Anna - It's not always easy to convince project managers that they need to develop a TOC mid-course since the original logframe or TOC is typically forgotten once a project commences. There is a case for being strategic and selective in your approach. The attitude, as one manager stated, is "if we do a good job implementing the outputs, the results will take care of themselves". Major design 'repair' is viewed as disruptive and therefore resisted. The process may be more critical than the methodology. Re-orienting a project around a clear TOC can be difficult unless you focus on particular elements where the participants recognize a design problem. For example, in a recent evaluation we recommended a tailored review of certain structural issues focusing on clarifying the key drivers, agents, linkages and pathways to end results:
"It is very common for projects to have a mid-course internal review and update of their strategy, with a special focus on the pathways to measurable outcomes. There are several potential approaches. For example, this could involve having the project implementation partners identify (a) change drivers and agents for the immediate outcomes associated with the main project components, (b) the linkages between components that facilitate these drivers and agents, and (c) the subsequent joint pathways to well-defined, measurable results at the regional, country and local levels. ………While the logframe effectively outlines the results hierarchy (‘the what’), more emphasis on the main theory of change pathways (‘the how’) would be useful in the forthcoming second phase."
Alan Ferguson
Owner Regional Consulting Ltd.Anna - It's not always easy to convince project managers that they need to develop a TOC mid-course since the original logframe or TOC is typically forgotten once a project commences. There is a case for being strategic and selective in your approach. The attitude, as one manager stated, is "if we do a good job implementing the outputs, the results will take care of themselves". Major design 'repair' is viewed as disruptive and therefore resisted. The process may be more critical than the methodology. Re-orienting a project around a clear TOC can be difficult unless you focus on particular elements where the participants recognize a design problem. For example, in a recent evaluation we recommended a tailored review of certain structural issues focusing on clarifying the key drivers, agents, linkages and pathways to end results:
"It is very common for projects to have a mid-course internal review and update of their strategy, with a special focus on the pathways to measurable outcomes. There are several potential approaches. For example, this could involve having the project implementation partners identify (a) change drivers and agents for the immediate outcomes associated with the main project components, (b) the linkages between components that facilitate these drivers and agents, and (c) the subsequent joint pathways to well-defined, measurable results at the regional, country and local levels. ………While the logframe effectively outlines the results hierarchy (‘the what’), more emphasis on the main theory of change pathways (‘the how’) would be useful in the forthcoming second phase."