Glossary of Terms

Learning (heuristic) practices:

To imaginatively decontextualize data or synthesize it in new ways. Learning how to solve novel problems by reflecting on the results of one’s own experience.

Legitimacy (trust):

The belief that an institution exhibits properties that justify its power and (b) a duty to obey that emerges out of this sense of appropriateness; that trust is about positive expectations about valued behavior from institutional officials.

Lessons learned:

Generalizations based on evaluation findings that abstract from the specific circumstances to broader situations. Frequently, lessons highlight strengths or weaknesses in preparation, design, and implementation that affect performance, outcome and impact.

Level of Significance:

The probability that observed differences did not occur by chance.

Linkages:

A USAID funded project that aims to accelerate the ability of partner governments, key population-led civil society organizations and private-sector providers to plan, deliver and optimize comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment services to reduce HIV transmission among key populations and help those who are HIV positive live longer.

Logic Model:

A logic model, often a visual representation, provides a road map showing the sequence of related events connecting the need for a planned program with the programs’ desired outcomes and results.

Literature review:

A comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research.

Logical Framework (Logframe):

A management tool used to improve the design and evaluation of interventions that is widely used by development agencies. It is a type of logic model that identifies strategic project elements (inputs, outputs, outcomes, impact) and their causal relationships, indicators, and the assumptions or risks that may influence success and failure. Related term: Results Framework.

Longitudinal ongoing assessment:

A observational study that involves repeated observations of the same variables over short or long periods of time.