Pain or Gain? The Logical Framework in international development projects - Exploring experiences of development practitioners in Sweden
(2021) MIDM19 20211Department of Human Geography
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
- Abstract
- The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) has been a prevailing project management tool in the international development sector for decades, largely driven by donors. However, few studies have analysed its use from the practitioner perspective. The few studies done on the topic flag several issues with LFA, and some also suggest alternatives. Sweden is a leading actor in the development aid sector, and the Swedish donor community has lately relaxed their LFA requirement, allowing implementing agencies to decide their own approach. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design with semi-structured interviews of development practitioners in Sweden, this study shows that LFA is still habitually used in Sweden. Although alternatives such as... (More)
- The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) has been a prevailing project management tool in the international development sector for decades, largely driven by donors. However, few studies have analysed its use from the practitioner perspective. The few studies done on the topic flag several issues with LFA, and some also suggest alternatives. Sweden is a leading actor in the development aid sector, and the Swedish donor community has lately relaxed their LFA requirement, allowing implementing agencies to decide their own approach. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design with semi-structured interviews of development practitioners in Sweden, this study shows that LFA is still habitually used in Sweden. Although alternatives such as Outcome Mapping and Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation are being tried, efforts to explore other options are still timid compared to the established practice of using LFA. At the same time, the study shows that there are attempts in Sweden to rather adapt the LFA in a way to facilitate its improved use, or to combine it with some suggested alternatives to make up for its deficiencies. The study also finds that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may have brought its share of contribution towards adapting the use of LFA. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9044067
- author
- Mocanu, Alexandru LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MIDM19 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Logical Framework Approach (LFA), Project Cycle Management (PCM), Results Based Management (RBM), Development Projects, Adaptation, Covid-19
- language
- English
- id
- 9044067
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-21 10:30:24
- date last changed
- 2021-06-21 10:30:24
@misc{9044067, abstract = {{The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) has been a prevailing project management tool in the international development sector for decades, largely driven by donors. However, few studies have analysed its use from the practitioner perspective. The few studies done on the topic flag several issues with LFA, and some also suggest alternatives. Sweden is a leading actor in the development aid sector, and the Swedish donor community has lately relaxed their LFA requirement, allowing implementing agencies to decide their own approach. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design with semi-structured interviews of development practitioners in Sweden, this study shows that LFA is still habitually used in Sweden. Although alternatives such as Outcome Mapping and Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation are being tried, efforts to explore other options are still timid compared to the established practice of using LFA. At the same time, the study shows that there are attempts in Sweden to rather adapt the LFA in a way to facilitate its improved use, or to combine it with some suggested alternatives to make up for its deficiencies. The study also finds that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may have brought its share of contribution towards adapting the use of LFA.}}, author = {{Mocanu, Alexandru}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Pain or Gain? The Logical Framework in international development projects - Exploring experiences of development practitioners in Sweden}}, year = {{2021}}, }