When you create a new project (when you start up Logframer or by pressing the New Project button of the File toolbar), you can use the Project Information window to give the project a title and to determine from when to when it will run.
When you save the project for the first time, Logframer will use the (short) title of the project to suggest a file name. But you are free to change this file name to anything you want.
The project's start and end dates are very important, because you can refer any other date in the project to these two dates. For instance, you can say that an activity starts three weeks after the start of the project. Or plan a key moment two months before the end of the project. Or plan an evaluation one year after the end of the project.
The advantage is that when for some reason you have to postpone the start of the project your whole planning will move with it (on the condition that you've used relative dates of course). This means you won't have to modify every other date manually!
On the right you can see the logo of your organisation. To include this in your Project Information window, you need to upload it using the My organisation button of the File toolbar.
You can use the various tab pages below to include additional information:
On the Project Description tab of the Project Information window you can create a resume of what the project is about.
On the General information tab you can specify the current status of the project, i.e. in which phase of the project's lifetime (Identification; Implementation; Completion; Post-completion). If you're working with donors (see Funding tab), additional phases for proposal writing and approval are included. You can also specify whether a project is suspended or in the worst case cancelled entirely.
Below you can indicate which type of project this is, according to four main categories: International aid projects; Non-profit projects; for Profit projects or Government projects. You can select more than one type if you want. If you indicate that the project is about Humanitarian assistance, you will see that an additional tab page appears next to 'Context'.
On the bottom of the first tab you can add different economic sectors. Just click in the list and then in the Items toolbar click on the Add button. By default Logframer uses the UNDP DAC (Development Assistance Committee) 5-digit codes.
On the Project description tab you can write a descriptive text about what the project is about, for instance a short introduction or if you want a longer narrative description.
Similarly on the Context tab you can describe the context in which the project will take place. By this we mean the social, economic, cultural, political... environment in which the project will take place. Generally, this text provides the reader with an understanding in why the project is necessary and how it will contribute to improve the situation in the country or areas where you will work.
Logframer allows you to specify one or more target groups for each main purpose of your project. You can add target groups on two places:
To add a target group, click into the list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following dialogue window:
Below, you can specify which fields should be included in the Target Group Identification form. Depending on the type of beneficiary you choose, Logframer will include default fields such as the name of the person or organisation, the address, etc. You can remove items that you don't need and add your own (see Tools: Target Group Identification Form).
On the Map tab page, you can indicate the location of the target group on a map. You can use the different drawing tools to pinpoint individual locations, or to draw a rectangle, circle or polygon (shown here) around the area where the target group is located.
On the Location tab page, you can provide other geographic information about the location of the target group, including information that you may want to include in the IATI activity report. You can for instance add a description of the area or explain what activities you will do in this area with this target group.
The Target Group Identification Form is a report that you can either print or export to MS Word. You can make a specific form for each target group.
You can add one or more intervention zones to your project. You can add three types of intervention zones:
To add an intervention zone, click into the list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
On the Location tab you can give a name to the intervention zone and select whether it is a country, a region or an area. If it is a country or region, you can select it from the drop-drown selector. On the bottom you find the map. If you select a country Logframer will automatically indicate its capital. But you can also pinpoint a location or draw a rectangle, circle or polygon around the area of your choice. If you have multiple intervention zones you will get an overview of the location of the different zones in the map of the project information window.
On the Area information tab you can include more geographical information about the intervention zone or write a short description of the IZ or about the activities that will take place (see also the location of the target groups).
On the last tab you can give an approximate indication of the proportion of the budget that will go to the intervention zone.
You can add people and organisations that are involved in your project to the list of partners and contacts. This way everyone that is involved can easily find each other's contact details.
If you don't select a particular organisation, you will see the list of all your contacts below. If you do select an organisation in the top list, you will see it's details below:
To learn how you can add a new partner to your project, continue reading here.
In the bottom section, you can add:
Using the Collaboration toolbar you can quickly enter in contact with people and organisations that work on the project.
