On 7 January 2019, the SDG Coordination Centre (SDGCC) in Haryana together with the Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute for Fiscal Management (SJHIFM), organized a week-long series of awareness-building sessions about the Output Outcome Framework and the recently launched SDG Index among all departments in Haryana. The objective is to prepare the first Outcome-Output Report for Haryana for fiscal year 2019-2020, with the approval of the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance and Planning).

The SDGCC, a first of its kind capacity- and knowledge-building resource centre, was launched in August last year to act as a monitoring unit for all supporting departments and ministries of the Government of Haryana in their effort to achieve the SDGs, and to work with various departments to help implement the SDGs. Haryana ranks 18^th out of 29 states on the SDG India Index Benchmark Report 2018 released by NITI Aayog in December 2018. 

The Output Outcome Framework is an existing framework adopted by the Government of India and various other state governments, to build greater transparency about their financial outlays, targets and development outcomes under various development and welfare schemes. One of the key objectives of this framework is to promote better understanding among stakeholders about the government’s use of funds. It allows for better fiscal management and oversight, which in turn allows for a targeted approach towards the SDGs.  

The sessions explored the relevance of the Output Outcome Framework, outlined the difference between outputs and outcomes, and ran participants through examples from the Union government’s Output Outcome Framework 2018-2019. The departments were also led through the procedure to submit information on the outputs and outcomes of the development and welfare schemes managed by them. They were instructed in the type of information to be added to an SDG Index, and how departments could create a similar state-level index and dashboard.

The departments were asked to file their findings by the last week of January and are being assisted and their progress monitored by the UNDP team. The team will also simultaneously start reviewing and amending the information submitted based on consultation and write-ups submitted by the departments. The team is also coordinating with the state IT team to leverage the state’s online budget system to collate information about the output and outcome of every development and welfare scheme operational in Haryana. It is also designing the reporting format and setting up a system of reminders, as well as engaging a technical writer/designer to publish and circulate the draft for inter-departmental consultation. Once endorsed, the report will be submitted to the Finance and Planning Department.