‘How-To’ Guide to Improve the Impact of Medical Outreach

Pondering and then determining answers to these questions can benefit when applying for grants and asking for donations, and can improve the overall quality of your medical outreach.

• Effectiveness & Efficiency: Describe the effectiveness and efficiency of your mission. Demonstrate the impact in terms of lives improved. Will your impact endure over time? How is your strategic mission plan productively maximizing outcomes within a limited supply of money, time, and effort? Is your organization and this current mission utilizing proven strategies in medical mission healthcare?
• Innovation & Enhancements: Describe the innovation of your mission. Even the tried and true models can be enhanced. How is your mission making progress towards a unique goal or towards a common goal with a novel approach? Describe your use of creativity in programming.
• Transparency & Accountability: Describe the transparency and accountability of your mission. What is your plan for medical records and data management? How will the details and outcomes of your mission be recorded and distributed to benefit others? How will the experience and information learned from your mission benefit your community at home and the global community?
• Sustainability & Scalability: Describe the sustainability and scalability of your mission. How will the relevant and enduring impact that your mission delivers withstand over time? How will this current mission enhance the future capabilities of your organization? How will your organization utilize resources (funds, people power, time) productively over time? What are the short, medium and long term outcome goals of your mission and of your organization overall? How can others utilize and learn from your medical mission strategies?
• Strategic Financial Management: Describe the strategic financial management of your mission. How does your organization utilize funds and why are additional funds vital for this mission? How does your organization minimize waste and maximize utility? Describe the cost-benefit ratio of your mission?
   
  
  Authors: Paula Anderson-Worts, Kelli Glaser, & Denton Shanks