THE LOGICAL

FRAMEWORK
APPROACH
DECISION MATRIX
Edbert P. Solano, DMD,DDPH, MAED, FICD
What is LFA?
■ LFA is a systematic planning procedure for complete project cycle
management
■ It is a problem solving approach which takes into account the views of
all stakeholders
■ It also agrees on the criteria for project success and lists the major
assumptions
History of LFA
■ Developed in response to poor planning and
monitoring of Development projects
■ The first logical framework developed for USAID at
the end of 1960’s
■ GTZ was responsible for the development of ZOPP
or Zielorientierte Projekt Planung
■ NORAD made a significant contribution in 1990
with their handbook
Narrative Verifiable Means of Important
Summary Indicators Verification Assumptions
(OVI) (MOV)

GOAL

PURPOSE

OUTPUTS

ACTIVITIES Inputs
KEY FEATURES OF LOGFRAME MATRIX

The LOGFRAME MATRIX is a participatory Planning,

Monitoring & Evaluation tool whose power depends on the
degree to which it incorporates the full range of views of
intended beneficiaries and others who have a stake in the
programme design. It is a tool for summarizing the key
features of a programme and is best used to help
programme designers and stakeholders
Summary of the logical framework
Intervention Logic
■ Goal
– The higher level objective towards which the project is
expected to contribute (mention target groups)
■ Purpose
– The effect which is expected to be achieved as the result
of the project.
■ Outputs
– The results that the project management should be able to
guarantee (mention target groups)
■ Activities
– The activities that have to be undertaken by the project in
order to produce outputs.
Cause-effect relationship among objectives at
several levels

Goal

Purpose

Outputs

under full control of

Activities
project management

Inputs beyond control of

project management
Summary of the logical framework
Assumptions and Preconditions
■ Assumptions
– Important events, conditions or decisions outside the
control of the project which must prevail the goal.
– Important events, conditions or decisions outside control of
the project management necessary for the achievement of
the purpose.
– Important events, conditions or decisions outside control of
the project management necessary for the production of
outputs.
– Important events, conditions, decisions outside control of
the project management necessary for the start of the
project.
Summary of the logical framework
Objectively Verifiable Indicators (OVI)
■ Goal
– Measures (direct or indirect) to verify to what extent the goal
is fulfilled.
■ Purpose
– Measures (direct or indirect) to verify to what extent the
purpose is fulfilled.
■ Outputs
– Measures (direct or indirect) to verify to what extent the
outputs are produced.

• Activities (Inputs)
– Goods, people and services necessary to
undertake the activities
Summary of the logical framework
Means of verification (MOV)
■ Goal
– The sources of data necessary to verify status of goal level
indicators.
■ Purpose
– The sources of data necessary to verify status of purpose
level indicators.
■ Outputs
– The sources of data necessary to verify status of output
level indicators.
■ Activities
– The sources of data necessary to verify status of activity
level indicators.
Objectively Verifiable Indicators
■ Indicators must be valid, reliable, precise, cost-effective and
stated independently from other levels.
■ Indicators should make clear how the target group will benefit
from the realisation of outputs.
■ Indicators should be specific in terms of:
– Quality (what?) - Q
– Quantity (how much?) - Q
– Time (when, how long?) - T
– Target Group (who?) - T
– Place (where?) - P
Objectively Verifiable Indicators
■ The process of defining indicators forces us to clarify our
objectives. A good indicator at this level is,
a. Plausible measuring what is important in the project
b. Attributable measuring changes caused by the project
c. Cost-effective involving data that may be collected and
analyzed inexpensively
d. Independent not inherent to the project
e. Targeted how much.., what kind of.., by when
f. Verifiable to reach agreement
Key Features of Logframe Matrix (cont’d)
■ Develop a common understanding of the
expectations of a programme by delineating a
hierarchy of aims;
■ Define indicators of success and establish criteria
for monitoring and evaluation;
■ Define critical assumptions on which the
programme is based; and
■ Identify means of verifying programme
accomplishments
CORE CONCEPT OF LOGFRAME
MATRIX: MEANS AND END LOGIC

The main concept underlying the Logical

Framework is means and end. The better the
means and end linkages between each level of
aims, the better the programme design.

By definition, each programme has a “if-then” or

“means-and-end” logic embedded in it. If we
produce certain results under certain conditions,
then we can expect to achieve certain other
outcomes.
LogFrame-Horizontal logic

Aims measured by indicators through information collected and

presented in specified means of verification
THE LOGIC OF A PROGRAMME: A SET OF
LINKED HYPOTHESES

then GOAL

PURPOSE then
if

then
OUTPUTS
if

ACTIVITIES
if
PLAN DOWNWARDS
Goal
Assumptions

Purpose
Assumptions
Outputs
Assumptions
Activities
Assumptions

AND THEN
Inputs
THINK UPWARDS
THE LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX
Clear statement of:

¨ What we can accomplish (outputs) and

¨ The important results we expect in the short to medium-term (purpose)

and in the long term (goal)
Means of verification

The specific sources from which the status of each of the indicators can
be ascertained
ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS

Assumptions and risks are external conditions that

are outside the control of the programme. The
achievement of aims depends on whether or not
assumptions hold true and the risks do not
materialize.
If cause and effect is the core concept of good
programme design, necessary and sufficient
conditions are the corollary. The sufficient
conditions between the levels in the hierarchy of
aims are the Assumptions. This is the external logic
of the programme.
 Assumptions and Risks (cont’d)

When working on a programme, we make

assumptions about the degree of uncertainty
between different levels of aims. The lower the
uncertainty that certain assumptions will hold true,
the stronger the programme design. Any
experienced manager will agree that the
assumptions - the failing assumptions - can derail
a programme as often as poorly executed outputs.
Assumptions and Risks (cont’d)

Logframe demands that all hypotheses, assumptions

and risks relevant to a programme are made
explicit.
By implication, this then further demands that the
appropriate action is considered (and if necessary
taken) before problems materialise.
– How important are the assumptions
– How big are the risks
– Should the programme be redesigned?
– Should elements of the proposed programme be
abandoned?
ALGORITHM TO ASSESS EXTERNAL FACTORS

Is the external factor important?

Yes No
Will it be realised? Do not include in logical framework
(e.g. as the result of another project by external donor)
Almost certainly Do not include in logical framework
Likely Include in logical framework as Assumption
(fourth column)
Unlikely Is it possible to redesign the country
Programme to influence the external factor?

yes No
The assumption is a “killer” assumption.
Redesign the programme : From a technical point of view the
•add activities and/or results programme is not feasible, unless the
political authority finds a solution to get
•change programme purpose around the assumption or transform it
into an acceptable assumption.
LOGFRAME MATRIX SERVES THE
FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS
■ A tool for planning a logical set of interventions
■ A tool for appraising a Programme document
■ A concise summary of the Programme
■ A tool for monitoring progress made with regard to
delivery of outputs and activities
■ A tool for evaluating impact of Programme outputs,
e.e. progress in achieving purpose and goal.
Thank you.