ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

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INTRODUCTION

The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) is a systematic and management tool which is

part of the project cycle management methodology and it is used to define the main

items of a future project in terms of objectives, results activities and to monitor the

progress. It is used both at design stage for framing the future project and at project

implementation stage for evaluating the level of achievement of the projects objectives

and results.

It is now used by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research which is mandatory.

The approach was adopted by the institute as a means of obtaining an overall project

vision and of determining project goals and objectives. Furthermore the institute uses

the LFA for the following purpose:-

 To make the planning clear (not vague), to have clearly defined objectives that

could be used to monitor and evaluate the success (or failure) of a project;

 To make the management responsibilities clear; and

 To have a good Evaluation process, to have common agreement as to what the

project was really trying to achieve.

Therefore, knowledge of the principles of LFA is essential for all staff involved in the

programming and design as well as the implementation of projects. This Guideline aims

at providing instruction to develop a Logical Framework Matrix-Log frame at the

various, in order to improve both the consistency and quality of project documents.

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 What makes LFA apart from the LFM (log frame?)

There is a clear distinction between the Logical Framework Approach and the Logical

Framework Matrix. The first refers to the steps involved in planning and designing the

project. These steps include a stakeholder analysis, cause-effect analysis, objectives analysis,

and alternatives analysis culminating in the design of the project. The matrix, which

summarizes the final design of the project, usually comprises 16 frames organized under 4

major headings

Before starting with the activity design and the construction of the log frame matrix, it is

important to undertake a structured analysis of the existing situation. LFA incorporates

four main analytical elements to help guide this process:

 Problem Analysis: involves identifying what the main problems are and establishing the

cause and effect relationships which result in, and flow from, these problems (see also

problem and preference ranking, or problem tree analysis as methods for problem

identification).

 Stakeholder Analysis: having identified the main problems and the cause and effect

relationship between them, it is then important to give further consideration to who

these problems actually impact on most, and what the roles and interests of different

stakeholders might be in addressing the problems and reaching solutions.

 Analysis of Objectives: objective trees should be prepared after the problem tree has

been completed and an initial stakeholder analysis (learn more about it starting by

the stakeholder identification factsheet) has been undertaken. This will give an image of

an improved situation in the future.

 Analysis of Strategies: comparison of different options to address a given situation.

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The results of the stakeholder, problem, objectives and strategy analysis are used as the

basis for preparing the Logical Framework Matrix. The Logical Framework Matrix (or

more briefly the log frame) consists of a matrix with four columns and four (or more)

rows, which summarize the key elements of a project plan and should generally, are

between 1 and 4 pages in length. However, this will depend on the scale and complexity

of the project.
How to Prepare the Logical Framework Matrix?
The log frame is a tool used to help strengthen project design, implementation and

evaluation. Although it is constructed during the planning stage of a project, the log

frame is a living document throughout the project’s life cycle.

The log frame
 Help to organize our thinking
 Help to identify weakness in project design
 Ensure key indicators are identified from the start of the project so that
monitoring and evaluation are easier
The logframe enables you to monitor whether your project is on track, measuring results

achieved against what was expected (targets) at regular milestones, and to take action

where required. The logframe should be used regularly to monitor progress throughout

the full project lifetime.

The logframe provides a robust framework for measuring progress at each milestone

and comparing achieved results against those planned. For instance, does the

programme still represent good value for money? This information is used to inform the

project score assigned at the Annual Review.

The logframe is used to measure the overall performance of your project over the

course of its lifetime, by comparing planned and achieved results.

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The logframe can help project evaluations, identifying lessons about what has worked

and not worked, assessing the direct and indirect results of your project and ensuring

greater accountability.

Wherever possible the language used in a logframe should be simple and concise.

Remember that the team who develop the logframe may have changed by the time it

comes to be reviewed so it is important that new people are able to quickly grasp the

main things that the programme is aiming to deliver and how they anticipate these will

lead to change.

