LogFrame – A logical framework

In this episode, Ricardo talks about the Logical Framework (LogFrame), interesting tool created by USAID, a United States government agency focused on humanitarian projects. More at https://usaidlearninglab.org/learning-guide/logical-framework

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Episode transcript

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Hello everybody welcome to come to the five minutes BM podcast today. I like to talk to you about the LogFrame or the Logical Framework for me, most of the people that are not the link up to the development sector, or do you mean many Teri sector LogFrame probably is a new word for You or a new way to the LogFrame is a very simple and practical too. And the reason why I'm repeating a lot in this podcast is that the LogFrame was something like a foundation for many of the concepts that we talk today about a jail, about scrum, about program management, benefit management, how to measure intangibles, and they did this and they developed this in the sixties.

And USAID the United States agency for international development, develop this on the sixties, exactly to address their problem. That it's basically the key problems we have in all project management arena. It's a vague planning. So it's lack of proper and clear planning, unclear management responsibilities. So it's very hard for us to understand very challenging evaluation process. It's very hard for them, us to establish a cow's and consequence relationship in the projects we develop.

So we decided to build a methodology that that helps people to design, to monitor and to evaluate development projects. And no, of course this was mainly use it in development projects. But today, if you see the concept I'm talking now, you can use pretty much everything in a very, very simple way because it's well designed. It is very objective. It can be evaluated. It's very clear the instructor, and this is good, can be used it with many other places, planning tools like problem, three analysis, stakeholder analysis.

And it's a very helpful too, because the product is what we call the LogFrame metrics. It's a very, very simple one or two page document. So it's something simple that is streamlined the, the communication process and it reflects a very deep and solid analysis. It's not because I'm saying it a one page document that it's something easy to be done because it demonstrate their knowledge and a very solid and deep analysis.

And basically if I can teach you how to do the LogFrame metrics, of course, if you put the word LogFrame template on your browser, you can find hundreds, if not thousands of templates on that, but basically all LogFrame, it's basically a four by four matrix underlines. You have four lines. The first line is goal. The second outcomes, the third outputs and the fourth activities.

If you think in a WBS, you, we are going from the top to the bottom. First, the goal of your project, then the outcomes, the main results. Then the outputs is the operational output. Two generate the outcome's and last but not least, which kind of activity should you develop to fulfill the outputs. So you go from the top to the very detailed aspect of the activities.

This are the four lines of the, LogFrame not talking about the four columns. The first column is a summary or a description. So the intersection between summery and goal mean, what is the summary of your goal? If it's summary and the activity, what is the summary and a description of the activity or the activities you must do this second column is indicate or column they indicate or column you say, how do you think the plan to measure the summary you want to achieve?

So when you put an output, how will you can indicate that you produce it, the output, and this drive us to the third column, its means of verification. So you have an indicator which kind of measurement, which kind of ruins, and you will use to verify that they, we cater is the alignment to the description you want. And the last column it's risk and assumptions, the risk and assumption column it's, which kind of assumption or which kind of risks you will avoid.

The fit's a trap to generate that thing. So and give you a very, very simple example. So let's suppose that in your summary, you decide a 10% and increase in the number of grade five or six primary study continue to a high school in three years. So you have students in the primary school that you want to track them. If they go to the high school, then on the indicator, you say a person's of grades five and six continued to high school means for verification, you will take the number of primary schools and take the number of high schools.

Check that out enrollment's and compared them So look how it's clear then let's suppose on the same, LogFrame one of the activities you decide to do. It's very important. I said four lines, but one of the lines like activity can drill down to a sale, the activity. So its not one to one. So let's suppose you decide that one of the activities is to run five reading summer camps, each of with a hundred grade five and six students who have low reading proficiency.

So which kind of indicator you can measure, you can put number of summer camps run. And then how do you plan to check that? And the number of summer comes rum, the records of the summer camps, registration, which panel for risk or assumption, the assumption you were making. It's the parents of children with low reading, proficient, they are interested and they will enroll that the kids in the camps. So a lot, this is the way and it's very, very important how the law of Framework take the first column, run five reading summer camps in a second, if I do five reading summer camps.

And I'm sure that the part is we will be interested. I we'll have a knelt. Boot is a 505 grades attendance. And with higher capacity on reading, this will generate an outcome it's to improve the reading proficiency. That will help me the goal of keeping them at the school. So this example, I'm not sure. And it's on the website, www.todayfordev.org.

So just today to give you an example, so it's a very good, an interesting cow's and concepts, the points relationship. So we don't know, it's a very, very interesting tool. And at the end or whatever I want to share with you is that I'm not saying that LogFrame, we will save your life and will do everything, but its one more two in your Swiss army knife that together with borders will help you to communicate better your project and you to design and monitor better your project.

So take a look on the web. I think it's very WARF to understand or at least to see if it could be valuable to the work you do in the projects. I hope you enjoy this podcast. See you next week with another five minutes PM. Podcast.

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