The project’s inputs: resources and budget

The resources and budget section of the logframe in the bottom rowThe inputs or resources are the things that are transformed into outputs (tangible results). When we talk about inputs, we generally think about money, staff, materials and equipment. But there are other things that are needed for a project: time, knowledge and information, space, infrastructure, communication/information channels (access to information) and so on.

Make sure all the necessary resources are there and that the resources are adapted to the context you’re working in. Buying an ordinary car is not a good idea in places where the definition of ‘road’ is ‘a long strip in the forest where there are no trees or really big boulders’. Inkjet printers have a notoriously short lifespan in hot desert countries. Highly trained, highly qualified staff may be difficult to find in certain countries, or not willing to go live and work in very difficult, poorly paid circumstances. Time is relative: it slows down when you travel near light speed and when you do projects in certain countries and regions.

The necessary resources for the project are generally placed on the bottom row of the logframe, next to the activities (below the indicators of the outputs, purpose(s) and goals). For each resource, you have to mention the quantity, a short description and the cost (under budget).

All the resources come at a price. In the third column of the bottom row you can put the estimated budget for each of these resources. Both for the resources and the budget, the rule is that you don’t specify every little thing you need. The idea is to give an indication of the main resources, costs and investments. A detailed overview of every item in the budget can be found in the project’s budget (in a separate document).

Talking about causality: for a donor it is very important to know that the inputs he finances are used for the planned activities (that he approves) and that those activities lead to the planned outputs and – hopefully – to the purpose of the project. In other words: the donor wants to know that he gets what he pays for.

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