declared objective is often taken as a given and considered positive and not questioned further. In addition, there is often the barrier that systemically there is little incentive to achieve impact, as this transforms the existing system and creates uncertainty about future winners and losers.
One way around these common barriers is through impact monitoring of existing measures and the design of alternative measures based on evidence-based causal relationships. Effectiveness monitoring means the development of effects with respect to the goal and not with respect to the implementation of the measures. In this sense, effectiveness means doing the right things to achieve a goal.
