The Shapes of Things
The Graphic Language of Program Logics and Several Alternatives
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6423935 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christopher Phillip Banks (0000-0003-0907-7816, CSIRO, Dutton Park, QLD, Australia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 165-185 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Evaluation Journal of Australasia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1035-719X • E-ISSN: 2515-9372 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719x251358518 |
| OpenAlex | W4412048983 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
Program logic models are widespread and useful tools for stakeholder engagement, communication, program development and planning, and evaluation purposes. However, a key potential weakness includes the difficulty conveying the complexity associated with many interventions, which is exacerbated by the limited range of visuals used in most program logics. Program logics are almost always represented as text within rectangular boxes arranged in columns or rows, representing inputs, outputs, and outcomes; with arrows representing the linkages between them. The simplicity and consistency of this graphic language is useful but also presents a risk of over-simplifying and misleading non-evaluator users into a direct, causal set of relationships. In addition, rectangles and arrows have cultural and historical meanings that often go un-examined. This article provides a brief review of the symbology of program logics, identifies several issues with current practice, and provides several alternatives for conveying causal relationships and other aspects of program logics. It is hoped that the focus on an expanded visual vocabulary will help evaluators convey the complex reality of programs
Computer graphics (images · Linguistics · Programming language · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Computer Science · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Health Policy Implementation Science · Philosophy
Persistence and Fade-Out of Educational-Intervention Effects
Understanding Youth’s Lived Experience of Anxiety through Metaphors
Squaring the Circle
A Three-Step Approach to Teaching Logic Models
Using Root Cause Analysis for Evaluating Program Improvement
Evaluation of Pacific cancer care navigation patient facilitation and support service
Illuminative Evaluation as a Method Applied to Australian Government Policy Borrowing and Implementation in Higher Education
Fanning the flame’
Using rapid evaluation methods to assess service delivery changes
Buzzing—A Theory-Based Impact Evaluation Design
The connection between logic models and systems thinking concepts
Utilising existing data for a pilot social return on investment analysis of the family wellbeing empowerment program
Developing Symbiotic Clinical Educators
The politics of program logic
Interactive Logic Models
Evaluation as an integrated management tool
Evaluating the capacity building roles of the state and territory peak bodies in the Australian alcohol and other drug sector
Evaluators and the enhanced Commonwealth performance framework
Evaluating System Cascading Failures
The illogic of logic models
Thinking with theory as a policy evaluation tool
Improvement focused’ evaluation of place-based initiatives
Development of a Child Evaluation Framework for Early Childhood Services Using Deliberative Democratic Evaluation and the Mosaic Approach
Critical appraisal of the establishment of a theory-informed evaluation capacity building function in a large government department
Gearing up for Trade—Evaluating Australia's Contribution to Trade Facilitation in South East Asia and the Pacific
Building Evaluation Capability in the Public Health Workforce
A comparative case study illustrating the influence of a system perspective on the outcome evaluation of simple versus complex interventions
What's in a shape? Evidence of gender category associations with basic forms
Managing the risk of program failure
Do observers like curvature or do they dislike angularity
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |