A moderator or facilitator needs to help others determine:
- a broad enough Entity,
- and invite valuable participants WHO want to share required information and criticism,
- a safe environment by setting the room and mixing participants,
- the organizational context ('force field analysis'),
- a mutual understanding WHY a change is required; what real existing problems block progress,
- WHAT the project can realistically achieve (Results) and what not (Assumptions for monitoring),
- WHAT this will actually mean; the indicators,
- WHAT the project can do and what not (Assumptions for monitoring),
- who will be responsible for the implementation and
- the required organizational capacity by assessing internal organizational obstacles and design the organizational capacity plan (the 'HOW will it happen' matrix).
The facilitator needs to make the above steps happen in a smooth natural way involving each and everybody equally by only have them talk about the content.
After having gone through several crises all participants managed finally to raise out of the 'field with land mines' and help the group as a real confident moderator!
Even the experts still discuss primarily the LFA and OM tools to determine the expected outcomes and assumptions of interventions.
When we analyze a Logical Framework Matrix we evaluate the following:
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Interestingly with the introduction of Results Based Management we noted a decline of interest in LFA ... This is interesting indeed as LFA is the basic instrument for RBM ... Moreover, as the general observation is that LFA is very poorly applied, interest should actually be higher ....
We observe an interesting phenomena that many publications and training courses refer to Project or Programme Cycle Management (PCM) while these actually describe the Logical Framework Analysis or Approach (LFA).
Again we realize the need to enhance the communication between stakeholders or even just the members of a team! Mis-communication and poor listening are common phenomena.
In 1998 the web designer bureau of Michel Uyttebroeck (www.piccaya.com) played with the letters PCM and created the 'face' we wanted. We expressed to use colours in line with the meaning of the coloured cards used to visualize concepts and ideas in workshops: We SEE PROBLEMS (yellow), we DREAM of OBJECTIVES (green), we want to HEAR RESULTS (red) and we SPEAK about ACTIVITIES (blue).
Project plans are usually quite explicit about WHAT should happen. This is presented in the traditional Logical Framework Matrix. The results and related activities are directed at end-users or final beneficiaries. Obviously because development principles and because the donors want to see improvements in their lives, the plans are directed towards them.
However, it looks like many projects actually interact with intermediary agencies and help them to build the required capacity to implement the activities in the WHAT matrix.
