Details of a new measure that would help those in social care jobs quantify the return on government investment in adult social care have been revealed in The Guardian.

The results of a three-year research project were announced this week, which included an examination of the quality and outcomes of adult social care services, according to govtoday.

Part of the project included the development of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT), which helps people measure the user's perspective of social care outcomes. It considers factors such as cleanliness and comfort, nutrition, social interaction and dignity. ASCOT is expected to help commissioners as they can compare accurately measured and standardised outcomes so they can get better value for money.

It's already been tested in 170 care homes across numerous sectors. They had good outcomes with the ASCOT assessment because they were all improving the social care-related quality of life for residents.

Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which was a key partner in the project, said: "Effective commissioning must focus on outcomes. Only then will we achieve the high quality, value for money public services that people deserve. All too often, statutory funding for front line services adopts narrow performance measurement models. It should be no surprise that if you define, commission and manage services in the same way you always have, you will get the same outcomes, regardless of who is delivering them."