Defining success together: a collaborative approach for client and provider-engaged outcomes indicator development in Ontario

Our experiences demonstrate the value of an interactive, participant-driven approach to outcome indicator development that integrates capacity-building to foster meaningful engagement. Across both projects, clients, staff, and leadership contributed valuable insights that enhanced future program evaluation, with participants generating practical, inclusive indicators-some of which were incorporated into electronic medical records and outcome surveys to better capture client well-being. We also identified important lessons about session structure and virtual engagement, finding that condensed sessions can increase accessibility and diversity of input, while virtual formats offer new opportunities for inclusion, but require additional support to engage structurally vulnerable participants meaningfully.