LFA

Logical Framework Analysis Module Report

Introduction: Logical framework analysis (LFA) is used to present a project in an effective manner to a funder. It is a document that provides comprehensive but condensed details about a project. LFA is a tool to help designers of projects to think logically about the purpose of the project, identify the outputs of the project and form the activities to produce the output of the project.

This module ran for three days to focus its theoretical as well as practical learning. During these days all fellows learned many new and useful lessons. After this module we are much confident to make an LFA on the basis of proposal. This module is very important for us to recognize a project proposal and project itself that how much is proposal is strong to run successfully. This report details the material covered in LFA module.

Key points if the module: In LFA module the main key points are the main factors those define all about module description. Key points includes concept of logical framework, the need of the logical framework, goal, purpose, activities, indicators, output, means of verification and assumptions in preparing LFA table. Problem tree and objective tree terms are also important to know the condensed information. Steps include in stakeholders analysis and three steps of making LFA success; top down, work across and bottom up are also the key points.

Module Description: The logical framework (LFA) is an analytical, presentation and management tool that can help planners and managers to analyze the existing situation during activity preparation, establish a logical hierarchy of means by which objectives will be reached, identify the potential risks to achieving the objectives to get sustainable outcomes, establish how to monitor and evaluate outputs and outcomes and, if desired, present a summary of the activity in a standard format. An LFA also helps project managers monitor and review the activities during implementation. A logical framework is also known as a project framework, which is a tool for planning and managing development projects. The log frame should be concise. It is always important to remember that the log frame does not intend to show every detail of the project or to limit the scope of the project. It is simply a convenient, logical summary of the key factors of the project. It can be explained in two pages of A4 size paper. There is no need to explain each and every thing in a log frame in an elaborate way. In logframe analysis only the problem, objective and logframe table is must be included. It should be written so that people for whom it is being presented should understand all the information.

The logframe model was developed first in the United States and has since been adopted and used by many other donors. In standard format a logframe summarizes the said objective of the project, the activities that will be used for achieving the purpose, the assumptions that may affect the project, the required resources, how success of the project can be measured, etc.The LFA is used because most funders prefer it. It can be used for planning, management and evaluation of a project. It not only tells the plane of project, but it also shows the project’s aim and how it will run. LFA also provides a handy summary to inform project staff, donors, beneficiaries and other stakeholders, which can be referred to throughout the lifecycle of the project.

In the group of three people we made the problem tree, objective tree and LFA table on the project called, ‘Improve the Socio-Economic Status of Sexual Minorities.’ Below given table explains the indicators, verification and assumptions of the project.

(Model of logical framework analysis)

Logical Framework Analysis Table
Particulars	Measurable Indicators	Means of Verification	Important Assumptions
Goal
To Improve Socio economic status of sexual minorities in India
Purpose
To reduce Social stigma attached to Sexual Minorities, To achieve social acceptance	30% of general population will be aware about rights of sexual minorities 2015 in Karnataka	SMs working in public sector by external survey /study
Outputs
1. Linked to alternative employment for sexual minorities	40% of the participants initiate IG activities by 2015 in Karnataka	Follow up reports, reports of MFIs
2. Established network with Gos, NGOs and institutions to improve coverage	80% of Gos and NGOs consulted for networking by 2011	Administrative records Visitors register
3. Advocacy done	No of questions and issues raised of sexual minorities in Assembly and Parliament by 2013	Press release and media coverage	Overwhelming support & involvement of community.
Activities
1. To form groups and providing micro credits with the help of MFIs	75% of SM population will be covered by 2012	Registration List, administrative Documents, MFI documents , MPRs	MFIs will provide credits to trained participants.
2. IG training Program for minorities	70% of the covered population will be provided IG training by 2014	Training attendance, Schedule, agenda & reports
3. Exposure visits	All participants exposed to successful SM groups.	Travelling tickets
4. Networking with Gos and NGOs by individual and delegation meet.	No. of Gos and VOs linked	Administrative records,
5. Awareness to the SM and likeminded people by FGD	80% of SM population will be awared by 2020	schedule, agenda, photographs
6. Training on advocacy	500 training by 2015	Reg.list, schedule, agenda, photographs
7. Awareness to general public on gender by street plays	2000 street plays by the end of the project.	photographs & Media coverage

There are some terms used in LFA designing, like goal, purpose, output, activities, indicators, means of verification, assumptions, super goals and inputs. Goal is the ultimate result to which the project is contributing or, in other words, the desired impact of the project. Purpose is the change or effects that will appear if project outputs are achieved. Outputs are the intended results of the project activities; outputs may be the milestones for the project that will indicate the progress on different stages of the project. Indicators define the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of measuring progress, whether project output, purpose and goals have been achieved. Means of verification (MOV) is the data that assess the indicators’ progress. Assumptions assess the external factors that influence the project and can be the major cause of affecting the project.

