Logical frameworks can be overwhelming, primarily because it seems that every donor and organization uses a different version. The differences between logical frames from organization to organization is usually just terminology. The vertical and horizontal logic remains the same regardless of the terms used to describe each level.
The logical framework matrix identifies and communicates the logical relationships in a project by tracking the vertical and horizontal reasoning that connects the levels of the matrix. The relationship between the elements on each level of the logical framework illustrates the vertical logic that will result in the achievement of the project’s ultimate goal. While there are many versions of project logical frameworks, the Project DPro subscribes to a four-level logical framework model that includes the following deliverables:
- Activities are actions taken through which inputs (financial, human, technical, material and time resources) are mobilized to produce the deliverables (training, constructing, etc.) of a project for which staff can be held accountable and which, when aggregated, produce outputs.
- Outputs are tangible and intangible deliverables resulting from project activities. They include products, goods, services and changes (e.g., people trained with increased knowledge and skill; quality roads built) that aggregate and contribute to outcomes.
- Outcomes are what the project expects to accomplish at the beneficiary level (e.g., use of
knowledge and skills in actual practice over time; transportation of goods on constructed roads over time) and contribute to population-level changes (reduced malnutrition, improved incomes, improved yields, etc.) that aggregate and help bring about accomplishment of goals and impact over time. - Goals are the highest-level desired end results or impacts (transformation, sustainability, livelihood, well-being, etc.) to which the project contributes (the ultimate objective in many logical frameworks). An example of this would be a sector-level goal or program level outcome.
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