The film is unavailable. You can read what it shows below.
What the film shows, in words
- See where the chain breaks.
- 3 activities. 3 outputs. 2 outcomes. One goal.
- Six gaps. Output 3 points at an outcome that is not there.
- Linked to outcome 2: four gaps.
- An outcome is a change, not a task: three. One more activity: two.
- Check the logic. Then write the proposal.
The demo: the worked example, one mended link at a time
ExampleA youth employment programme (illustrative). The reworded outcome and the added activity are invented for the demo.
Six logic gaps. One of two pathways is whole.
- Co-design curricula with employersActivity 1
- Recruit and train instructorsActivity 2
- Negotiate internship agreementsActivity 3
- Courses delivered with employer-designed contentOutput 1
- Graduates placed in internshipsOutput 2
- Mentoring network for young entrepreneursOutput 3
- Graduates find and keep paid work …Outcome 1
- Train 1,200 young people in market …Outcome 2
- 3?
GoalMore young people in the target districts earn a decent living.
Pathway to outcome 2
If we [activities missing], we will deliver [outputs missing]. If that happens, then train 1,200 young people in market skills, contributing to the goal: more young people in the target districts earn a decent living.
3 activities, 3 outputs, 2 outcomes. All six logic gaps belong to outcome 2 and output 3.
Now your programme, from the goal backwards.
Goal, then outcomes, outputs and activities. Link each to the level above by its number. Set out the goal, the outcomes you expect and the outputs and activities that lead to them, with indicators and assumptions. The builder checks the logic: outcomes that read like activities, outputs linked to nothing and outcomes nothing produces.
The logframe, the logic check and the theory in sentences.
Live2 outcomes · 6 logic gaps
| Level | Result | Indicator | Assumption or link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | More young people in the target districts earn a decent living. | – | – |
| Outcome 1 | Graduates find and keep paid work or self-employment | % of graduates in work six months after completion | Local employers keep hiring at current levels |
| Outcome 2 | Train 1,200 young people in market skills | Number trained | Missing |
| Output 1 | Courses delivered with employer-designed content | Courses delivered to standard | Outcome 1 |
| Output 2 | Graduates placed in internships | Internship placements | Outcome 1 |
| Output 3 | Mentoring network for young entrepreneurs | Missing | Outcome 3 |
| Activity 1 | Co-design curricula with employers | – | Output 1 |
| Activity 2 | Recruit and train instructors | – | Output 1 |
| Activity 3 | Negotiate internship agreements | – | Output 2 |
Logic check
- Check: Outcome 2 reads like an activity: “Train 1,200 young people in market skills”.An outcome is a change in people or institutions, not something the programme does.
- Gap: Nothing produces outcome 2.Link at least one output to it, or remove it.
- Check: Outcome 2 has no assumption.What must hold true outside your control for it to happen?
- Gap: Output 3 is linked to outcome 3, which does not exist.
- Check: No activity delivers output 3.
- Check: Output 3 has no indicator.
Theory of change, in sentences
Pathway to outcome 1
If we co-design curricula with employers; recruit and train instructors; negotiate internship agreements, we will deliver courses delivered with employer-designed content; graduates placed in internships. If that happens, and local employers keep hiring at current levels, then graduates find and keep paid work or self-employment, contributing to the goal: more young people in the target districts earn a decent living.
Pathway to outcome 2
If we [activities missing], we will deliver [outputs missing]. If that happens, then train 1,200 young people in market skills, contributing to the goal: more young people in the target districts earn a decent living.
GKM Strategic Advisory & AI
Theory of change, in sentences
Your organisation
Pathway to outcome 1
If we co-design curricula with employers; recruit and train instructors; negotiate internship agreements, we will deliver courses delivered with employer-designed content; graduates placed in internships. If that happens, and local employers keep hiring at current levels, then graduates find and keep paid work or self-employment, contributing to the goal: more young people in the target districts earn a decent living.
Pathway to outcome 2
If we [activities missing], we will deliver [outputs missing]. If that happens, then train 1,200 young people in market skills, contributing to the goal: more young people in the target districts earn a decent living.
| Level | Result | Indicator | Assumption or link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | More young people in the target districts earn a decent living. | – | – |
| Outcome 1 | Graduates find and keep paid work or self-employment | % of graduates in work six months after completion | Local employers keep hiring at current levels |
| Outcome 2 | Train 1,200 young people in market skills | Number trained | Missing |
| Output 1 | Courses delivered with employer-designed content | Courses delivered to standard | Outcome 1 |
| Output 2 | Graduates placed in internships | Internship placements | Outcome 1 |
| Output 3 | Mentoring network for young entrepreneurs | Missing | Outcome 3 |
| Activity 1 | Co-design curricula with employers | – | Output 1 |
| Activity 2 | Recruit and train instructors | – | Output 1 |
| Activity 3 | Negotiate internship agreements | – | Output 2 |
Your editable template
Theory of change and logframe, by email once delivery is connected.
Theory of change and logframe (DOCX + spreadsheet) with the logic-gap flags
Tool: Theory of change and logframe Result: 2 outcomes · 6 logic gaps Request: please review the logic and scope a proposal (SVC-073).Send as a brief
How the logic is checked, and its limits.
Method
- 01
Outputs link to outcomes and activities to outputs by number; broken or missing links are errors.
- 02
Outcomes that begin with delivery verbs (train, conduct, deliver) are flagged as activities in disguise.
- 03
Every outcome and output should have an indicator; every outcome an assumption.
- 04
An outcome whose words describe delivery (trained, delivered, held, distributed, installed) is flagged as an output in disguise.
- 05
An outcome that names revenue, reached through an output or an activity that names training, is flagged unless evidence is stated beside it. The tool looks for the words; it does not judge the evidence.
What it cannot tell you
- It checks the structure of your logic, not whether the change will really happen.
- Donor formats differ; transfer the content to your donor’s template.
- Indicators still need full definitions (see the MEL indicator builder).
Quality ruleRespect donor format; do not equate activities with outcomes.
When the logic holds, the proposal still has to be written.
Indicators still need full definitions (see the MEL indicator builder). MEL indicator builder & quality check
- Service · 06 Bids, proposals & intelligenceGrant proposal writing for donors↗
- Service · 02 Management & institutional strengtheningMonitoring, evaluation & learning (MEL) framework design↗
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