During this first phase, problems and issues are identified, as well as possible ways to tackle them (strategies for solutions). Then the best intervention strategy is selected, which will be the basis for the project plan.
Usually the organisation that takes the initiative will have a basic idea of the problem it wants to tackle, the future intervention area and possible stakeholders. In this phase, these preliminary ideas are put to the test through participatory methods. But first you need to find people that want to help you with the identification of the problems and needs.
There are different categories of stakeholders that you could involve in the project’s design. In first instance, the potential beneficiaries of course: these can be local farmers or entrepreneurs; people that make use of medical facilities; villagers; local business people; women; young people; members of minority groups… It all depends on the type of project and the local situation. In addition, you can talk with local authorities, local NGOs, village councils (village elders), ministry delegates and so on.
For each group you can describe:
During this step, a problematic situation is analysed with the different stakeholders, including the (potential) beneficiaries of the project. Usually a method like the problem tree analysis or a fishbone analysis is used. Once the central problem is identified, the participants to the workshop can identify its root-causes. The following step is to describe the negative consequences of the problem and select the most important ones.
The problem tree then can be turned into a solutions tree, which will probably contain different ways of approaching the problem. Depending on the possibilities and capacities of the different partners and of the beneficiaries, the best approach or strategy to dealing with the central problem can be identified.
The Performance Framework (not to be confused with the Performance Measurement Framework) describes the intervention logic of the project. It describes how what we invest and what we do will lead to tangible results.
With the information from the solution tree analysis (or another method), the basic elements of the project can be identified:
The next step is to determine the results chain:
Outputs, effects and impact have to be described in such a way that they are clear for everyone and can’t be misinterpreted. It’s best to avoid overly complex formulations and complex concepts that may be interpreted differently in various contexts (for instance: ‘gender equality’ or ‘durability’). It’s better to explain what you mean by those fancy concepts in as plain a language as possible.
The performance Framework will later be used to fill out the left column of the logical framework.
The Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) is the next step after the Performance Framework. For each result that we expect for our project, we’ll identify indicators, ways to verify the information, ways to collect the information, the frequency at which the information is gathered and who is responsible for gathering that information.
For each level in the results chain (outputs – effects – impact), indicators have to be found. ‘Indicators’ does not necessarily equal ‘hard numbers’. However for RBM it is important to find indicators that are clear, concise and not up for interpretation. It’s a good idea to list as many indicators as you can to start with, and then select the most pertinent ones. You want these indicators to be:
Finding indicators is again a participatory exercise. At the very least people have to be able to be feedback to the indicators you suggest. It’s a good idea to test your draft list of indicators in real-world conditions.
Apart from the ‘classic’ output, effect and impact indicators, RBM also uses outreach indicators. Outreach indicators say something about the people that you reach. Very often, project indicators only talk about things like production, quality improvement, availability of services, training and capacities, etc. The human dimension – in other words the very reason for doing a development project in the first place – is totally left out.
RBM pushes you to reflect about outreach on all three levels of the results chain. The higher up the chain, the more difficult it becomes to accurately assess how many people the project will reach. Here are some questions to help you identify the outreach:
Where can you find the information for your indicators? You can make use of:
In some cases it may be interesting to have various sources of information that you can compare to each other (triangulation). Or you may need to combine different sources of information to get a complete picture.
Another question is how you will practically gather the information: using registration forms or questionnaires; registering it in a database or a spreadsheet; doing surveys… You must also decide on how regularly you will gather the information. And last but not least whose responsibility it is to gather what information.
There is more than just deciding on who is responsible for gathering certain pieces of information. It has to be clearly established how the responsibility for achieving the results is shared.
With all this information, the PMF can be established:
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Indicators |
Verification sources |
Collection method |
Frequency |
Responsible |
Impact |
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Effects |
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Outputs |
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Activities |
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Outreach |
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Inputs |
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The O&A matrix is a planning tool that can be used to elaborate the more practical side of the project. For each output and effect it allows you to specify what activities are necessary, what resources (inputs) you will need and who will be responsible for that activity.
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Activities |
Resources |
Responsible party |
Effect 1 |
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Effect 2 |
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Output 1 |
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Output 2 |
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When you take a closer look at the results chain, you will probably see that the cause and effect relations between activities and outputs, between outputs and effects and between outputs and impact are conditional. Basically, if all holds well we can expect that we’ll get the results that we want at the end. This means that we (implicitly) make a number of assumptions. What does it mean ‘if all goes well’?
RBM makes a distinction between assumptions, which are positive conditions, and risks that are negative factors. Both assumptions and risks can be internal or external factors. Internal factors are the things we have under control: the capacities of our staff, our management capacity, delegation of authority, etc. External factors are influences from the environment on our project.
There are different types of risks and assumptions:
Risks can have varying degrees of impact on our project. The influence of some risks will be negligible, or else they may be a nuisance but nothing we can’t handle. In other cases they may have a severe influence on whether we will be able to realise our objectives. In the worst case scenario, we may be forced to stop the project altogether.
Another factor we have to assess is what the chance is realistically that a risk will materialise during the project. The combination of the impact that a risk might have and its likelihood helps us to assess the situation and take (preventive) action. If a risk has low impact and is not likely, it’s really not worth mentioning in your logframe. High impact risks with low likelihood still have to be monitored. And when a risk really threatens the project and is very likely, it’s probably not worth starting the project in the first place.
Merely identifying the risks is not enough: it’s also important to reflect on what you will do if or when the risk occurs:
The Risk Register is a tool to identify and monitor risks over the course of the project. It resembles the PMF and lists the risks, the risk indicators, information sources, methods to collect information, the frequency at which the information will be collected and who is responsible for this information gathering.
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Indicators |
Information sources |
Data collection methods |
Frequency |
Responsible party |
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At this point, it is time to take a look at the activities from a very practical point of view:
For simple activities, you may not have to go through this whole list of questions, but complex activities need to be planned and budgeted in some detail.