The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume VII, Number 2, Spring 2001
Issue Topic: Out-of-School Time Issue #2
Spotlight
Logic Model Basics
JuNelle Harris of HFRP outlines the basics of designing logic models.
A logic model is a graphic that lays out the basic components of a program, illustrating how day-to-day program activities are linked to the outcomes the program is working to achieve. The process of creating a logic model allows after school programs to think systematically about what outcomes they hope to achieve and how they plan to achieve them. As a visual, the logic model can be a powerful tool for illustrating a program’s theory of change to program staff, partners, funders, and evaluators. Moreover, the completed model provides a point of reference against which progress towards achievement of desired outcomes can be measured on an ongoing basis.
Step 1: The Purpose of the Logic Model
Construction and use of the logic model will differ according to the needs of individual after school programs. Purposes for logic models include:
- To structure early conversations among program stakeholders about desired outcomes and activities.
- To convince funders that a program is deserving of support because it has a strategic plan for achieving the outcomes it promises.
- To check that existing program activities fit “logically” with expected outcomes.
- To help established programs articulate and clarify their implicit assumptions as an explicit theory of change.
- A framework to guide data collection and evaluation activities.
Programs should use program needs to determine the appropriate scope for the logic model. Will it focus on a specific program component or will it cover the entire program? After school programs that rely on multiple funding streams with different outcomes requirements may want to use the logic model to think about how these outcomes fit together. Or, a program may want to create a logic model focusing only on a particular outcome.
Step 2: Identifying the Components of the Logic Model
Once the appropriate scope of the model has been determined, it is possible to begin to identify its core components:
- Inputs: Plans made, resources used, or collaborations developed to make program implementation possible.
- Activities: Steps taken during implementation of program.
- Short-term outcomes: Measurable changes that occur as a direct result of program activities. These changes should contribute to desired long-term outcomes.
- Long-term outcomes: Changes in individual behavior or community conditions that a program hopes to achieve over time. Like short-term outcomes, these outcomes should be measurable, and as specific as possible.
Existing organizational documents—strategic planning documents, mission statements, grant proposals, work plans, recruitment announcements, public relations materials, training materials, or publications—can be used to identify the specific components of an after school program’s work. If desired long-term outcomes have not yet been identified, the process of constructing a logic model can become an opportunity for program stakeholders to share their expectations of the program and strategically plan to meet them.
Once the core components of the model have been identified, many programs will want to add more detail to better explain the program. The following components can be added:
- Outputs: Goods and services generated by program activities that make short-term outcomes possible, falling between activities and short-term outcomes.
- Contextual variables: Factors that may or may not be under a program’s control but could impact a program’s implementation and or/achievement of its outcomes.
- Intermediate outcomes: Coming after short-term outcomes, these outcomes are important to achieve in order for long-term outcomes to be realized.
- Impacts: Broader-level change that a program hopes to contribute to through achievement of its long-term outcomes, though it is usually impossible to prove that an individual program caused these changes.
Step 3: Drafting the Logic Model Graphic
Once the purpose and components of the logic model have been decided upon, the hard part is over. Now, the logic model graphic can be made by putting program components into boxes and connecting them with arrows that show the relationships between different components. The lines of the logic model should be clean, and its content clear—abbreviations and jargon should be avoided. When a draft of the logic model has been completed, it should be circulated to different program stakeholders to review it for accuracy and readability. The draft should be revised until reviewer feedback is satisfied.
Designing a logic model is just the beginning of a process that includes data collection, evaluation, and program monitoring and reporting.
Based on: Coffman, J. (1999). Learning from logic models: An example of a family/school partnership program. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.
JuNelle Harris, Graduate Research Assistant, HFRP