How to Develop a Logic Model

Introduction
What is a Logic Model?
Logic models are program planning tools that define the inputs, outputs, outcomes of a
program in order to explain the thinking behind program design and show how specific
program activities lead to desired results. Inputs include the resources, contributions, and
investments that go into a program; outputs are the activities, services, events and
products that reach the program’s primary audience; and outcomes are the results or
changes related to the program’s intervention that are experienced by the primary
audience.
Identifying inputs, outputs, and outcomes helps to answer questions like:

• What resources are required to successfully carry out the program?

• What is the program manager going to do to make sure the program has an
impact on the identified problem?
• Who makes up the primary audience that the program is trying to engage?
• What is the ultimate goal of the program?
Why Develop a Logic Model?
Defining inputs, outputs, and outcomes early in program planning ensures a deliberate flow
of activity to results. Logic models are visual tools that can help programs create action
plans for activities. They also help program implementers see the way in which the
individual pieces fit into larger program objectives and goals.
Logic models are also helpful for keeping track of program activities, including both
achievements and issues that arise during the life of the program. Other reasons to create a
logic model include:

External Program
Program Planning
Communication Evaluation

Testing logic behind a program to

Explaining what a Defining
ensure nothing was overlooked
program will "success" for a
achieve program
Ensuring stakeholder involvement
in program planning stages
 Getting buy-in Tracking
from stakeholders program
progress
Explaining steps
and time needed to Flexibility to
achieve desired revise program
results based on
feedback

Who should develop a logic model?

A logic model should be developed by the research staff in close collaboration with
program staff and any government or NGO counterparts who are designing the program
and have clear knowledge and understanding of the program goals and objectives.

When should a logic model be developed?

A logic model is developed at the beginning of SBCC programs so it can be used to guide the
program and ensure that everyone agrees on and understands the program's objectives
prior to beginning any activities. Donors, partners, and program managers need to have the
same understanding of the program from the beginning and throughout the program.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is designed primarily for program managers or personnel who are not trained
researchers themselves but who need to understand the rationale and process of
conducting research. This guide can help managers to support the need for research and
ensure that research staff have adequate resources to conduct the research that is needed
to be certain that the program is evidence based and that results can be tracked over time
and measured at the end of the program.

Learning Objectives
After completing the steps in the logic model guide, the team will:

1. Identify basic elements of a program logic model

2. Understand how to create a simple version of a logic model

Estimated Time Needed

Developing a logic model can often be done in one day if the team has identified and agreed
on the problem.

Steps
Step 1: Identify the Problem
The problem being addressed by the program needs to be well defined so that all program
staff and stakeholders working on the program have the same definition of the problem.
This ensures that everyone agrees on the program’s objectives prior to beginning any
activities. Existing sources of data such as recent DHS surveys will provide information on
key health issues among the population. It is also a good idea to consult key stakeholders,
government officials, or refer to the national strategic plan for the health area the program
addresses.

The logic model should include a description of the problem and who it affects most. For
example:

High maternal mortality rate (in target

PROBLEM
country, region, or province)

Women of reproductive age (in target

WHO IS MOST
country, region, or province)
AFFECTED BY PROBLEM

Step 2: Determine the Key Program Inputs

When determining the resources needed for a successful SBCC program, carefully consider
key areas such as human resources, office supplies, and field resources.

It often helps to create two columns of inputs: one that lists things that are needed (e.g.,
office space, computers and other electronic equipment, staff, volunteers) and another that
outlines wish list items, or things that would be helpful but are not critical for a successful
program. Program staff and stakeholders should be consulted for additional suggestions on
what inputs will be needed.
Example inputs:
 Necessities List Wish List

Human Resources

1. Two staff members to manage

program
1. One support staff member
2. Community volunteers

Office Supplies

1. Well-designed website
1. Internet connection
2. Camera to take photos in
2. Two laptops
community

Field Resources

1. GPS locator for mapping

1. Transportation to community sites
community

Step 3: Determine Key Program Outputs

Determine the actions program staff will take (outputs) to make sure the program succeeds
(e.g. activities, services, events and products created). When determining outputs, keep in
mind the primary audience(s) the team identified. The program should take actions based
on their characteristics and seek to engage these audiences in its actions.
A good way to identify outputs is to create a list of activities or actions that will take place
to achieve program objectives. For example, if the program will conduct trainings or create
new materials, think about the resources that might be needed to complete these activities.
Then, review the inputs list to make sure it includes the resources needed for each activity
on the outputs list.