LFA should be a result of team effort, and there should be involvement of all possible stakeholders. Involvement of stakeholders will strengthen the narrative summary, and the LFA will be more transparent and authentic. At the time of starting LFA designing it is the best to first design the problem tree, then the objective tree and finally the logical framework table. The problem tree identifies the main problem addressing by the project, its cause and its effect. It helps to create the objective tree because the objective tree always identifies and gives the positive solution of the problem. For identifying a problem there are two methods: focal problem method and objectives oriented method. SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis and spider diagrams are also used in LFA to make it stronger, more meaningful and authentic.

Three stages of the success of LFA define the top-down objective in the first stage, measurable indicators and means of verification in the second and assumptions in the third.

Learning: During LFA session I was involved in activities to gain a better understanding of the subject. The first activity, spider diagram practice, was to learn how to assess keenly the project. Through the spider diagram we can discover which particular part needs more attention so that in the future there more efforts can be diverted to this particular portion. The second activity was basically practicing LFA. In this practice I confirmed that if a project is really good then it can positively impact a funder. If an LFA is designed well, it is sufficient to explain the proposal in its entirely.

Learning on Agriculture

Brief report on agriculture module

Introduction: On March 12, 2009, the agriculture module started. All fellows introduced themselves for module facilitators. The method of introduction was to tell one’s name, professional background and expectations of the fellowship program. Mr. Srikanth, Mr. S.L. Desai, Dr. M.B. Pattanshetti and Ms. Sangeeta Patil were the main facilitators for this module, and they all were from AME Foundation. AME Foundation is a Bangalore-based organization that mainly works on agricultural issues and has national-level identification on agricultural issues. All facilitators of this module are the employees of AME Foundation and hold different positions in AME.

Key points of the module: In the agriculture module scenario of the agriculture were told that the total geographical area in Karnataka is 190.50 lakh hectares and total cultivatable area is 123 lakh hectares. Total cultivated area is 116.70 lakh hectares. If it will be considered for irrigated area then it is 31 lakh hectares (26.5%). The total state’s domestic product from agriculture is 20 percent. 73 percent of small and marginal farmers are cultivating 34.5 percent of land. Now the farming situation in India is not up to that level as it should be according to total population of the country involve in the agriculture. Degrading soil fertility, soil carbon and capacity to hold moisture is reduced from the cultivable land. Repeat crop is failing due to environmental degradation and erosion of biodiversity and farm ecosystem also affect on the production. Farmer’s income is decreasing while cost of the production is increasing every year. Local enterprises have collapsed which causes the unstable market and exploitation.

Module description: On the first day Mr. Srikanth started the session with the explanation of the agricultural scenario in India and Karnataka. He said that in India the total geographical area is hectares land of that land, 140 million hectares is cultivatable, but only 30 million hectares is cultivated. In some crops India is in the leading position; India is the second largest rice and wheat producer, the largest milk producer and the world leader in dairy animal products, and the second largest producer of vegetables. India produces 41 percent of the words mangoes, 23 percent of its bananas, 24 percent of its cashew nuts, 36 percent of its green peas and 10 percent of its onions. In the state of Karnataka the total geographical area is 190.50 lakh hectares of the cultivable area is 123 lakh hectares and the area under irrigation is 31 lakh hectares (26.5 percent land). Then the resource person explained contract farming and backward linkage. There are some challenges also in rural livelihood, such as the lack of food and nutritional security, lack of self-reliance in some farmers and lack of capacity building and knowledge empowerment.

