The aspect of goals and objectives plays an important 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 achievements you plan to accomplish. You will need to convince the audience that your goal embodies a credible vision and that you are capable of realistically achieving your objectives.

What is a goal?

A goal reflects what you wish to achieve, and goals should be: large, broad, and visionary, intangible, and reflect general intentions that your organization wishes to accomplish in its community. On the other hand, the goal should represent the ultimate outcome you hope to achieve, one that everyone can feel. It is preferable to use visual words in your goals such as: elevate, increase, develop, establish, build, produce, and provide.

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

Your smart goals must be based on the following conditions:

  • Specific, so it is not vague.
  • Measurable so you have the ability to periodically assess and determine achievement rates and performance indicators.
  • Achievable and not fanciful.
  • Meets a need for you and your audience.
  • Has a specific timeframe.

Smart goals can have two types of objectives to consider, which are:

Operational objectives: these are the important or activity-related 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 terms that are quantifiable.

The objectives must include the outcome of any activities you will undertake.

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

The objectives must be realistic and achievable within the specified time period.

Here is an example of a goal and an aligned objective:

Goal: To 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 provide health and nutritional information.

(Note how this objective is smart, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound).

Evaluation methods are optional: Trainers track where and when the training occurs and the number of participating mothers.

Also, do not forget to make your goals and objectives directly linked to your needs statement, include all relevant groups and individuals in your target audience, and always allow sufficient time to achieve your objectives.

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

Meanwhile, it is essential to know how to measure the anticipated changes regarding each objective. If there is no way to measure the impact and success of the objective, it must be changed or discarded. Even if you are unsure of how many objectives you should achieve for each goal, you can include a rate of two or three objectives. Your project may require multiple steps to achieve a particular goal.

In general, to convince the audience of the importance of your objectives, they must be measurable, while the quality of this measure will be a convincing factor for the audience.

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

You need to consider whether you need quantitative information that counts things, or qualitative information that pertains to 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, you should take the time to define your goals and objectives, as their quality can contribute to making a difference in persuading your funder either to provide money for your project or to decline your request.

Source: Balance

Author: Joan Fritz