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Large or small, federal or state, corporate or foundation -- every grant proposal shares common elements, yet every proposal is unique.

If you're looking for a way to organize your thinking about the elements of the proposal as they apply to your particular circumstances, look no further than the logic model.

A logic model is a pictorial representation of what you hope to accomplish, how you plan to accomplish it, and how you will measure your accomplishment. A well-constructed logic model can provide the underpinning for your evaluation plan and help define the relationship among your program elements.

Google "logic model" and you'll find plenty of explanations and examples from such diverse sources as federal agencies, foundations, and universities. Here are a few of our favorites:

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation provides a free Logic Model Development Guide, a 71-page what-why-and-how primer on logic models. The guide offers many examples and definitions of terms and elements used in logic models, and tells users how to develop a logic model and use it as a tool for evaluation planning.

The Center for Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (a division of the U.S. Department of Justice) offers an online guide, Developing and Working with Program Logic Models. The Bureau gives an easy-to-understand "if-then" sequence for developing logic models, explains common problems with logic model development, and provides links to further resources.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (also of the U.S. Department of Justice) discusses logic models in terms of performance measures, and how they relate to project goals, objectives, specific problems, and design. OJJDP offers a glossary of terms related to performance measures, and provides an excellent generic logic model (download the PDF here).

The Program Development and Evaluation Unit of the University of Wisconsin - Extension provides extensive resources for logic modeling, including templates, examples, a bibliography, and slide presentations, as well as a self-study module, "Enhancing Program Performance with Logic Models."

The Harvard Family Research Project recommends a logic model as one of the first steps in evaluation design in its brief, Learning from Logic Models: An Example of a Family/School Partnership Program. As part of its Community Tool Box, the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas provides a comprehensive online resource, Developing a Logic Model or Theory of Change, which includes helpful examples of generic and specific logic models.

The Pell Institute provides an online Evaluation Toolkit with links to sample logic models and web-based resources, as well as basics on using and creating logic models. Its observations on how to create a logic model are particularly helpful, reminding proposal writers that developing a logic model may take a team more than just one meeting.

If you'd like a hard copy of this article, please visit our Resources page and download the PDF, "Logic Models: Useful Online Resources."  

What does it take to develop a compelling story that will make the reviewers of your grant proposal want to read the proposal from top to bottom, pay careful attention to your ideas, and give serious consideration to your request for funding? In a new resource, GrantProse tells you! Besides adhering strictly to the RFP, we offer some thoughts on using plot and story line to engage grant reviewers on an emotional level. To download a free PDF of Crafting the Compelling Story, click HERE.