The outcomes are the effects of the output on the customers. Impacts are the long-term effect of the outcomes. The cloud around the impacts indicates that the impacts are difficult to discern. Semantically, it is difficult to distinguish between long-term outcomes and impacts. There is a direct relationship between the level of input and the level of outputs.
Outputs lead to outcomes but the relationship is less direct than inputs to outputs.
Outcomes lead to impacts but the relationship is often negligible, if existent, and difficult to determine. An ideal flow occurs when a relationship exists between inputs and impacts. The time line provides a context as to when the results occur and will vary by types of projects and between projects. Near-term could be twelve months. Long-term could represent one to three years or even longer.