Logframes can and should be changed if programmes realise that their original theory

of change needs to be updated and/or if indicators are found to be either over or under

ambitious. Logframes can be changed after an Annual Review. For transparency, any

change should be identified as a specific recommendation of the review. If a significant

downward revision in the results is implied, then any impact on the value for money of

the programme should be assessed. However, if there is a need to make a change at

other times of the year consult with your programme coordinator.

The basic steps involved in developing a project log frame are listed below
First Stage ― TOP DOWN:
Means of
Narrative summary Indicator Assumptions
verification
Goal
Purpose
Output
Activities

Narrative summary
The narrative summary is a brief statement of each of the project’s goals, purposes,

outputs, and activities and inputs

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 Goal:

Starting at the top and using the information from the objective tree write the overall

objective of the project. The overall objective may be beyond the reach of this project

on its own. It is the long term wide spread change which the outcome contributes

towards.

The goal statement should clarify how the research projects will contribute to improving

the lives of the people.

The goal statement is not used as a monitoring tool during the life of the project and it

is meaningless to define milestones and targets for an impact which the projects team

has very little influence on. However, it is good practice to identify indicators and to

track these throughout the life of the project.

Example: Ethiopian institute of agricultural research is a semi autonomous that is

mandated to provide technology/information, multiply early generation seed and

demonstrate and popularize released technologies/information to beneficiaries.

The released technologies/information are expected to contribute to Agro-ecology,

national, food security, export, raw material, job creation, NRM. So the developed

projects goal is expected to be something like “To contribute to improved family food

security, export substitute and the general health of the rive ecosystem”.

Let us take a project entitled “Development of compound feeds to enhance

production and productivity of three candidate culture fish species”. What will be
the goal of this project? “Contribute to the increase in national productivity of
aquaculture”
 Purpose:

It describes the desired outcome that the project will achieve. Outcomes are defined as

‘Effects or behavior changes resulting from project outputs’. This should be clear and

brief. Example: let us take the project again entitled Development of compound feeds

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 to enhance production and productivity of three candidate culture fish species. So

its outcome could be “increased number of fish farmers adopted compound feed”.
 Outputs:
Describe the project intervention strategy. There may be several outputs. Outputs are

what the project aims to accomplish-the specific results for which the project manager

can be held directly accountable.

Example: “Development of compound feeds to enhance production and

productivity of three candidate culture fish species. So its output could be:
“compound feed”.
 Activities:
These are the tasks that are needed to achieve each output. There may be several for

each output. Statements should be brief and with an emphasis on action words.

Examples: “Development of compound feeds to enhance production and

productivity of three candidate culture fish species. So its activities could be.”

1. Formulation and evaluation of compound feed on the growth performance of

grow-out O. niloticus in tanks
2. Formulation and evaluation of feeds on the growth performance and survival rate
of juvenile O. niloticus in tanks
3. Formulation and evaluation of compound feed diet for Juvenile common carp, C.
carpio in tanks
 Inputs:
When required to do so provide additional information, such as the means and costs,

which are needed to carry out these activities. Inputs define what is needed for

implementing the project including personnel, funds, facilities and management

procedures.
So, summary of the first stage matrix will be
Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
Goal: Contribute to the increase in national

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 Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
productivity of aquaculture
Purpose: increased number of fish farmers

adopted compound feed

Output: compound feed
Activities:
1. Formulation and evaluation of compound
feed on the growth performance of grow-out
O. niloticus in tanks
2. Formulation and evaluation of feeds on the
growth performance and survival rate of
juvenile O. niloticus in tanks
3. Formulation and evaluation of compound
feed diet for Juvenile common carp, C. carpio
in tanks

Second Stage ― WORK ACCROSS:

Means of
Narrative summary Indicator Assumptions
verification
Goal
Purpose
Output
Activities

 Objectively verifiable indicators of achievement:

starting from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy of the objectives, begin to work

across the log frame identifying the Objective Verifiable Indicators for measuring the

progress in terms of quantity, quality, target group, place and time.

