Activity 5: Develop logic models

The development of a logic model is the critical next step in building a clear and specific understanding of how your system of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) will operate in the future. It is built upon—and in service of—a vision for the justice system, and it is informed by a careful analysis of current policy and practice in the context of evidence-based research. It reflects both the current inputs (i.e., resources) and activities that are supportive of the desired outcomes and reflective of the areas of advancement the policy team has identified. The logic model, therefore, describes currently available resources, activities that will be retained and those that will be changed or added, the outputs that these activities and changes will produce, and their intended long-term impacts.

The result of building a logic model is a picture that describes your theory of change—a local roadmap of the steps that need to be taken in order to produce your jurisdiction’s risk and harm reduction goals. A logic model provides a tool for managing the implementation and evaluation of EBDM activities.

Elements of an EBDM justice system include sound and testable system-level logic models.