Outputs may sound like the results of programmatic work, but they actually represent a
sign of progress. Outputs describe the process that will help the program achieve its goals.

For example, the program goal might be to increase pregnant women’s opinions of
delivering in a health facility. To reach that goal, the program can hold trainings for leaders
of women’s organizations (as in the example below). Training the leaders is the process
and the number of trained leaders who engage successfully in the community is an
indicator of progress towards that goal. Indicators that measure progress are often called
process indicators. More information about process indicators can be found in Step 7.

Example Outputs:

Activities Audience(s)

Conduct workshops with doctors,

midwives, and nurses on the use and Doctors, nurses, and
importance of life-saving commodities midwives
like oxytocin and misoprostol

Contact women’s organizations in the

Women’s
area and schedule trainings for
organizations
community educators

Women of
Distribute pamphlets and brochures on
reproductive age,
the warning signs of pregnancy that
traditional birth
require attention from a health facility
attendants

Step 4: Identify Program Outcomes

Determine the ultimate program goals, or outcomes. In other words, what is the program
going to change or achieve?
It is helpful to split outcomes into short-term, mid-term, and long-term so that it is easier to
recognize progress over time. It is unrealistic to expect immediate success changing a
particular behavior over a few months, but fast progress can be made when training
community leaders or increasing interest in the program among community members.

Long-term outcomes should closely mirror the ultimate solution to the problem described
in Step 1. The short-term and mid-term outcomes should follow logically from the
resources that were described as inputs (Step 2) in addition to the primary audiences and
actions described as outputs (Step 3).

If program inputs and outputs will not result in the desired outcomes, then it may be
necessary to rethink the logic behind the program. However, the program manager might
be too involved in the program to see that a step is missing in the program logic. For this
reason, it is important to have several other staff members contribute to the development
of the logic model. Additionally, defining external or outside factors as described below
in Step 6 might help restructure the logic and account for changes in the program design.
Example Outcomes:

Short-term Mid-term Long-term

Increased number of
women in the
Increased
community are
proportion of
aware that giving
women give birth in Decreased maternal
birth in a health
a facility with a mortality rate.
facility increases
trained health
their chances of a
provider.
positive birth
outcome.

To track the progress of outcomes, there should be a starting point or a baseline (e.g.
baseline survey data) for the areas that need to be improved. For example, if the program is
trying to decrease maternal mortality, it is important to know what the current maternal
mortality rate is for the region or country in which activities will be implemented. More
discussion of tracking outcomes can be found in Step 7 and the How to Develop Indicators
guide.
Step 5: Create a Logic Model Outline
After all of the inputs, outputs, and outcomes have been defined, they can be put together to
form an outline of the logic model. The example below shows how this can be arranged.

Inputs Outputs Outcomes

Program Short-, Mid-, and

Activities Audience
Investment Long-term Goals

What problem is
What resources
What do the program trying
are needed for the What population
Question program staff to address? What
program to be needs to be engaged?
need to do? is the ultimate
successful?
goal?

Staff, office space, Conduct

Women of Short-term:
technology, trainings,
Example reproductive age, their Increase
volunteers, recruit
husbands, community awareness of
materials volunteers
 Inputs Outputs Outcomes

elders, midwives, benefits of giving

doctors, TBAs birth in a facility
Mid-term: More
women give birth
with a trained
provider
Long-term: Reduce
maternal mortality
rate

Step 6: Identify External Influencing Factors

Programs and interventions are always influenced by external or outside factors. When
creating a logic model it is important to identify factors that might help or prevent the
program from becoming a success.