There are two kinds of indicators:

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 1. Impact indicators:

Related to the overall goal,

helps to monitor the achievement and the impact of the project

Measure the end result of things being done on people.

Assess the fundamental aspects of people’s livelihoods such as their nutrition,

income, health security etc

Example: A project “Development of compound feeds to enhance production

and productivity of three candidate culture fish species” Seeks to contribute
to the increase in national productivity of aquaculture. So, its impact
indicator could be:
Increased productivity of aquaculture from 100kg/m2 by 10% by 2025
The compound feed adopted by 1500 fish farmers
2. Process indicators:
Measure things being done

Help us to know whether inputs are delivered as scheduled, project activities

are being implemented as planned, and outputs are delivered

Example: A project “Development of compound feeds to enhance

production and productivity of three candidate culture fish species” Seeks
to deliver compound feed technologies. So, its process indicators could be:
Two different Compound feeds
Feed for grow out tilapia
Feed for juvenile tilapia
Why do we need indicators?

Define the data to be collected to measure progress

Enable comparison of actual results achieved overtime with planned results

Orient, motivate and guides staffs towards achieving results

Useful to communicate project achievements to stakeholders and funders

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 Enable us to specify realistic targets to judge progress at each level of the log

frame

Indicators tell us not only what accomplishment is necessary, but also what will be

sufficient performance to assure that we can reach the next level of objective. For this

reason, it is best to begin at the end. That is, begin with the higher order objective and

work backwards through the causal chain: Goal then Purpose, then Outputs, then

Activities.

Normally you will state Indicators in terms of Quantity, Quality and Time (and

sometimes place and cost). Putting numbers and dates on indicators is called Targeting.

Although it is often claimed that higher order objectives are not measurable, this is not

true. We may choose not to put targets on them, but we can give all of Goals, Purposes

and Outputs indicators and targets.

Use only the number of indicators required to clarify what must be accomplished to

satisfy the objective stated in the Narrative Summary column.

Begin with the basic indicator. Make sure it is numerically quantifiable and then add the

Quality and then Time dimensions.

(Quantity + Quality + time = QQT)

Example;
Step 1: Basic indicator

Fish yields of fish farmers increased

Step 2: Add Quantity

Fish yields of fish farmers increased by 10 %

Step 3: Quality

Fish yields of fish farmers increased from 100t/y by 10 %

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Step 4: Add time

Fish yields of fish farmers increased from 100t/y by 10 % by the end of 2025

Goal Level Indicators

Goal level indicators often describe the program or sector objectives to which the

project and several others are directed. For this reason, the Goal level indicators may

include targets beyond the scope of the project, such as fishers’ income increased,

where farmer income may be increased by the combined outcomes of several projects.

Improved fish yields may be one necessary condition; but pricing policy, government

subsidies etc. may also be required to hit income levels set at the goal level.

Examples of a Goal statement might be “fish production in lake Hawasa doubled in

2025” or “fishers’ income in west shoa increased”, or “import of compounded feed

reduced.”

Purpose Level Indicators

The project Purpose is the primary reason why you are doing the project. It is why you

are producing Outputs. But the Purpose very often defines the change in behavior of

project beneficiaries, or the changes in the way institutions function as a result of the

project’s Outputs. This makes defining the OVIs at Purpose level difficult and complex.

Nevertheless, the End of Project Status (EOPS), or the OVIs for Purpose, requires QQT

targeting as much as the Outputs do. Getting good clarity on Purpose level targets

makes setting Output targets much easier.

Also when you do a cost/effectiveness assessment of a project design, it is the

relationship between EOPS and costs that you look at, rather than simply Outputs and

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costs. You are recommended to adopt a single Purpose in the Narrative Summary

column.

