Peters & Associates offers similar services to Not-For-Profit organizations as it does for For-Profit organizations in areas of business and financial planning. However Not-For-Profit organizations can also benefit from organizational assessments and evaluations. This is often done through the use of a logic model.

It is useful to visually describe what an organization does and what it hopes to achieve. A logic model (sometimes referred to as a results chain) identifies the linkages between the activities of a project / program and the achievement of its outcomes. It clarifies the set of activities that make up the program and the sequence of outputs and outcomes that are expected to flow from these activities.

In a sense, it serves as a roadmap that indicates how an organization’s major activities lead to the outcomes it wants to achieve and provides the base for the performance measurement framework.

The arrows connecting the boxes are basically interpreted as “if … then” statements. “If these resources (they would be specifically identified) are available then these activities can be carried out; if these activities are carried out then these outputs will be accomplished; if these outputs are accomplished then these (short, intermediate and long term) outcomes will occur”.

The organization has significant control over its resources, activities and outputs (internal influences), but its influence diminishes as it moves from the left hand side of the logic model to the right hand side – due to external influences over time. It also has more direct influence on short-term outcomes than long-term outcomes.