Dva - 2601

DVA-2601

Assignment 06

Dale’s logical framework approach: is it a viable solution to the disadvantages of the traditional logical framework?

Introduction

The logical framework analysis was developed by an American consultancy firm in the late 1960s and was first used in the donor community by the United States Agency for International Development in the early 1970 (DVA2601:70). The main aim and advantage of the logical framework analysis is that it strives to improve the way in which projects are prepared, implemented and evaluated.

The logical framework, also known as LogFrame, is known for use as a tool to define and clarify the objectives of a project, or any intervention, to be included in a project explicitly, from an early stage, so as to strengthen the logic of planning at different levels of a project’s performance and the evaluation of the progress when plans are implemented. The LogFrame was not designed to for use in development projects (DVA2601:71).

The logical framework has been a popular planning tool for many years. The logical frame work is a table with three main parts: a means-end structure converging on a “development objective” or “goal”; a set of indicators linked to the components of the means-ends structure: and assumption under which conversion from one level of this structure to the next level is expected to occur. The logical framework has also been made the centerpiece of a process of planning that addresses some additional dimension of strategy in a process that has come to be referred to as the “logical framework approach”.

According to Dale (2003: 57), the logical framework and logical framework approach have become widespread planning tools, particularly in donor-assisted projects in developing countries. With its simple format and clear relationship between variables, the logical framework is helpful for summarizing main concerns relating to development schemes. At the same time, the author argues, current conventions...