You should also aim at stating the EOPS simply so that it can be easily grasped. Its

power will depend on its ability to galvanise action on the Outputs so that they result in

the Purpose being achieved. To that end, design the Purpose EOPS so that it is

motivating.
Output Level Indicators
By definition, these indicators establish the terms of reference for the project. If a project

team or contractor is responsible for all the Outputs, then these indicators define the

deliverables for which the contractor is accountable.

Activity Level Indicators
The OVIs at the Activity level are usually the Inputs or the Budget. Often this will look

like a performance budget, since costs can be related directly to activities. Some

agencies enter budget costs using standard categories like Commodities, Technical

Services, Training, etc. The budget statement is usually a summary of resources which

are described in greater detail in an attached document. The cost requirement defined

in these OVIs are used for analysing the cost-effectiveness of the project by comparing

the budget with the EOPS.

Therefore the second stage could be
Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
Goal: Contribute to the Increased productivity of
increase in national aquaculture from 100kg/m2
productivity of aquaculture by 10% by 2025
Purpose: increased number of
The compound feed adopted
fish farmers adopted
by 1500 fish farmers
compound feed
Output: compound feed Three different types of

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 Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
compound feeds
Activities: 1. Compound Feed for the
1. Formulation and evaluation grow out tilapia
of compound feed on the 2. Compound Feed for the
growth performance of
juvenile tilapia
grow-out O. niloticus in
tanks 3. Compound Feed for
2. Formulation and evaluation juvenile common carp
of feeds on the growth
performance and survival
rate of juvenile O. niloticus
in tanks
3. Formulation and evaluation
of compound feed diet for
Juvenile common carp, C.
carpio in tanks

 Sources and means of verification:

The source of verification should be considered and specified at the same time as the

formulation of indicators. This will help to test whether or not the indicators can be

realistically measured at the expense of a reasonable amount of time, money and

effort. The SOV should specify how, who and when the information will be gathered.

Selection of sources of verification

SOV shall be selected considering the complexity and the cost it may incur. As we

choose complex SOVs we incur high cost and vice versa. Take a look at the figure below

for further clarifications.

Cost
Specialized
survey

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Monitoring
report
 Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
Goal: Contribute to the Increased
increase in national productivity of
National CSA annual survey
productivity of aquaculture from
report
aquaculture 100kg/m2 by 10%
by 2025
Purpose: increased number The compound feed
Socio economics survey
of fish farmers adopted adopted by 1500
result/report of EIAR
compound feed fish farmers

Output: compound feed Three different

types of compound Project progress report
feeds
Activities: Compound Feed for
1. Formulation and the grow out tilapia
evaluation of
compound feed on the
Compound Feed for
growth performance of
grow-out O. niloticus in the juvenile tilapia
tanks
2. Formulation and
Compound Feed for Quarter and annual reports of
evaluation of feeds on
the growth juvenile common EIAR
performance and carp
survival rate of juvenile
O. niloticus in tanks
3. Formulation and
evaluation of
compound feed diet for
Juvenile common carp,
C. carpio in tanks

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Third Stage ― BOTTOM UP:

Means of
Narrative summary Indicator Assumptions
verification
Goal
Purpose
Output
Activities

Assumptions:

Reflecting up from the bottom of the log frame, consider how, if each assumption holds,

it will be possible to move to the next stage of the project. Assumptions are external

factors that have the potential to influence (or even determine) the success of a project,

but lie outside the direct control of project managers. Assumptions are usually

progressively identified during the analysis phase. The analysis of stakeholders,

problems, objectives and strategies will have highlighted a number of issues (i.e. policy,

institutional, technical, social and/or economic issues) that will impact on the project

‘environment’, but over which the project may have no direct control. In the case of the

river water pollution example, important assumptions might include issues related to:

1. Rainfall and river flow (beyond the project’s control, but potentially critical in terms of

changes in levels/concentration of pollutants found in the river); 2. Householders and

businesses willingness to pay for improved sewerage connections.