To add a new partner, click into the top list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
Here you can register:
Click OK to add the organisation to your partner list. When you return to the main window you can add the organisation's address(es), telephone numbers, (general) e-mail address, website, contacts, etc.
When you click on the name of an organisation in the top list, you will see its detailed information in the bottom.
On the Description tab you can modify the organisation's name and acronym, it's role in the project and provide a short description of the organisation.
When you click on the name of an organisation in the top list, you will see its detailed information in the bottom.
On the Contacts tab you add people or see their details. To add a contact click in the list and then press on the Add button in the Items toolbar. This will open the following pop-up window:
Here you can add personal contact information, such as:
The toolbar above this information allows you to create a new e-mail message or start up a Skype conversation (see also the Collaboration toolbar).
For IATI activity reports, the contact information of the people in your list will not be included by default. If you do want a person to be included as a contact person in an IATI report, go to the IATI tab and check the 'Include this contact in the IATI report' box.
When you click on the name of an organisation in the top list, you will see its detailed information in the bottom.
On the Contact information tab you can add:
When you click on the name of an organisation in the top list, you will see its detailed information in the bottom.
On the Location tab you can indicate the precise location of the organisation's offices on a map. You can only pinpoint the location, you cannot indicate an area on this map like you would for a target group.
When you click on the name of an organisation in the top list, you will see its detailed information in the bottom.
On the Financial information tab you can register bank details if you want. You can also indicate whether this organisation provides funding (if you haven't done so already when adding the organisation to your project).
If the organisation provides funding, you can add budget lines and calls for proposals (CfP-s). You can use this information later in the Funding tab.
To add a new budget line, click into the list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
To add a call for proposals, choose the second tab and click into the list.
Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
When you click on the name of an organisation in the top list, you will see its detailed information in the bottom.
On the IATI tab you can register the organisation's unique IATI identifier code if you know it. For each partner you can choose whether you want to include this organisation in the IATI report.
If you produce an IATI activity file about a project, you can do so as the primary reporter. This means that the file will be published with your own organisation's reference as the author of the document. But you can also report on a project if you are not the lead organisation but a secondary reporter. In this case you should check the 'Secondary reporter' box.
On the Funding tab of the Project Information window you can include information about your funding sources; list important contractual obligations in terms of reporting, auditing, etc. and create an overview of different financial transactions.
Before you can add funding sources, you need to have funders, i.e. organisations that provide funding. If you haven't included donors or other financial providers in your list of partners yet, you have to do this first.
To add a funding source, click into the list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
Once you've added a funding source, you can add contractual deadlines that you have to respect, such as the dates of intermediary and final reporting; audits and evaluations; etc.
For each funding source in the top list, you can add contractual deadlines. These include things like intermediary and final reports, financial reports, evaluations and audits.
To add a contract date, click into the bottom list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
Here you can set the deadline, select the type of contractual obligation and give a short description.
Transactions are transfers of funds from one partner organisation to another. There are two main types of transactions: planned transactions and actual transactions.
To add a transaction, click into the list on the Transactions tab. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
To make this a planned transaction, choose 'Planned' from the Transaction type list. You will then be able to determine in which period the transaction will take place. Below, you can indicate the (approximate) amount of the planned transaction and the partner organisations that will make and receive the transaction.
For actual transactions, you can also click in the list and then press the Add button to open the same window. You can either have a completely new transaction, or change the Transaction type from 'Planned' to any of the following options:
In most cases you will use the first three. The idea here is not to list every single small purchase, but to focus on the transfer of important sums. In other words, this is not meant to do (or replace) your accountancy but to enhance transparency. Transactions are therefore very important in the framework of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).
Transactions are central to the idea of international aid transparency. If you want to create an IATI activity file of your project, it is important that you pay sufficient attention to transactions. Overall, the idea behind IATI is that you can trace the money that donor countries give to recipient countries through transactions. Transactions allow people to see how money flows from one organisation (agency) to the other until it finally arrives in the recipient countries and is spent in the form of investments, delivery of goods and services, provision of credits, etc.
