Logic model and theory of change, told apart
What is the difference between a logic model and a theory of change?
A logic model is a table of what you put in and what comes out: inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, usually on one page and usually left to right. A theory of change is the argument underneath it, explaining why you believe those activities produce those outcomes, including the assumptions and the conditions it depends on. The logic model shows what you will do. The theory of change shows why it should work. Funders ask for them by name and interchanging them is a common way to answer a question nobody asked.
Last reviewed 10 August 2026.
What each one actually contains
- Logic model: five columns
- Inputs, the resources you commit. Activities, what you do with them. Outputs, the countable products of those activities. Outcomes, the change in participants. Impact, the longer-term change you contribute to. One page, and a reviewer should be able to read it without you in the room.
- Theory of change: the causal argument
- Works backwards from the long-term change to the preconditions that have to be true for it to happen, and states why each link holds. It carries assumptions explicitly, which is the part a logic model has no place for and the part a sceptical funder is most interested in.
- The tell in the announcement
- A one-page limit and a request for a diagram almost always means a logic model. A request for your assumptions, your rationale, or evidence for your approach means a theory of change, whatever the announcement calls it.
Building one from the other
If you have a logic model and need a theory of change, take each arrow and write the sentence that justifies it. "Twelve workshops produce improved financial literacy" is a claim, and the theory of change is where you say why twelve rather than three, and what has to be true about attendance for it to hold.
Going the other way is easier. A theory of change already contains everything a logic model needs; building the model is a matter of sorting what you have into the five columns and cutting the argument out.
Do both once, properly, and you will reuse them for years. They describe your programme rather than any particular grant, which puts them in the small set of documents worth investing real time in.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- What to have ready before you need itWhat documents do I need to apply for a grant?
- Is your organization ready to apply for grants?What does my organization need before it can apply for grants?
- The budget narrative, line by lineWhat goes in a grant budget narrative?
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