The adoption of the logical framework in international development projects: a survey of non-governmental organizations

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a fundamental role in International Development but their projects often lack efficiency and effectiveness. A key aspect is the proper use of project management tools and methodologies. The Logical Framework (LF) has been suggested as a key tool in this sector. However, the extent and impact of its use by NGOs is still not known. Based on almost 500 questionnaires collected from project managers working on International Development (ID) projects in NGOs around the world, we show that the LF is broadly adopted, especially for large projects and ‘soft’ projects. Moreover, we demonstrate that when used in the various phases of a project’s life-cycle, the LF contributes significantly to the achievement of superior project impact.