Logic Model + Parenting Assessment = Program Funding

Like a map, a logic model is a visual representation. A logic model provides a picture that describes your understanding of the way your resources and activities aim to produce your anticipated outcomes. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for logic models.  They have a number of purposes, such as guiding program planning, setting a conceptual framework for your program, mapping procedures, and/or planning program evaluation.  

Logic models typically adapt and evolve as programs respond to current research, best practices, changing resources or new barriers. Having the stakeholders contribute to the construction of a logic model can incorporate divergent perspectives, create buy-in to the process, deepen understanding of the program’s procedures and expected outcomes, and improve adherence to the evaluation plan.  

In constructing a logic model, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide, recommends a sequence where you start with your resources or inputs, then list your activities, followed by your outputs, outcomes and impact.  According to the Kellogg Foundation approach, resources and activities comprise your planned work, while the outputs, outcomes, and impact comprise your intended results.

Clearly defining your available resources and explaining how you will deploy them gives your reviewer confidence that you have a sound plan of action in place.  You also need to convince your reviewers that you will not only provide quality services, but also be able to show you achieved your intended results.  Clarifying your outcomes and outputs confuses some people.  Deborah Mills-Scofield put it well, “Outcomes are the difference made by the outputs.”  For a family services program, outputs could be a description of who was served, and a count of services provided.  As we have discussed earlier, there was a time when describing outputs was sufficient to obtain funding.  Then documenting that the services were delivered as proposed (often called model fidelity) was sufficient; but now funders want evidence of outcomes. Funders want to know that you will be able to show their money and your hard work made a difference.  Backing up your thoughtful logic model with appropriate, well-chosen validated assessment tools will allow you to provide evidence of outcomes claimed in your logic model. 

For programs serving families with young children, promoting high quality parenting should be a major component of a well-designed logic model.  Programs, such as Early Head Start, Healthy Families America, Nurse Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers and SafeCare all have parenting as a central pillar of their models, because research shows parenting is pivotal in children’s successful development.  Assessing parenting using a validated observational assessment can convince your proposal reviewer that you will produce evidence of achieving your intended outcomes.  

Rather than using assessments solely as outcomes measures, you can go even further, and incorporate parenting assessment into your service processes.  Erin Cowan, MyChild’sReady, recently explained how she uses parenting assessment to guide program improvement.  Healthy Families New Jersey’s logic model for program management incorporates a home environment assessment into their activities to guide work with individual families. Thus, for the same amount of effort, both programs collect evidence of outcomes and use the information to guide practice.  Such forward thinking and efficiency of effort are bound to impress grant reviewers.

Creating a sound logic model can guide the development of an effective evaluation plan and the selection of appropriate assessment tools.  If planned thoughtfully, this combination of logic model + evaluation plan with valid assessment tools is what you need to write a highly competitive proposal.  We wish you great success in obtaining funding for your program!