The aspect of goals and objectives plays a significant role that can make or break your organization. This part of your proposal reflects what your organization hopes to achieve, while clarifying the specific outcomes and accomplishments you plan to reach. You will need to convince the audience that your goal embodies a credible vision and that you are capable of realistically achieving your goals.

What is a goal?

A goal reflects what you wish to achieve, and goals should be: large, broad, forward-looking, intangible, and reflect general intentions that your organization wants to fulfill in its community. On the other hand, a goal should represent the ultimate result you hope to achieve, which everyone can feel, and it is preferable to use visual words in your goals such as: uplift, increase, develop, solidify, build, produce, and provide.

What are your goals and how do you make them smart?

Your smart goals must be based on the following criteria:

  • Specific so that it is not vague.
  • Measurable so that you have the ability to conduct regular assessments and determine achievement ratios and performance indicators.
  • Achievable and not fanciful.
  • Meets a need for you and your audience.
  • Has a defined timeframe.

Smart goals can be taken into consideration in two types of objectives, which are:

Operational objectives: important goals or activity objectives with specified start and end times.

Impact objectives: the future impact of your project if it is funded.

Additionally, you should consider the following when setting your goals:

State your objectives in quantifiable measurable terms.

Objectives should include the outcome of any activity you will undertake.

The objectives should specify the target audience you plan to serve.

The objectives should be realistic and achievable within the specified time frame.

Here is an example of a goal and corresponding objective:

Goal: Reduce the rate of malnutrition among young children in the Baltimore area.

Objective: By the end of the year, provide mothers in Baltimore with a two-hour training program to deliver health and nutrition information.

(Note how this objective is smart, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and within a defined timeframe).

The assessment method is optional: Trainers track the location and timing of the trainings and the number of participating mothers.

Also, remember to make your goals and objectives directly linked to your needs statement, ensure all relevant groups and individuals are included in the target audience, and always allow sufficient time to achieve your objectives.

Do not overlook the outcomes resulting from achieving these objectives by focusing on the methods used.

In the meantime, you must know how to measure the expected changes regarding each objective. If there is no way to measure the effect and success of this objective, you must change or abandon it. Even if you are unsure how many objectives you need to achieve to reach each goal, you can list two or three objectives. Your project may require you to take multiple steps to achieve a specific goal.

Overall, to convince the audience of the importance of your objectives, they must be measurable, while the quality of this measurement will factor into the audience's persuasion.

The evaluation of the objective can take several forms, from simply counting the number of people who received your service, conducting surveys regarding their feedback after receiving your services, to conducting tests to measure changes.

You need to consider whether you need quantitative information, which entails counting things, or qualitative information, which is concerned with experiences and feelings. Depending on your objective, you may need both types of information.

You should also ensure that you understand the differences between inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Additionally, take the time to define your goals and objectives, as their quality may contribute to persuading your funding agency to either provide funding for your project or reject your request.

Source: Balances

Author: Joan Fritz