Module 2: Linking M&E to Project Design

Welcome to Module 2 of Planning for Monitoring and Evaluation! In this module,

we will be reviewing the project design process using a tool called a logical
framework, or logframe.

In the last module, you learned that there are six steps to creating an M&E plan.
Today, you are going to do step one:
Know your project.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this module, you will learn how to:
 Describe the components of a logframe
 Explain how the logframe serves as the foundation for M&E activities
 Assess whether activities will lead to desired effects
 Identify risks and assumptions that could disrupt a project
KEY TERMS
Here are a few important words that you will use this week.
 Logframe (Logical Framework)
A tool for project design. A logframe describes:
 The project’s activities
 The project’s short-term and long-term goals
 How progress towards goals will be measured
 Risks that might prevent you from reaching your goals
 Inputs
These are the resources that go into your project. Examples include:
 money
 activity space
 an expert’s time
 Outputs
These are the products or services that your project makes. Examples
include:
 homes built
 loans given
 workshops held
 Outcomes
These are the positive effects of your project. Examples include:
  participants learning new skills
 the rate of an illness going down
 Impact
This is the large positive change that you hope your project will create for
the world. Examples include:
 improving the health of a target population
 saving a species from extinction
 Risks
Factors outside of your control that could cause your project to go poorly.
Examples include:
 participants may not be able to get to the workshop
 funds intended for the project may be taken by government officials
 Assumptions
Things that you believe but that are not supported by evidence. Examples
include:
 participants will be allowed to join this activity
 participants who have learned financial skills will want to save
money

Introducing the Logframe

In this module, you will be using a logframe to design your project. If you have
already created a logframe for your project, take it out! You can use the
information in this module to check that your logframe is ready to use. If you
have not made one yet, we will show you how to do it.

The Project Summary: A Logical Flow

The project summary describes the activities that your project will do and the
effects that you hope those activities will have.

A good way to read a project summary is to start at the bottom and to read up.
At the bottom, you see the inputs: the things that go into a project, like money or
teaching. This part is also often labeled “activities.” As you go up the logframe,
you see the effects that those inputs will have. The effects get bigger as you go
up the project summary. At the very top, you see the impact: the main, long-term
effect that the project is intended to have. This is called the impact. Some people
also call this the goal or result.

You can compare inputs to a pebble dropped in a pond. The outputs, outcomes,
and impact of the project are the ripples in the water that the pebble creates. As
you travel further away from the pebble, the ripples get wider and wider. In the
same way, as you travel further up a project summary, the effects get larger and
larger.

A well-written project summary has a logical flow. Each level of a logframe

causes the level above it. In other words, IF the level below happens, THEN the
level above will happen as well. Let’s take a look at a simple example to see how
this works.

For this example, let’s pretend that, instead of solving world hunger, or helping
the environment, you are designing a project to get a new job. “Getting a job” is
your big, long-term goal: the impact of your project.
So, you think of an activity that might lead to getting a new job: taking a course
at your local university. "Taking a course" is your input. You also think about the
steps that will lead from your input to your impact: the outputs and outcomes.
The output of your course is that you will have new knowledge. The outcome of
your course is that you will perform better during job applications.

Take a moment to consider the steps of your project. Does your project have a
logical flow? Well, let’s consider how each level leads to the one above it. We can
do this by putting pieces of our project summary together into if/then statements
like these:
IF you take a course, THEN you will have new knowledge.
IF you have new knowledge, THEN you will perform better in job applications.
IF you perform better in job applications, THEN you will get a new job.
Notice how each if/then statement combines two levels of the logframe. It first
states the lower level, then states the level above.

These sentences make sense, so you are off to a good start. Your project
summary has a logical flow. Creating if/then statements is a great way to check a
project summary for logical flow. You will practice this technique later on in this
lesson.

The Role of Evidence

Making sure that your logical flow makes sense is a great place to start.
However, a really strong logical flow does not just make sense: it has evidence to
support it. Remember, thinking like an M&E expert means using data to make
decisions.

Let’s take a look at one of the parts of our example: “IF you acquire knowledge,
THEN you will perform better on job applications.”

This might sound good, but is it really true? It would be better if we had some
evidence to prove it.

For example, what if you read some job postings? You might notice that many job
postings require candidates to know about a certain topic. If the course that you
were going to take taught about this topic, that would be strong evidence in
support of your plan! If, on the other hand, the knowledge that you were
planning on acquiring was not mentioned in job postings, you might reconsider
whether taking a course is the right choice.

If you have already prepared a logframe, take a look through your project
summary. Do you have evidence to support your logical flow? If you do, be sure
to write it down! Donors and partners love to see evidence indicating that your
activities will lead to your desired results.

If you do not have any evidence, make a note: you have made an assumption
here. An assumption is a belief that is not supported by evidence. This is a spot
where your biases might interrupt your work. We will return to assumptions and
biases in the next section of this module. Now would be a good time to look for
academic studies or reports from similar projects that support your logical flow.