The Logic Model as a Tool for Developing a Network Performance Measurement System

Abstract

Performance measurement and networked collaboration are each important trends in public management. Research and practice on these two issues have largely proceeded on separate tracks. A logic model framework offers a way to conceptualize network coordination and performance by making explicit the hypothesized relations between network processes and outcomes. Hatry's (2006) logic model approach is used as a heuristic tool toward developing measurable indicators for network planning, implementation, and evaluation. This article provides a theoretical rationale for bridging the logic model concept with emergent network theory about outcomes-focused network processes. Several illustrative examples depict the application of logic modeling to three elements of a network performance measurement system: planning, implementation, and evaluation. The article discusses the implications of the logic model approach as a tool for developing, managing, and assessing the performance outcomes of collaborative and networked initiatives.

Keywords:

• collaboration
• management
• measurement
• networks