In the history of Indian agriculture there was some revolutions that resulted in the improvement of India’s agricultural status. In 1965 to 1970 the ‘green revolution’ which enhancing crop production, and in the 1980s there was the horticulture revolution, with high values crops and then the white revolution for milk corporations. The horticulture consumption in the country is

• Urea 27 million tons (13,500 crore),
• DAP 7.5 million tons (7,500 crore),
• MOP 4.2 million tons (2,310 crore)

In the second-day session I learned about the integrated farming system and livestock. The integrated farming system includes integrated crop management, integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, livestock management, natural resource management and income generation activities. LEISA (low external input for sustainable agriculture) is a method that gives sustainability to the agriculture while using low-cost inputs like organic manures, natural resources, etc. Now LEISA technology is necessary to use in rural agriculture because it decreases the total cost of the crop and promotes (natural resource management) NRM.

Farmer’s field visit: In the afternoon on the second day, I visited the village of Kurdikeri of Hubli Talluka. First I was introduced to the locally-used natural manure resources. All farmers made a practical presentation on manure organics, showing the processes they use for making manures. Then I visited the farmers’ field. Here one meeting was organized where Mr. Desai explained the process of how farmers use technologies in their fields. I also saw how farmers apply practical practices to crops to prevent pesticides and insects. It is called Farmer’s Field School (FFS).

On the third and last day of the module I participated in debate. This debate was on the topic ‘Rural Economy and Industrial Economy’ and all Deshpande Fellowship Program fellows were divided into two groups. The main objective of this activity was to enrich the knowledge of fellows and to recall all the learning.

During all sessions documentary films were shown : Highway to Hell, Seed in Internal Exile, New Hopes in Groundnut Farming System.

Learning: I learned many things from this module but the lesson of effect of pesticides on land crops and human beings was the most interesting for me. After learning the various disadvantages of pesticides I am quite confident to talk with farmers about it.

The market knowledge and use of new technologies are also some of the best practices all farmers should know and make maximum use of. I can facilitate farmers well in collaborating with the market and using advanced technologies and locally available resources.

Conclusion: Agriculture is a vast issue and it is also a less considered issue in terms of learning. Most of the time agriculture is ignored as an industry. In India agriculture gives livelihood to the 1,100 million people of the total population. On the bases of all aspects here some points that can be considered as the next step in agriculture development. There is a need to

• Bring middle level farmers into the development process,
• Build their awareness level about what is happening around them,
• Build their ability in managing the farm natural resources efficiency,
• Help them to learn more efficient cropping patterns and
• Build their abilities to deal with marketing and other externalities.

Creative Learning

Agastya International Foundation is a reputed organization in the field of creative education. Agastya is famous because of its uniqueness around the world. Teen age students like Agastya’s scientific ways of teaching science, ecology and arts subjects. Agastya was formed in 1997 in Andhrapradesh. There are 34 mobile vans that move place to place to give practical knowledge to students at their doorstep. Now the vans work in two states of India, Andhra and Karnataka, through 253 committed staff members. The main objective for running mobile vans is to bring students closer to the reality of scientific reasoning and make education interesting.

Mr. Ramji Raghavan is the chairman of Agastya International Foundation. He was with Dshpande Feellows for one day session in the month of March. Before Agastya he worked in consulting and banking in India, he then jumped from India to San Juan (Puerto Rico) to New York City to London, and he then finally spent a short while in Luxembourg. His working career also included two years in a social-spiritual purpose company, helping a friend in London.  

Ramji started thinking about creating Agastya beginning in 1994 when he was in London. He received support from his father for this innovation and met Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra, in 1998 to get land to start an eco-friendly centre for students. After some successful pioneering work with teachers on applying scientific ways of teaching, he acquired 160 acres of land. His main goal in starting Agastya was and remains to make children confident without a fear of learning. To start this enterprise he got monetary support from some NRIs to establish the foundation. The year 2002 was very important for Agastya; they started a running mobile lab through a van. They were visiting schools to demonstrate and giving close experience of science-related happenings. They achieved overwhelming success with international recognition of this project. When it saw positive impact being made, the government started working in partnership with Agastya in Chittur District in the year 2004. Soon after, the Government of Karnataka also offered partnership to start this initiative in the state in 2007. Here they started organized an exhibition, fare stalls and science centers in different places.

Recently Agastya received an offer of Rs. 100 crore from JhunJhunwala, Mumbai, and the central government of India has also asked Agastya to make a plan to implement this project nationwide.

Ramji Raghavan’s views:

‘Always aim high.’

‘Try to do/apply things not only think about them.’

‘Learning and work should be fun, not imposed.’