Transforming and Mobilizing Fluid Accounting Inscriptions : The Logical Framework in Non-Governmental Organizations

The article seeks to better understand the transformation and mobilization of the Logical Framework, a project planning and performance assessment tool that is widely used in international development organizations. The Logical Framework has certain features, including its capacity to (a) summarize projects in the form of a “simple” and visually appealing matrix, (b) be modified by the addition or removal of components, (c) use components to create other inscriptions, and (d) avoid control by a cadre of inventors, consultants, or agencies. These features make the Logical Framework a fluid inscription (i.e. components and relations among them vary, blurring its boundaries both descriptively and practically). These features also allow its users to transform and mobilize the Logical Framework through the field of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by extending (plugging) its components into other inscriptions and practices — particularly into the NGO's communicative practices and management accounting controls, such as the strategic plan, operating plan, and budget. Such transformations further blur its boundaries. These connections make the Logical Framework a powerful device: they introduce into the field of NGOs a way of thinking about, and controlling from a distance, the practice of international development. Based on field research in Central America, the study contributes to our understanding of management accounting controls in international development organizations, the transformation and mobilization of accounting objects, and fluid inscriptions