Logic Models
Usable Knowledge, LLC
Beginner
This 15-minute tutorial (with audio) walks users through the basic components of a logic model.

The first step in developing a logic model is to set the parameters of what it should depict. For the purposes of conducting an evaluation, consider questions such as:

• What is the scale of the program you are evaluating? Are you looking at a single focused activity such as an after-school program or are you evaluating several activities that fall under one broad program?
• What do you want to know about your program? Are you concerned with how well the program is being implemented? Are you interested in knowing whether your program is changing participants’ attitudes toward the environment and their intention to take actions to protect it? Or are you looking at the long-term impact your program has had over several years, such as the extent to which it has helped to improve environmental quality?

The answers to these questions will help you determine which components of your logic model require more attention and detail. For example, if you are interested in program implementation and participant satisfaction (i.e., formative evaluation), you will likely focus on the inputs and outputs sections of your model. In contrast, a summative evaluation of a long-standing program might place greater emphasis on the relations between activities and intermediate-term outcomes.

Once you have determined the focus of your logic model, the final step is to organize information in a way that allows you to see the connections between specific inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Remember that these connections are causal statements.

You will have a stronger logic model if you critically examine the underlying assumption. For example, what experience, research, or other evidence do you have to indicate that your environmental education program is reaching its intended audience or resulting in the changes you expect? (University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, 2006).

These resources provide guidance and tools for creating your logic model:

• Logic Model Template (.pdf)
  California Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET)
  Beginner Intermediate
  The first template in this document is specific to the California B-WET Program. The second template, however, is blank and can be used for any EE program. This template includes columns for objectives, resources, activities, outputs, short-term outcomes, and mid-to long-term outcomes and impacts.
• Logic Model Development Guide (.pdf)
  W.K. Kellogg Foundation (2004).
  Beginner Intermediate
  This guide describes what a logic model is, how to create one, and how to use it to frame your evaluation questions. The appendix offers logic model templates and checklists of important things to consider when constructing each part of the model.
• Enhancing Program Performance with Logic Models
  University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension
  Intermediate Advanced
  This self-paced tutorial combines audio and detailed text to offer an in-depth lesson on logic models. Users work through the process of constructing and using a logic model.
• Logic Model Builder
  Innovation Network
  Advanced
  Visitors who register at the site (for free) gain access to Point K, a collection of web-based tools for planning evaluations, developing logic models, and creating surveys. Registered users are asked step-by-step questions about their program's goals, resources, intended outputs, and outcomes. Point K then transforms that information into print-ready logic models and evaluation plans.