Logical Framework Approach

Vertical logic runs down the first column through the objective hierarchy — Goal, Purpose, Outputs, Activities — and expresses the if-then causal chain that connects them, read together with the assumptions. Horizontal logic runs across each row: for every objective it specifies the Objectively Verifiable Indicators that define success and the Means of Verification that supply the evidence. Vertical logic tests whether the strategy is coherent; horizontal logic tests whether achievement can be measured and proven.

OVIs are Objectively Verifiable Indicators — measures stated in terms of quality, quantity, and time so that different observers would agree whether an objective has been met. MOVs are Means of Verification — the specific data sources and collection methods (project records, household surveys, official statistics, field reports) that will provide the values for each indicator. Pairing them ensures that every indicator chosen can actually be measured at acceptable cost and effort.

Both make a project's causal logic explicit, but a Theory of Change is typically a richer, more flexible narrative-and-diagram that maps multiple pathways, preconditions, and assumptions and is well suited to complex change. The Logframe is a more compact, tabular summary optimised for management, contracting, and measurement. In modern practice the two are often used together: a Theory of Change articulates the broader pathway, and the logframe operationalises a selected pathway into measurable objectives, indicators, and assumptions.