What to consider:

• Environment/Setting - The setting in which the program will operate is very

important. For example, for a campaign encouraging women to seek prenatal
care, will rural residents be able to get to health facilities or do midwives need
to travel directly to women? This will affect the resources needed and the
audiences that should be targeted to achieve short- and long-term program
goals. Information about the environment in which the program will be
implemented can be gathered through a rapid assessment or formative
research before the program begins.
• Other programs - If there are other organizations/programs currently
operating in the program area, someone from that program might be able to
help identify these external influences. An added benefit is that building
relationships with other organizations can help to identify future collaboration
opportunities.
• Influences - Consider the influences needed to achieve the desired impact. Are
there particular people in the community/region/country that should be
engaged? Who would be most helpful in getting program messages across? Is
there stigma associated with the activities that are planned?
After identifying all of these individual components, the inputs, outputs, and outcomes can
be visually organized in a diagram like the one below, shown as an example only.
Step 7: Identify Program Indicators
While other guides such as How to Develop Indicators will explain how to develop more
detailed program indicators, it is important to start thinking about them now. Partners in
the community and key stakeholders can help design a program, but the program manager
is ultimately responsible for its success and for reporting results to the donor.
As the basic outline for the program’s logic model is developed, it is important to ask “how
many?” for each output. For example, how many training workshops will be held in the
next 6 months? How many community connections will be made? How many volunteers
will be recruited? Once realistic and achievable numbers are decided on for each item,
these numbers will become the program’s process indicators.
The goals set for short-, mid- and long-term outcomes will serve as outcome
indicators. These indicators will focus more on what the program is trying to achieve
rather than how it is being achieved. For example, how many more health providers have
used a life-saving maternal health commodity such as misoprostol or oxytocin in the past
year? How many more women are coming to a health facility for prenatal care or childbirth
than before the program started?

Conclusion
Logic models are a useful visual tool that can help outline the intended activities and
results of a program. They clarify program goals and objectives and help stakeholders and
program staff see how program inputs will lead to the overall strategic objective. The logic
model also provides a platform for discussing external factors that can affect a program’s
success and helps guide the creation of monitoring indicators. See below for an example of
a completed logic model and a blank template that can be printed and put to use.

For more related information on logic models and other monitoring and evaluation
activities for SBCC programming, please see How to Develop Indicators and How to
Develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. The Health COMpass also has other related
resources that can provide more help in designing social and behavior change
communication programs.
Templates
Logic Model Template
Program Inputs and Outputs Template

Samples
Logic Model for Maternal Mortality

Tips & Recommendations

• The steps made towards achieving program goals are not only important to
the program manager and staff, they are also important to donors, the
community the program serves, and those who might want to work on similar
programs in the future. So, make sure to document program steps as they
occur during implementation. It is much easier to document them as the
program progresses then to try to remember them all after it is finished!
• The wish list created in Step 1 might include connections programs need to
make with important people in the community, region, or country.

Glossary & Concepts

• Inputs include the resources, contributions, and investments that go into a
program
• Outputs are the activities, services, events and products that reach the
program’s primary audience
• Outcomes are the results or changes related to the program’s intervention
that are experienced by the primary audience
• Stakeholders are those who are affected by, have a direct interest in or are
somehow involved with the health problem.
• Process Indicators track how the implementation of the program is
progressing. They help to answer the question, “Are activities being
implemented as planned?”
• Outcome Indicators track how successful program activities have been at
achieving program goals. They help to answer the question, “Have program
activities made a difference?”
Resources and References
References
Prevention by Design. Logic Model Tip Sheet. Retrieved
from: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~pbd/pdfs/logicmodelstip.pdfhttp://socrates.berkeley
.edu/~pbd/pdfs/logicmodelstip.pdf.
University of Idaho. Logic Model for Program Planning and Evaluation. Retrieved
from: http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edcomm/detail.asp?IDnum=798
Sage Publications. Creating Program Logic Models. Retrieved
from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-
data/23938_Chapter_3___Creating_Program_Logic_Models.pdf
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Logic Models. Retrieved
from: http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/state_programs/pdf/logic_models.pdf
University of Wisconsin - Extension. Program Development and Evaluation. Logic
Model. Retrieved
from:http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/state_programs/pdf/logic_models.pdf http://www.u
wex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html