Understanding the CALP Logic Model
A logic model is a visual “snapshot” that shows the intended relationship between program inputs, activities, outputs, and desired outcomes. The CALP Logic Model is a useful tool to guide your program planning and program evaluation. Simply put, a logic model can help you lay out what a program is supposed to achieve, by mapping out the desired outcomes that relate to the program’s inputs, activities and outputs. The desired outcomes are divided into immediate outcomes, intermediate outcomes and ultimate outcomes.
At first glance the CALP Logic Model can be overwhelming, but once you understand what each of the layers represents, you’ll see how simple it really is. This is what the Logic Model that was developed for the Community Adult Learning Program looks like:
Download a printable version of the CALP Logic Model and Evaluation Framework.
At the top of the logic model is our “ultimate destination” or vision for the Program:
To get to our destination, we will use the resources we have (inputs) to perform certain activities. Over time, we should see changes in how adult learners participate in and benefit from foundational learning in our communities.
To achieve our Vision, at the top of the Model, let's start at the beginning. Any Logic Model assumes that there are inputs, activities and outputs that contribute to the advancement of the Vision.
Inputs: Resources that go into a program.
At a CALP, inputs include things like money, staff, equipment, facilities, materials, curriculum, etc.
Activities: The actual work or tasks that are being done within the program.
Common actitivites in CALPs include planning with learners, designing and delivering learning opportunities and programs, offering Learner Support Services, engaging community and program evaluation.
Outputs: The things that are produced as a result of those activities or tasks.
Outputs are usually easy to count, and can be items like the number of programs or workshops held, number of learners registered in programs, number of brochures produced, etc.
Outcomes: The changes or benefits that resulted from the program. Outcomes are divided into “immediate”, “intermediate” and “ultimate” outcomes.
Immediate Outcomes: New knowledge, changed attitudes or changed motivation. 
Immediate outcomes are the changes we can see in the short term, and are often things like increased awareness, or committing to a plan. In the CALP Logic Model, the three Outcomes at the Immediate level are intended to show the work CALPs do to identify adult foundational learning needs, both at an individual level with each learner, as well as at a broader community level.
The immediate outcomes in the CALP Logic Model are:
1.1 Adult learners demonstrate commitment to learning
2.1 CALPs know the learning needs of their communities
3.1 CALPs build community support for foundational learning
Note: For the CALP grant, you are not required to report on outcomes at the immediate level, but you will need to be able to describe how you plan to achieve these outcomes.
Intermediate Outcomes: Modified behavior or practice, such as making decisions based on new knowledge.
The Outcomes at the Intermediate level of the CALP Logic Model are intended to show how CALPs are addressing the adult foundational learning needs in thier communities, and with each individual learner. Intermediate Outcomes usually happen after one or more immediate outcomes, and usually take a little longer. These outcomes are often shown in changes in behaviour.
The intermediate outcomes in the CALP Logic Model are:
1.2 Adult learners acquire new skills
2.2 CALPs develop and deliver foundational learning that meets needs
3.2 Communities support the delivery of adult foundational learning
Ultimate Outcomes: A lasting change in condition.
In the CALP system, we have three "Ultimate Outcomes" that each contribute to our vision. Ultimate outcomes look at the changes in the condition of the learner and measure long-term impact. Ultimate level outcomes are often too big and complex to measure directly, but tracking our progress on other levels of outcomes will tell us we are moving towards our ultimate outcomes.
The ulitmate outcomes in the CALP Logic Model are:
1. Adult learners persist in learning foundational skills that they use in their everyday lives
2. Adult learners have access to relevant and engaging learning opportunities
3. Adult learners benefit from CALPs that are well-connected in their communities.
Indicators and Measures
For each desired outcome, in order to know whether we’re making a difference or not, we need some Indicators that will tell us if we are still heading in the right direction, and tangible Measures to track progress.
If you think of indicators as dials on the dashboard of a yacht, some key indicators might be direction, speed, and fuel. We would use the measurements from these indicators to determine if we are on track to get to where we are going, or if we need to make some “course corrections”.
In the CALP Logic Model, Outcomes at the intermediate level have indicators associated with them, as well as specific things to measure.
So let’s look at how Indicators and Measures help us track our progress towards the intermediate outcome “Adult learners acquire new skils."
Indicator:
Specific item of information that tracks progress against outcomes. It describes observable or measureable changes that represent achievement of an outcome.
In this example, we need an indicator to show that learners are indeed participating, so one of the indicators in the model is “Skills Use”. It's not always feasible or appropriate to assess skills proficiency in a CALP, but research tells us that adult learners who use new skills outside the learning setting are more likely to increase their proficiency in the skill they are learning.
Measure:
Measures and Indicators are related, but they’re not the same thing. Measures are quantifiable, and can be tracked over time. Measures can be statistics or calculations related to our indicators.
In this example, we will use the # and % of adult learners who report using foundational skills in their everyday lives as a result of participating in a CALP learning opportunity. The percentage is based on the actual number of learners who report using the skills relative to the total number of learners evaluated.