One of the key tools used during the planning
process to ensure that the plan’s structure is as coherent
and lucid as possible was the Logical Framework Approach, or
LFA. The power of the LFA is in its emphasis on establishing
explicit and logical linkages between the desired end results that
a particular management programme is aiming to achieve, and the
means used to achieve them. Application of the LFA enables the
development of a clear hierarchy of means-ends relationships
through the management programme, starting with the ultimate end
result, the programme purpose, down through the management
objectives, and finally to the management actions and activities.
The application of the LFA helps to ensure that the plan is
“objective- oriented”, and avoids the undesirable
situations illustrated in Figure 1 below, where objectives are
defined but with no actions to achieve them, or alternatively,
where management actions are identified that do not contribute
towards any obvious objective (both illustrated by the red crosses
in the diagram). When rigorously applied, use of the LFA results in
a plan that can be effectively and efficiently implemented, as well
as more easily monitored and evaluated.
Figure 1: The Logical
Framework Approach applied to management programme
structure