If you want to support the IATI initiative you have to make sure that the transactions that you include in your project file make it clear how the money you received from various sources makes it way to the target groups/beneficiaries it is intended for. IATI asks you to provide certain information for each individual transaction. You must provide this information on the IATI tab of the pop-up dialogue:
This image shows the default settings of Logframer for individual transactions. They are optimised for aid delivery by Non Governmental Organisations:
On top you can enter the code of the Sector for which this transaction is destined, although a typical NGO project will focus on one specific sector, which you can also indicate in the Project Description. You can indicate whether this transaction concerns humanitarian assistance - again something that you can also indicate in the Project Description. The Channel field is more suited for assistance from one government to the other (not set by default).
Before you start detailing your indicators, it's best to set the monitoring deadlines first. When you design your logframe, you can add indicators and verification sources. But before you start to specify the details of the indicators (question type, value range, baseline and targets…) it's best to set these deadlines first.
For each level of the logframe (goals, purposes, outputs and activities) you can specify when and how often the indicators will be measured. For indicators that use values or scores, this means that you can set targets.
You can set:
Depending on the type of project you design and the level in the logframe, you will want the frequency to be higher or lower. Emergency aid projects may need monthly follow-up; development projects typically use yearly or twice yearly targets. You may want to monitor your outputs yearly (or more regularly) but the indicators of the project's purpose and impact only at the end of the project.
These settings do not affect the baseline: for each indicator you can set the baseline.
After setting the frequency of the monitoring, you can choose when it will start and end. You can choose a date relative to the start or end date of the project, or you can specify a fixed date. Based on your preferences, Logframer will generate a list of the monitoring dates in the overview on the right.
The IATI specific information tab is only visible when you set the view mode to IATI activity or IATI organisation view mode. Use this if you want to create an IATI activity file from your project.
If you want to publish the information of your project as an IATI activity file, you have to get a valid IATI identifier. Once you have this code, you must enter it in the Project identifier field:
The hierarchy level is used for complex programmes to indicate at what level this current project is situated. For instance, you may have a regional programme for West-Africa (hierarchy level 1) with sub-programmes for Senegal and Guinea (hierarchy level 2). How you structure your programme (hierarchy) is up to you.
Next you can list the programmes to which this particular project is linked. To do so, click in the top list and press the Add button in the Items toolbar.
In this dialogue window, you can provide the title of the related programme, its specific IATI indicator code and the type of relationship it has (parent project, child project, sibling project, co-funded project or third party project).
In the bottom list, IATI asks you to indicate to which DAC (Development Assistance Committee of the OECD) policies your project makes a contribution. Click in the bottom list and press the Add button in the Items toolbar to create a new item.
The DAC policies your project can contribute to are:
For each topic you select, you can indicate how significant it is for your project:
On the International aid streams tab, you need to indicate under what type of aid your project falls (see also Transactions where you can specify this for every financial transaction you make). The default settings of Logframer (shown before) are optimised for aid delivery by Non Governmental Organisations:
Below you can indicate the status of your financial figures: is this the original budget? Is the budget already committed or just indicative? Are procurements dependent on a tied procedure, a partially tied procedure or untied?
Finally you can list any conditions that may apply to the project as a whole. These conditions may be imposed from a certain policy or can be financial or performance related.
Once your IATI activity or organisation file is ready, you have to publish it on your website and register it in the IATI registry. But there may be other documents that are relevant to your project. You can also publish these on your website and indicate their specific location in the Document links table.
To add a document link, click into the list. This will select the Items toolbar. Then press the Add button. You will get the following pop-up window:
Here you can provide the title of the document and its location on your website (or another publicly accessible site). It's also important to indicate the language of the document. This also means you can include multiple versions of the same document in different languages for instance.