Common Language: The Composite Logic Model

In the June 2007 issue, Advocacy Evaluation Update reported on a joint effort to develop a "Composite Logic Model" for advocacy evaluation. The results of the effort are in: The Composite Logic Model (“CLM”) is now available as a collection of informative documents and as a flexible online tool.

The CLM was developed by Julia Coffman from Harvard Family Research Project; Astrid Hendricks and Barbara Masters from The California Endowment; Jackie Williams Kaye from The Atlantic Philanthropies; and Tom Kelly from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. More than 50 funders, evaluators, and advocates also lent their expertise to refine the Model.

Using the Composite Logic Model
A logic model is a solid basis for strategy development and evaluation planning: it shows how advocacy tactics connect to interim outcomes that set the stage for policy change. The advocacy and policy change Composite Logic Model (.ppt) addresses a common question about advocacy evaluation: what kinds of outcomes can or should be measured, other than achievement of a public policy goal?

On Paper
The CLM offers a detailed menu of items for building an advocacy logic model and offers definitions for each component (.pdf). Users then select the components (inputs, activities, outcomes, policy goals, and impacts) most relevant to their work.

The Composite Logic Model can be used to:

Help advocates, funders, and evaluators articulate an advocacy or policy change strategy or theory of change, and
Guide decisions about the design of an advocacy and policy change evaluation.

Supplements to the Model include guiding questions (.pdf) and samples based on hypothetical advocacy situations—one each for the strategy (.ppt) and evaluation (.ppt) uses of the Model.

Online
An online tool based on the Composite Logic Model is now available. The Advocacy Progress Planner (“APP”) went live in late September at the website of Continuous Progress, http://www.planning.continuousprogress.org. The APP gives advocates an at-a-glance look at the some of the building blocks of a campaign, such as goals and potential impacts, activities and tactics, and benchmarks.

As users make their choices in each area, a simple summary of their campaign strategy begins to come into focus. The end result is a tidy logic model that can be used as a planning document and as a basis for ongoing evaluation and learning. The APP’s web-based platform enables users to see the various components and try out different combinations of tactics. Advocates can save their completed logic models as a .pdf document, or create an individual URL that can be used to revisit the logic model later.

The APP also offers options for sharing the tool. By emailing their logic model to colleagues, coalition partners, or funders, advocates can take a collaborative approach to answering critical questions like:

Will this set of activities reach the target audience?
Am I trying to reach the right target audience?
Does the organization or coalition have the resources necessary to reach the goal?
Could the plan benefit from a partnership with another organization?

As advocates ask and answer these tough questions, they can improve their model, check their progress, and revise their plans to improve their chances of accomplishing their advocacy goals.

The Advocacy Progress Planner was developed by Continuous Progress Strategic Services, which is a consulting group within the Aspen Institute’s Global Interdependence Initiative. The effort is supported by The California Endowment.

Testing and Feedback
The Composite Logic Model is now being applied and tested with multiple advocacy efforts both within the U.S. and internationally. Readers are invited to try the model (either on paper or online) and offer feedback:

About the print Composite Logic Model, contact Julia Coffman, jcoffman [at] evaluationexchange.org.
About the Advocacy Progress Planner, contact David Devlin-Foltz, david.devlin-foltz [at] aspeninst.org.

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