Evaluation of the GPS will focus on its clients and whether people's lives are changing for the better. Did they receive the assistance or referral they needed? How much did it help? Do they have an increased sense of belonging in the world? An increased feeling of purpose in life? Have they developed the skills and resilience to manage their symptoms if they arise?
We aim to measure quality of life, looking at a person's independence, relationships, employment, education, and housing.
Once the GPS has a track record, INclude will conduct an in-depth analysis of what worked and progress toward wellness and sustained recovery. It will systematically "crowdsource" best practice by having users provide feedback, on standardized questionnaires, both during and at various points after initial contact. In turn, this feedback will be the basis for an expanding database for INclude to inform consumers and providers, driving improvements in practice.
Community-wide, evaluation will focus on several hard metrics: Reduced hospital and emergency room admissions, reduced interactions with police and emergency services, improved rates of access to care. The crowdsourcing of data from users will, in time, also function as "eyes and ears" to track what is happening month by month in mental health, picking up trends early.