Module C: Build
Logic models: Where to start?
Wouldn’t it be great to have all the important parts of your program in a text-based table or in a one page diagram so you could see how all the parts relate to each other? Could show it to partners? your Board? your funders?
That’s what an outcomes logic model provides: a way to show the links between program activities and services, the results they produce, and how the results (outcomes) will be evaluated.
So far, we’ve shown a simplified Logic Model: Needs + Solution -> Outcomes
Many different logic models are possible and helpful, and no one representation is universally accepted. They can be represented as a one page graphic or rendered as a text-filled table. Remember that any representation is two-dimensional and static so it cannot show all the non-linear connections and feedback loops.
Dig Deeper
How do you choose or adapt a Logic Model graphic? There are certainly plenty of examples of this useful tool. A Google search for images with “logic model” turned up more than 2900 examples. Choose one or adapt ours to fit the needs of your project.
The first Logic Model deals with a program limited to a county in scope, created to help parents experiencing stress and difficulty parenting. On the left, Inputs are listed (such as staff and research). Outputs are listed (such as “deliver series of interactive sessions” and “targeted parents attend.”). On the right are listed Outcomes.
Retrieved DATE, from University of Wisconsin-Extension Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation Unit Web site: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande
The second is from a state-wide plan in Oregon. The graphic looks very simple, but it’s part of a statewide initiative to coordinate work done by various state agencies to improve child welfare and deter juvenile delinquency. Lots of hard work went into this simple plan, as explained at http://www.oregon.gov/OCCF/images/SB555.pps (accessed August 2005). One of the principal reasons given for this kind of planning was to get everyone working on the same principles and using the same language without counties losing local control and focus.
The second logic model is an example of a real life logic model used to coordinate work done by a number of child welfare groups. On the left the goal of “healthy, thriving children” is listed and the high-level outcome that it leads to “% of children entering school ready to learn.” The middle column lists the priorities that come from the previously listed high-level outcome: “support for families under stress,” “increase parenting skills,” and “increase behavioral and social skills of our early childhood population.” On the far right the strategies that the priorities lead to are shown: “strengthen parenting skills though home visitations and parenting classes and support groups.” This leads to outputs such as “# of parents who participate in activities to improve parenting skills,” which leads to the intermediate outcomes. Intermediate outcomes leads back to high-level outcomes, making a circle.
The third logic model is more complex than the first two, showing a global view of tobacco control. The far left column shows all interested groups, such as “funders” and “partners.” The next column shows different groups that arise, such as “school programs” and “education and surveillance” groups. This leads to who is affected, such as “policy makers” and “key stakeholders.” The next column shows the smaller scale changes, such as “changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and motivation.” This leads to the larger changes, such as “policy changes” and “system changes,” which result in “decreased smoking” and “reduced exposure to ETS” and ends with the final outcome of “reduced mortality, morbidity.”