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 Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
Goal: Contribute to Increased
the increase in productivity of National CSA Price policies, infrastructure and
national productivity aquaculture from annual survey extension support spread use of
of aquaculture 100kg/m2 by 10% report technology
by 2025
Purpose: increased Socio economics
The compound Funds and mechanisms available to
number of fish farmers survey
feed adopted by adapt technologies for local
adopted compound result/report of
1500 fish farmers production
feed EIAR

Three different
Output: compound Project progress Research program is well managed
types of
feed report and provides peer review
compound feeds
Activities: Compound Feed Quarter and Required inputs, like chemicals,
1. Formulation and for the grow out annual reports purchased , competent staffs
evaluation of tilapia of EIAR recruited etc
compound feed on
the growth
performance of Compound Feed
grow-out O. for the juvenile
niloticus in tanks
tilapia
2. Formulation and
evaluation of feeds
on the growth Compound Feed
performance and
for juvenile
survival rate of
juvenile O. niloticus common carp
in tanks
3. Formulation and
evaluation of
compound feed
diet for Juvenile

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Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
common carp, C.
carpio in tanks
How should gender be incorporated in research log frames?
There are two ways in which gender can be incorporated into log frames. The first is that

all log frames should disaggregate relevant indicators by sex. For example, if measuring

the number of people trained, this should be broken into number of women and

number of men. The second way that gender can be incorporated is to include a gender

component in outputs, outcomes or the impact statement and/or to have specific

gender focused indicators at any of these levels. For example, a capacity building

programme which aimed to build skills of University ICT staff choose to run a number of

female only workshops while a research programme on growth chose to carrying out a

strand of research focusing specifically on the role of female entrepreneurs.

It is important to bear in mind that almost any mention of gender/women in the log

frame is better than nothing, and advocacy activities should be geared to this end. This

ensures that at least some attention is paid to gender issues in processes of

management, resource allocation, and monitoring – and it opens the door to increasing

attention to gender issues in review processes.

However, where you are in a position to address gender issues more systematically in the log

frame, it is useful to bear the following points in mind.

Target groups
It should always be clear from the log frame who the policy/project is targeting.

This should be clear from the use of sex-disaggregated indicators.

It should be clear which Activities and Outputs are targeted to women, which to

men, and which to both.

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 Replacing general terms such as “the poor” or “poor farmers” with, where

appropriate, “poor men and women” and “poor male and female farmers” makes

women as well as men clearly visible and avoids misunderstanding.

Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions

Goal: Contribute to Increased
the increase in productivity of National CSA Price policies, infrastructure and
national productivity aquaculture from annual survey extension support spread use of
of aquaculture for 100kg/m2 by 10% report technology
male and female by 2025
Purpose: increased The compound
Socio economics
number of female and feed adopted by Funds and mechanisms available to
survey
male fish farmers 1500 (500 F and adapt technologies for local
result/report of
adopted compound 1000 M) fish production
EIAR
feed farmers

Output: compound Three different

feeds identified with types of
Project progress Research program is well managed
participation of male compound feeds
report and provides peer review
and female fish identified by
farmers 12/2020
Activities: Compound Feed Quarter and Required inputs, like chemicals,
4. Formulation and for the grow out annual reports purchased , competent staffs
evaluation of tilapia of EIAR recruited etc
compound feed on
the growth
performance of Compound Feed
grow-out O. for the juvenile
niloticus in tanks
tilapia
5. Formulation and
evaluation of feeds

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 Narrative summary Indicator MOV Assumptions
on the growth Compound Feed
performance and for juvenile
survival rate of
common carp
juvenile O. niloticus
in tanks
6. Formulation and
evaluation of
compound feed
diet for Juvenile
common carp, C.
carpio in tanks

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