Sector Evaluation Framework

The framework provides a common language for measuring sector outcomes, tracking service user progress and ensuring impactful interventions.

Last updated 2 October 2025

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Overview

Components of the SEF

Start your programme evaluation with SEF

Overview

Illustration featuring diverse individuals, graphs, and evaluation tools.

The Sector Evaluation Framework (SEF) is a sectoral outcome measurement framework that provides a common language for social service agencies (SSAs), funders, and the Government to measure sector outcomes, track the progress of service users, and articulate impact.

Understanding programme and sector outcomes are key to:

Improve social services
Ensure that service users receive high-quality and impactful interventions
Identify emerging population needs for service and landscape planning

Components of the SEF

The SEF comprises 2 components: Sector Outcomes and Monitoring Indicator.

A diagram explaining the components of the Sector Evaluation Framework.

Sector outcomes

Under the SEF, NCSS recommends standardised and validated outcome metrics for programmes with similar objectives. These metrics have been statistically assessed for reliability and validity, and were also chosen for their succinctness.

Choose the most appropriate sector outcome metric for your programme

Programme groups with their respective outcomes/objectives and metrics

Programme group	Outcome/Objective	Metric
Caregiver support	Improve management of caregiver burden	Psychometric: Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI)
Children & youth	Improve positive youth development competencies	Psychometric: ACT SG
Children in care	Reduce child’s needs	Psychometric: Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS)
Early intervention	Improve child development outcomes	Objective metric: Assessment scores or achievement of milestones
Employment support	Obtain employment and stay employed	Objective metric: Sustained employment for a period of 3 or 6 consecutive months
Family resilience	Improve family resilience	Psychometric: Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire (WFRQ)
Family support	Improve families’ social and emotional needs	Psychometric: Family and Adult Support Tool (FAST)
Family violence	Reduce the occurrence of violence	Objective metric: Occurrence of violence within a 12-month period of case closure
Marriage support	Ensure couples remain married	Objective metric: Couple to remain intact within 3 years of attending the programme
Mental health support	Reduce psychological distress	Psychometric: Feedback Informed Treatment – Outcome Rating Scale (FIT-ORS)
Recidivism	Reduce the risk of recidivism	Psychometric: Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) OR Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI)
School absenteeism	Improve school attendance	Objective metric: Sustained school attendance for a period of 3 or 6 consecutive months
Suicide crisis support	Reduce suicide risk	Psychometric: Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)

Monitoring indicator

Across programme types and population subsectors, our overarching goal as one social service sector is to improve the quality of life (QOL) of service users.

Under the SEF, we monitor service users’ QOL across different programme types, using:

WHOQOL-BREF: For adult service users (18 years and above)

KIDSCREEN-27: For children and youth service users (under 18 years)

Using these instruments allows for comparisons of service users’ QOL to national benchmarks.

Start your programme evaluation with SEF

Explore the resources below to guide your agency in understanding SEF, conducting evaluations, and applying data-driven insights to enhance your programmes.

Youth Development Outcomes Evaluation Report [eBook]

This report leverages the SEF to examine the effectiveness of nine children and youth programmes aimed at improving youth development outcomes.