Logical Framework Approach in Project Management
Logical Framework Approach
Introduction
The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) is a project planning methodology. It’s a strategy for implementing projects based on objectives, integrating a set of methods and tools to systematically address each phase of the project lifecycle. The use of LFA is not limited to international cooperation; it is constantly being applied in other fields of public intervention, such as local development, social affairs, health, and education. Its spread is related to at least the following factors:
- Blurring of the boundaries of the concept of development.
- The transfer of responsibility for much of the state’s action in social policy to civil society.
- Increasing fields and actors involved in social intervention.
All these needs reinforce the lines of systematization, rationality, and capacity assessment proposed by the LFA. Knowledge of this method is becoming increasingly necessary for professionals working in social intervention.
Logical Framework Approach and Objective-Based Planning
The Logical Framework is situated in its context of use, explaining the purpose of its creation and the recipients to whom it is addressed. The first question gets a number of benchmarks:
- First, a study of its history and evolution is presented, aimed at explaining the origin and development of the need to boost the creation of this strategy.
- Then, the issue of the scientific approach is considered, comparing its logic to that proposed in social research projects.
- Finally, the position of project planning by objectives is explained.
The second question: we will introduce those aspects of the first phase of the project lifecycle that are directly related to the identification of people who may have a direct or indirect relationship with the project and how the method itself poses the analysis of their participation.
Origin and Evolution of the Logical Framework Approach
The background to the LFA lies in the management by results model proposed in the 1950s in the U.S. by Peter Drucker. At a time when pressure from the state and the economic situation narrowed companies’ profit margins, minimizing internal expenses became a necessity for business leaders. The key question was why and when to administer. This change represented a major transformation, shifting the focus from managing processes to managing results. The effectiveness of the organization was the new rule.
The procedure especially facilitated financial control; this type of management functioned, and the financial situation improved. But soon, the first resistance appeared among people who occupied the intermediate levels. A solution had to be found, and increasing participation and flexibility in setting business objectives was confirmed as a good solution. The ideas of decentralization and management by results were considered the appropriate solution.
From here, companies were split, harnessing specific targets to meet. Each division was provided with the means needed to achieve these goals and organized in function of them. Self-control and performance evaluation were included in the management process. The most important consequence was that those directly responsible for the intermediate levels acquired a high degree of autonomy and a real commitment to meeting the previously agreed-upon objectives. Overall, this theoretical proposal is the same starting point that supports the Logical Framework in origin.
Historically, the origin of some parallel LFA shares was prompted by a need for adjustment and effective cooperation in the 1950s in America. The high failure rate of aid projects implemented by the U.S. international development agency needed an organizational response. Therefore, by the end of the 1960s, the development of a tool was mandated that would help improve the information processing of the agency’s projects and allow them to run more efficiently. The result of this assignment was a Logical Framework. Specifically:
- The creation of the project was based on a logic that connected, in an orderly and systematic way, all the elements involved in its design.