Guideline 1: Developing a program logic model
This guideline explains how to develop a program logic model for your service, using a step-by-step approach. It is designed for service providers, program managers, and policymakers who want to better understand or explain how their programs create change.
A well-structured logic model can help with funding applications, performance monitoring, and long-term evaluation efforts.
What is a program logic model?
Before starting data collection, an important first step should be to describe in detail what your service is doing (i.e., the activities you are undertaking and the outputs you are producing) and the outcomes you are aiming to help clients to achieve. This exercise can help you and your staff to not only describe and understand how your service ‘works’ but also to identify what information you should be collecting to support evaluation and performance monitoring.
A program logic model is a way of describing a service, by tying together in a logical order the inputs, processes/activities, outputs and outcomes involved. Logic models encourage those responsible for designing and managing services to think through, in a systematic way, what the service aims to accomplish in the short and longer term and the sequential steps by which the program will achieve its objectives.
Program logic models have been described as effective communication tools, that ‘tell the story’ of how your service is intended to work.
You should use this resource as part of:
- Stage 1 of the workflow map, Plan before you start collecting data to map your outcomes.
To understand where you should use each resource read the full workflow map [PDF 1.55MB].