What is a results framework?
A results framework shows how a project expects to create change. It starts with what you do, shows what that produces, and then what difference it makes. Every step is a claim that you can later test with data.
The framework is both a design tool and a monitoring tool. At design time, it forces you to check the logic. During delivery, it tells you which indicators to track.
What are the levels of a results framework?
Terms differ between donors, but most frameworks use these levels:
| Level | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Activities | What the project does | Train 40 hygiene promoters |
| Outputs | Direct products of the activities | Promoters trained and active |
| Outcomes | Changes in behavior, knowledge or conditions | Households wash hands at key times |
| Goal or impact | The long-term change the project contributes to | Fewer cases of diarrhea in the area |
Our article on output, outcome and impact indicators explains how to measure each level.
What goes into the table form?
A results framework or logframe table usually has four columns for each result:
- Result statement. A short sentence in the past or present tense, such as “Households use safe water.”
- Indicator. How you will measure it, with unit, baseline and target.
- Means of verification. The record or tool that gives the number.
- Assumptions. What must be true for the result to happen.
Assumptions matter most. “Local authorities keep the water system running” is the kind of assumption that decides whether an output turns into an outcome. Write them, and watch them.
How do you build one?
Follow these steps with the team:
- Start from the problem. Write the problem and who is affected, using your needs assessment.
- Set the goal. One sentence for the long-term change you contribute to.
- Define outcomes. Two to four changes that, together, would contribute to the goal.
- Define outputs. For each outcome, list the outputs needed.
- List activities. Group them under outputs.
- Test the logic. Read upward: if we do these activities, will these outputs follow? If these outputs, will this outcome follow? Fix the gaps.
- Add indicators. Pick at least one per result, with a source and target.
- Write assumptions and risks. Name the main ones, and decide who watches them.
What makes a framework weak?
- Activities written as results. “Hold training” is an activity; “teachers use new methods” is a result.
- Too many levels or boxes. If nobody can explain it in two minutes, simplify.
- Missing assumptions. The chain looks neat but nothing explains the jump between levels.
- Unmeasurable indicators. Indicators for which no data source exists.
- Nobody updates it. A framework built for the proposal and never reopened is a missed tool.
If the context changes, revise the framework with the donor’s agreement and record why.
How does it connect to a MEAL plan?
The framework is the backbone of the MEAL plan. The plan adds how, when and by whom each indicator is measured, plus evaluation, feedback and learning. If the framework is unclear, the plan will be too.
What does a small worked example look like?
Take a hygiene project. The goal is fewer cases of diarrhea in the area. One outcome is that households wash hands at key times. Two outputs support it: hygiene promoters are trained and active, and handwashing stations are installed in schools and clinics. Activities include selecting and training promoters, buying materials and holding community sessions.
Each result gets an indicator, such as households that show a handwashing station with soap, checked by a visit. The assumptions are that soap is available in local markets and that promoters stay in post. If soap becomes scarce, the framework tells the team which link in the chain is at risk, and it can adjust.
Where EMPOBase fits
In EMPOBase, results frameworks are tied to Programs in the MEAL module, and you can draw on a library of 235 indicators in eight sectors when you define indicators. Selecting library text does not create a live link between a logframe row and indicator results, so you still track actuals in Monitoring. Approved collection submissions update indicator actuals. Totals count records, not unique people. See the indicator library for examples.