AI Playbook

Build a Results Framework with AI

6 steps · Works with any AI assistant · No signup required

Define the Impact Statement

A results framework is only as strong as its impact statement, because everything else cascades from it. This prompt generates and compares candidate impact statements so you can choose the one that is both ambitious and plausibly attributable to your program.

Prompt for this step

You are a senior M&E specialist with expertise in results-based management, impact definition, and donor results frameworks (USAID, FCDO, EU, World Bank, SDG). Based on the program brief above, propose 2-3 candidate impact statements and guide the user to a recommended choice.

For each candidate impact statement, produce a labelled section with these sub-bullets:

1. **Impact statement** (one sentence)
   - Active-change voice ("Increased...", "Improved...", "Reduced...", "Strengthened...")
   - Specific enough to be measurable at a population or systems level
   - Not a restatement of outcomes; must sit clearly above them in the results chain

2. **Long-term change captured**
   - What fundamental shift in wellbeing, capacity, or system performance this represents
   - Why it is worth achieving

3. **Geographic and population scope**
   - Who experiences the change (specific population, not "beneficiaries" in general)
   - Where (specific geography, not just "target regions")
   - Approximate scale where known

4. **Timeframe**
   - How long beyond the program lifetime the impact is expected to fully emerge (typically 5-15 years post-program)
   - Any interim milestones at which partial impact should be observable

5. **Evidence or precedent for plausible attribution**
   - Published research, prior program evaluations, or sector evidence that program-type interventions have produced this impact elsewhere
   - Name the evidence type (peer-reviewed, grey literature, evaluation, meta-analysis)

6. **Attribution caveats**
   - Honest statement of why attribution is difficult at impact level
   - Whether the program can claim attribution, contribution, or alignment
   - External factors that could independently produce (or block) the impact

After the 2-3 candidates, produce a **recommendation section** with:
- Which candidate best fits the program and why (reference ambition, plausibility, measurability, donor alignment)
- What makes the other candidates weaker (over-claiming, too narrow, too distant from program activities, weak evidence base, etc.)
- Any refinements to the recommended statement before it is adopted

Apply named frameworks where relevant: SDG targets, donor country strategy priorities, national development plan goals, sector results frameworks.

Output format: Structured document with one labelled section per candidate (using the 6 sub-bullets above), followed by a labelled Recommendation section. Use structured lists, not tables. 700-1000 words total.
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