Step 4.5.1

Goals and objectives

Your goals and objectives help funders decide whether your project is properly aligned with their mandate.

Goals and objectives should be differentiated, but clearly linked. Goals are the large statements of what you hope to ultimately accomplish and are often too large to measure. Good objectives, on the other hand should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-limited. They should identify an audience of interest, and the specific change that you plan on effecting in that audience.

Indicators are also necessary, as they will clearly show whether the objectives were achieved. It is also important to provide brief evidence, supported by details in the Appendix, showing that your project will result in achieving the objectives, and that you have realistically assessed the available resources for doing so. Finally, it is important that you be clear on when the objectives will be met.

When outlining goals and objectives, you may choose to elaborate on the discussion started in your introduction section, noting how the objectives, including the target audience, were selected, and why they should be of interest to the funding organization.