In Brief:

What are the implications of a sustainable livelihoods (SL) approach for the logical framework or logframe? Although many practitioners find logframes useful, they have also received considerable criticism from staff within development agencies; from trainers who try to convey appropriate methodologies for generating them; and from partners who are required to produce them in order to get funding. This brief note aims to outline some of the ways in which logframes and the SL approach are neither complementary nor compatible, and proposes an alternative 'framework' for consideration and comment (See: Kath Pasteur).

Rick Davies questions some of the conclusions of the above paper, particularly with regard to the different positions of NGOs in the implementation and continued use of logframes.

Sarah Earl points out how the development of 'Outcome Mapping' has addressed similar issues to the questions raised by logframes. How are livelihoods approaches actually being used in a range of development interventions? This question is also explored by a new research project Goodbye to Projects aiming to identify and clarify the challenges to the design, appraisal and implementation of development interventions and changes required from the adoption of a livelihoods approach. The first working paper produced by the project is a bibliography the livelihoods approach, and the implications for mananging interventions using the livelihoods and other new approaches such as SWAps and a 'rights-based' approach. The project's questionnaire on development interventions is now available on the LC post-it board.

A paper presented at the European Evaluation Society annual conference shows to what extent the logframe can usefully be employed by development agencies as a way of representing change processes.

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