Case on Logical frame work:

Read the case carefully and develop the logframe or the project design matrix.

This is an example to help you understand how the Logical Framework Approach can be used to link organization strategy to program and project planning. We have called the organization in the example XYZ.

XYZ is an NGO that is involved in community development. XYZ was set up to offer practical development assistance to communities. It is particularly concerned about the more isolated communities where poverty is threatening the lives of people. Much of its work so far has been providing information and advice. However, many in the organization feel this has been too ad hoc. They believe XYZ has been responding to requests from all over the place rather than working consistently with communities so that they can make a significant contribution to helping communities develop. The staffs have decided they need to rethink their organizational strategy. This is how they went about it.

They prepared for the planning process and worked out who should be involved. They decided to include key contacts from communities they had provided ad hoc assistance to in the past. One of these was Village ABC in the Central Ethiopia. After XYZ had prepared for the planning process by analyzing the key stakeholders to identify who should be involved and how and whose needs, interests and concerns should be prioritized, they began the planning process.

They analyzed the needs of these isolated communities by working with the community organizations from a number of communities, including Village ABC, to collect information on the problems and issues they face. They then analyzed the information and needs identified through this research by:

• Analyzing the stakeholders involved and specifically the perceived needs and interests of their target community - the most impoverished members of the community who are mostly women.
• Analyzing the key problems and issues to understand their causes and effects.
• Analyzing their own experience of development work and what they have learned.
• Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of their organization and what it was capable of achieving and what it was not.

They had some fairly hot debates before they came to agreement in each area of the analysis. Once they had done this, they spent a fairly long time discussing what their goal and purpose should be. The needs of these communities seemed so complex and their own capacity to make a difference seemed so limited in comparison. Their discussions on the causes and effects of the key problems and issues had, however, made the members of community organizations feel energized. They assured XYZ that if they had access to reliable information, a concrete project that the community could work on immediately and support for ongoing mobilization and organization of the community they could make good progress. The analysis of stakeholders had also enabled everyone to see that there were also a number of other groups they could draw on for assistance, both in government and outside.

At first many staff argued that the purpose of their work should be to ensure that the people living in isolated communities have the resources necessary for sustainable social and economic development. In the end they came to the conclusion that, although they would like to have this as the purpose of their organization, they could not realistically achieve this on their own. This would have to be the longer-term goal to which XYZ could only realistically make a contribution.

The goal that was finally agreed was, "The people in isolated rural communities have access to the resources they need for sustainable rural and economic development."

The purpose they decided on was, "People living in isolated rural communities have access to reliable, relevant information and advice and a centre around which to organize in order to access their rights as citizens and improve their social and economic situation."

XYZ's own strengths and capabilities were really related to providing information and assistance. XYZ recognized that, if their contribution was to be useful and relevant to the communities, the communities would need to be a key partner in the process of identifying what information was most needed. They also believed that, if their work was to be sustainable, they must be able to eventually hand over the advice centre to the full control of the community. In order to have any serious impact themselves, they would need to be able to move on to assisting other communities establish advice centers while ensuring that those they had worked with continued to have access to information on request. The communities' own strengths and capabilities would be crucial. In the stakeholder analysis, they had recognized that the communities had many resources to draw on but that the community organizations were often still too small, fragmented and new. An advice centre would be useful as a basis to unite community organizations and to mobilize community resources and assistance from government and other potential partners.

This had been a difficult and messy discussion but at the end of it, all those involved felt excited at the possibilities. Members of XYZ's staff had been able to work out differences of opinion on their role in development work. The representatives of the community organizations felt far more comfortable. They had been unsure of XYZ and what its agenda was. Now they felt they knew them better, understood their intentions and felt part of the process. They had found the process of collecting and analyzing the information useful. It had given them new ideas on what they could be doing with XYZ and on their own to improve their lives.

They then moved on to deciding what objectives they would need to set to ensure they achieved this purpose. They used their analysis, particularly of XYZ's own capacity as an organization, to develop the following concrete objectives.

• The systems, processes and contacts necessary to ensure access to reliable advice are in place at our offices within one month and updated on the basis of needs identified by the pilot projects.
• Pilot projects are completed and handed over in Village ABC and .....(they named 4 other rural villages) within two years.
• 10 rural communities are identified and projects completed within 4 years.
• A basic information file covering all relevant legalization, regulations and services and including copies of forms is available for use within four months.
• All staffs have undertaken the necessary self-development work based on identified gaps in their skills and knowledge within two months.

This is what their summary of the different levels of objectives and the other three aspects of planning (indicators, sources of information and important assumptions) of their organizational strategy looked like. Based on the above information, complete part of the (insert the goal, purpose, objectives, activities and resources in the following table) the log frame or the project design matrix presented below.

Objectives hierarchy/narrative summary	Objectively verifiable indicators	Source of verification/ Information	Important Assumptions
Goal :
Purpose:
Objectives:
Activities:	Resources (Insert here some of the resources you think relevant for activities that you have identified):