Proposals: Writing project goals and objectives

When you are planning a proposal, one of your first tasks will be to refine your project goals. Donors generally do not provide funding for ongoing research or operating expenses where no clear connection can be shown between the work to be completed and the advancement of public health. Goals are a critical feature of a proposal since they reveal this connection to donors. They are important to projects even after the proposal has been funded; project goals are central to subsequent documentation on a project such as status and evaluation reports. So it is important that you write goals that are achievable as well as significant from the perspective of donors.

A helpful way to develop your goals is by ensuring that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound: SMART. Well written, SMART goals or objectives form the core of your proposal and of the project you are proposing. When you are writing a proposal, your first step is often a shorter document: a concept paper, for example, or a Letter of Intent. These documents are very brief, often not more than one or two pages. In such a limited space, you need to get straight to the point of your proposal, and you can do this by writing SMART goals.

Much more can be written about the importance of goals and objectives, and of linking those objectives to measurable project results. If your work involves much of this type of writing, it will be valuable for you to become familiar with the Logical Framework (LogFrame) approach to objectives-oriented planning. There are many online references for this approach. One valuable one is Logical Framework Approach: handbook for objectives-oriented planning, published by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and available at:

http://www.norad.no/en/Tools+and+publications/Publications/Publication+Page?key=109408

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