2. So many frameworks ....
• Logic models
• Results frameworks
• Logframes
• Etc
3. The basic links in logic models
should be causal
Increased health
Increased wealth
Increased happiness
health
wealth
happiness
4. So what is wrong with this
picture?
• Manuals tell us: Parent – child links are only causal,
not categorical
Better teaching in grades
1-4
Better teaching in grades
5-8
Better teaching in whole
school
5. But ... Often we need to summarise
• What is „wrong“ with this picture?
Boys improve conflict
resolution skills
Girls improve conflict
resolution skills
Children
improve conflict
resolution skills
Training for
boys
Training for
girls
Training for
teachers
Teachers improve
conflict resolution
skills
Less classroom
conflict
6. But ... Often we need to summarise
What is „wrong“ with this picture?
... But we need to structure our plan like this
Outcome 1.A
Outcome 1.B
Conflict-free
schools in North
Region
Output
1.A.1
Output
1.A.2 Conflict-free
schools in the
whole country
Outcome 2.A
Outcome 2.B
Conflict-free
schools in South
Region
Output
2.A.1
Output
2.A.2
7. Solution
• Accept and encourage the use of summarisers to
join variables by definition, not causation
• Two ways to present the same idea – dotted lines
and boxes
8. More creative schools
in the whole country
2:
More creative schools
in South Region
1:
More creative schools
in North Region
Variant 1: use boxes instead
• Instead of arrows from 1.A and 1.B to 1, they are
contained in it
Outcome 1.A
Outcome 1.B
Output
1.A.1
Output
1.A.2
Outcome 2.A
Outcome 2.B
Output
2.A.1
Output
2.A.2
9. Variant 2:
just dotted lines
Lines are sometimes more convenient than boxes, especially
when they have causal children themselves.
Same logic as boxes, just different appearance
Each green „join“ is a rule which establishes the level of the
child variable on the basis of the parent variables
But for the dotted join, the rule is true by definition
Boys improve conflict
resolution skills
Girls improve conflict
resolution skills
Children
improve conflict
resolution skills
Training for
boys
Training for
girls
Training for
teachers
Teachers improve
conflict resolution
skills
Less classroom
conflict
10. Do summarisers have indicators?
• Answer: sort of ..., but their „indicators“ can be
constructed from the indicators of their parent
variables – using the rule which joins the child with
its parents
• Ever wasted time trying to think up indicators for
„higher-level“ variables which are actually
summarisers??
Boys improve conflict
resolution skills
Girls improve conflict
resolution skills
Children
improve conflict
resolution skills
11. Causal diagrams don‘t need to be
hierarchical at all any more!
• Hierarchical structures are very useful for project
organisation and reporting
• So that is why so many logic models end up being
almost-hierarchical – because we have two
confusingly similar but separate needs for structure
in logic models:
• Hierarchy for organisation and reporting: use
summarisers (dotted links or boxes)!
• Causal links for theory of change: use ordinary arrows!
12. Big claim
• Nearly every logic model has at least one link
between variables which is presented as causal but
is actually definitional or summarising
• This causes endless headaches, e.g. Having to dream up
extra indicators where none are needed
• Worst case, but very common: links which are a
vague, poisonous mix of definitional and causal
Boys improve conflict
resolution skills
Girls improve conflict
resolution skills
Schools are better
at conflict
resolution
13. The „higher“ illusion
• Another kind of frequent problem
• Here, the parent variables do not cause the
„strategic goal“, they just fall under it, they are
examples of it.
• The definition is intensional, not extensional. That is
OK
• But if we aren‘t clear about this, it looks like our
mundane projects cause something grand
Communities complete
multi-ethnic small
grants projects
Schools complete
multi-ethnic „anti-
stereotype“ training
Strategic goal:
Regional
peacebuilding
14. Conclusion
• Suggestion: when making a logic model, see if there
are places where you should be using summarisers
(dotted links or boxes) rather than causal links
Hinweis der Redaktion
So many things to criticise! So many different versions, some get some things right explicitly but wrong in practice ....
Decided to try to make a positive contribution
Actually the combination of arrows impinging on the child variable
We have variables which are sometimes also expressed as changes. Both ways are fine
These arrows are just one way of expressing the definitive parent-child relationship in a logic model
I am doing it left-right here to underline the causal nature and not to suggest the „Higher“ thing
Xplicitly mentioned in some manuals as wrong
There might be an important reason to separate girls and boys boxes – e.g. The approach and training is different
Often we use logframes for reporting too and for giving names to components and subcomponents
Here the „children improve“ part goes on to have causal links
Summarisers are variables too and are just as real as the variables they summarise. But they
Most modern manuals say actually, it doesnt need to be hierarchical – but examples are 95% hierarchical
