Outline
1.0 Aim and Objective
2.0 Logical Framework Format
2.1 Definition
2.2 The Logical Framework Format
3.0 Description of the Core Components of Logical Framework
4.0 Sample Logical Framework Matrix for a Reproductive Health
Programme
1.0 Aim and Objective
Aim
To provide an
opportunity for the participants to examine the Logical Framework
Approach as a planning, monitoring and evaluation tool.
Objectives
By the end of
the session, participants will have:
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Examined the elements of LFA tool and how they are used
o
Explored the use of LFA as planning, monitoring & evaluation tool
o
Developed a logframe matrix
o
Explored benefits and limitations of LFA
o
The logical
framework is a set of related concepts
o
It describes in an
operational way in matrix form the most important aspects of an
operation
o
It provides a way of
checking whether the operation has been well designed.
o
Facilitates improved
monitoring and evaluation.
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Objectively verifiable indicators |
Sources of verification |
Assumptions |
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General Objective
(Goal) |
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Project purpose |
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Expected results(output) |
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Activities |
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Input |
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o
The components of
the framework include: overall objectives (goal) project purpose and
results (outputs) verifiable indicators and assumptions.
o
The logical
framework can be prepared in form of diagrams and wall charts.
o
It helps structure
discussions and gives a clearer view of what is under discussion
before and during the project planning
o
It is thus a tool
for understanding the purpose of the project, the strategy to
achieve it and the means deployed.
o
The same logical
framework is used as a point of reference during monitoring missions
and evaluation, to analyse the operation’s results and impact.
Goal
This is the
general objective of the project. The objective goal specifies
the benefits, which the beneficiaries will enjoy as a result of
the project.
Purpose/Objectives
The purpose
expresses the action that the target group will take in order to
bring about the desired change. The Project Purpose often describes
a change in the target group's behaviour, resulting from its use of
the services or products provided by the project.
Outputs
(expected results)
These are the
goods/services/products, which the project makes available to the
target group
are described. These are the responsibility of the project.
Activities
They are all
the steps, which the project takes to provide the various goods,
services and
products.
Objectively
Verifiable Indicators (OVIs)
These are
statements used to depict what shall indicate accomplished purpose,
objectives and results. OVIs should be SMART and are neither
positive nor negative. They help in measuring, observing and
counting and are used in monitoring and evaluating the project.
Defining OVIs:
a)
Specify for each result the project purpose and overall
objectives that is; the quantity (how much); the quality (what); the
target group (who); the time period (starting when and for how long;
the place (where)* indicators concerning the overall objectives
tend to be more qualitative than those applicable to the project
purpose and the results, which have quantitatively measurable
components.
b)
Check whether the indicator or indicators describe the overall
objective, purpose or results accurately. If not, other indicators
should be added or new ones found.
c)
Care should be taken to ensure that the OVIs for the project
purpose –‘the projects, centre of gravity’ do in practice
incorporate the notion of sustainable benefits for the target group.
NOTE: OVIs are the targets we are aiming for in quantitative terms.
The easy way to understand OVIs is to break them into their
component parts/the goal, purpose and outputs all have their own
OVIs.
Sources (Means)
of verification (MOVs)
These are
tangible entities that provide needed information where OVIs are to
be found. They help to provide evidence of the existence of OVIs.
How to identify MOVs:
a)
Decide sources of verification are needed to obtain the information
on OVIs;
b)
Identify which sources are to be collected, processed and kept
within the project and which outside (existing sources);
c)
Check sources outside the project to ensure that; their
form/presentation is appropriate; they are specific enough; they are
reliable; they are accessible (where and when); the cost of
obtaining the information is reasonable.
NOTE: replace
OVIs for which no suitable source can be found by others. MOV’s are
the methods that will be used to measure OVIs. The OVIs box next to
activities in the LFA grid is usually reserved for writing in costs
and resources that will be used to implement activities. OVIs form
an important component of monitoring and evaluation.
Means and Costs
(Inputs)
These are
physical and non-physical inputs that facilitate implementation of a
project. They also include human resources and virtual aspects such
as opportunity, demand and access etc. They also include time and
financial resources.
Establishing
means and costs: work out human, material and financial means
necessary to carry out the planned activities under each result;
work out human, material and financial means needed for management
and support activities not included in the log-frame; calculate the
cost of resources thus established and shared among the financing
partners and prepare the total budget.
Assumptions
(Risks)
These are
conditions that exist beyond the real of control in a project.
The conditions
threaten the potential for achieving the project purpose.
Identification
of Assumptions
a)
Identify in the hierarchy of objectives-those not covered by the
objective tree, by the selected strategy but are important for the
success of the object:
i)
Place them as external factors tat the appropriate level of the
log-frame.
ii)
Identify other external factors not included in the hierarchy, which
must be fulfilled to achieve the overall objective, project purpose
and the results.
iii)
Identify necessary pre-conditions, which have to be met in order to
start with project activities.
b)
Assess the importance of the external factors by using the
assessment chart depending on the conclusions; take out the external
factor (almost certainly); include the external factor as an
assumption (likely); Redesign the project.
c)
Check the interventions logic and assumptions on completeness
beginning with the pre-conditions to see whether the intervention
logic is indeed logical and overlooks nothing.
Identifying
Pre-conditions:
conditions which affect the project but which the project management
cannot control;
a) Project
management makes assumptions about the potential risks.
b) The risks
and assumptions relate to the goal, purpose, outputs and activities
c). The
risks and assumptions link activities to outputs and outputs to
purpose and purpose to goal.
d)
Acknowledging risks involved enables us to make contingency plans.
NOTE: ‘Killer
assumptions’- A risk that has a high likelihood of occurring and
stops the project in its tracks. When a killer assumption is
identified during the planning process it is time to go to the
drawing board and rethink the project.
Conclusion
The LFA does
not replace participatory work with communities. it is simply a way
of describing a project once all discussions and planning have taken
place and can help with planning because it encourages thinking
through aspects of the project. LFA is not cast in stone. It is a
management tool to help us think through all components of a project
to ensure no key issues have been left out.
LRA has its
strengths:
1. Establishing
the practical limits of project management responsibility.
2. Identifying
the project planning assumptions in explicit and operational terms.
1.
Permiting a clearer separation between manageable interests and
those factors, which appear to be beyond control of the project
management team.
2.
Providing both initial goals and final results.
3.
Helping in evaluating a project. By explicitly identifying how the
project is to be evaluated, the decision-makers can be realistic
estimates of project outcomes and can identify problems, which might
be encountered.
Logical
Framework has its limitations too:
1. It assumes a
linear causal sequence, which is an unlikely simplification of the
relationship among various project components and elements in the
environment.
2. It gives no
guidance on equitable income distribution, employment opportunities,
access to resources, popular participation in decision-making,
proven strategies and techniques, cost and feasibility of
replication and assumptio
