Whether you want to conduct a formative evaluation to determine if a program delivers change to the target beneficiaries as intended or a summative evaluation to establish if a project was a success, you need to be thorough. This can be challenging, considering how highly complex evaluations are as you examine every project component. However, you can simplify this process by using a comprehensive logic model that visually presents what a program entails, from resources, activities, and resources to outcomes.
A detailed logic model will make sure you can easily grasp and explain the rationale behind how the program activities will bring about the intended change/benefit or impact. This makes the logic model an indispensable tool that you need to get right. However, creating a detailed and visually engaging logic model is time-consuming which can be problematic for project managers as they navigate between the day-to-day complexities of programs.
This is where our template comes in – it has a premade layout of what components to include in the logic model, thus giving you a starting point whenever you want to create one for your project. This saves you time and allows you to prioritize the evaluation rather than the designing process. The template is properly organized highlighting inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, impact, assumptions, and external factors. These will help you evaluate how to improve resource management, decision-making, and effectiveness, reduce uncertainties, and assess progress and success.
How to Use This Template to Create a Logic Model for Project Evaluation
Each component we have included in the template serves a critical role in conducting a thorough evaluation. This visually engaging template uses arrows to show the direction of implementation from inputs to impact and dependencies between project components. Before using this template, you need to understand what you should input under each component and their importance in program evaluation. Here is a discussion of how to use this template effectively.
Project details
You should contextualize each logic model by associating it with a specific program. You can do so by specifying which project you will be evaluating. To do so, provide the project title and goal at the top section.
Inputs
Inputs represent all the project requirements. These include tangible and intangible resources you need to implement the project as envisioned or designed. The inputs will depend on the type, scope, design, and implementation approach of the project. You need to assess inputs to determine your firm and team’s capacity to execute the program.
To fill this section, you should enlist the tangible inputs such as raw materials, workforce, equipment, and facilities under ‘Resources’ and intangible inputs such as data and expertise under ‘Knowledge.’ You therefore need to carefully consider what each team involved needs from the technical to the administrative team. This is crucial reference when determining the ROI (Return on Investment) of the program.
Activities
Activities specify what your team and partners will do when implementing the program. These help establish the amount of ‘work’ that needs to be done and indicate what the team will do with the resources to fulfill the intended change.
This is a key segment when performing a process evaluation and defining roles for the project team. Under this section, you have four categories of activities – product development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. Review, your program and break down objectives into actions before enlisting them in their respective categories.
Outputs
Outputs are the immediate products or services resulting from the outlined activities. They are essential for evaluating team performance. Typically, they are quantitative are should align with the set expectations or objectives. This section has four categories of outputs –developed products, documentation, marketing materials, and manufactured units. Therefore, to fill this section, you can talk about the number of brochures to be issued, volunteers trained, workshops conducted, etc.
Outcomes
Outcomes represent the change or benefits realized from the outputs by the targeted audience. You need to identify these outcomes and compare them with the predetermined objectives to evaluate the project success. They are often qualitative, but you can quantify them in some case.
Here, you need audit how the program beneficiaries have directly benefited from the products or services. The realized change or benefit can be short-term, intermediate, or long-term. Make sure to categorize each outcome appropriately. In addition, note that, these outcomes should be interdependent, for example, as this section shows, an improved product design leads to increased sales, which then translates to a sustainable market for the item.
Impact
The impact indicates the broader changes resulting from the program outcomes. The impact highlights the greater value of the project beyond the direct beneficiaries.
To fill this section, you can enlist any social, economic or environmental change or benefits you identify. This section can be a great avenue to win over funders and stakeholders who prefer and participate in projects that serve the greater good.
Assumptions and risk
Assumptions are conditions or variables that must hold true for the program implementation plan to work as intended. Risks are potential sources of issues; these can be threats and uncertainties that can negatively influence the project’s success.
To fill the assumptions, consider aspects such as the participants’ behaviors, attitudes, compare ideal and reality contexts, interview stakeholders, examine inputs and outputs, etc. To identify risks, perform a risk analysis/assessment. Potential risks include scope creep, performance risk, and budget constraints, etc. Each project will have unique external assumptions and risks that can affect it.
External factors
External factors are variables that are beyond your control or participant’s power but influence the implementation and success of your project. To fill this section, consider aspects such as economic structure, climate patterns, political environment, and demographic patterns.
Important Points to Note Before Starting the Evaluation
- You often need to conduct project evaluation at three critical points – pre-project, implementation stage, and post-project. You can use this logic model in any of these evaluations. However, why do you need these three evaluations? The pre-project evaluation makes sure there is a clear direction of how you will execute the project. This helps you write an excellent project charter you can pitch to the stakeholders and promote program acceptability.
- The implementation phase evaluation helps you determine if the project is progressing as you planned within the scheduling and budget milestones. This can help you strategize how to increase capacity and reprioritize priorities accordingly to align with set objectives.
- The post-project evaluation requires you to audit the deliverables and impact and compare them with expected outcomes to identify if the project was a success – what went right or wrong. This is a great way of showing that the financiers got value for their investment.
- Before using this template, you should first establish which type of evaluation you will be conducting. This will help you interpret the contents of the logic model better and produce a befitting report.
Available Formats
You can access this template in DOCX, DOTX, ODT, and Google Docs file formats. These versions are available to offer you the flexibility of using this logic model template across diverse platforms and help you leverage each version’s unique features. For example, the Google Docs version comes in handy when you want to collaborate with your team or other experts remotely to conduct a comprehensive evaluation.
