Programme design, logframes and MEAL for NGOs
We help NGOs design programmes their donors can follow from activity to result, and build the systems to measure and report on them.
Good design makes reporting easier
Donors fund programmes they can understand. A clear theory of change shows how your work leads to change. A logframe turns that into targets and indicators. A monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) system shows the results year after year.
When these pieces fit together, reporting becomes routine. When they do not, teams spend months chasing data that was never collected. We help you get the design right at the start, or fix it once the programme is running.
What we help with
Theory of change
A facilitated process with your team and partners that sets out the change you want, the pathway to it and the assumptions to test.
Logframes and results frameworks
Outcomes, outputs and activities with measurable indicators, baselines, targets and means of verification in your donor's format.
MEAL systems
Monitoring and evaluation plans, indicator tracking tables, data collection tools and training for the staff who use them.
Donor reporting and compliance
Templates and calendars that turn field data into narrative and financial reports your donor accepts first time.
Subgrant management
Systems for partner selection, financial reporting, compliance monitoring and disbursement tracking.
Gender equality and social inclusion
Gender analysis built into design, budgets and indicators, so the programme reaches the people it is meant for.
Experience behind it
At ForumCiv, Brenda held compliance accountability for a $15.5M grant portfolio across Eastern and Southern Africa, designed its subgrant management system and managed a $4.8M Sida funded programme on girls' education and entrepreneurship. She required gender power analysis in partner proposals before they were funded.
As Kenya Country Lead at Vital Strategies, she built gender equity into country budgets and programmes, increasing women's access to sexual and reproductive health services by 30%. In 2023 she designed monitoring and evaluation plans for programmes in Kenya and Tanzania and trained field teams to use them.
Common questions
What is the difference between a theory of change and a logframe?
A theory of change explains how and why your activities lead to the change you want. A logframe sets out that logic in a table with indicators, targets, means of verification and assumptions. Most institutional donors ask for both.
Can you fix a logframe after the grant has started?
Yes. We review indicators and targets, align them with your data collection and help you agree changes with your donor.
Do you train our field staff?
Yes. We design M&E plans and indicator tables and train field teams to collect and report data.
Book a call about your programme
Tell us where your programme is: design, delivery or reporting.