Goals and Objectives for Proposal, Essay Example

 Part One

1. Program goals and program objectives are two different things: goals provide a broad overview of what you hope to achieve with your program; objectives are more detailed and have to do with the steps you will take to accomplish your project goals (Levine, 2011).
2. In a proposal, goals and objectives take different forms. Goals are difficult to measure but provide your project with a ‘mission’ to accomplish.  Goals address the positive situations you hope will arise from your project, and are part of a long-term solution.  Objectives are much more quantifiable and can assist potential funding organizations in understanding the purpose of your project (Levine, 2011).
3. Your goals and objectives should share a common purpose, as set out in your project proposal. According to Levine, these two facets of your proposal should “overlap” (Levine, 2011) so that they present a comprehensive plan for your proposal that incorporates both the “abstract” (Levine, 2011) and the concrete (Levine, 2011).
4. Goals and objectives make it easier for you and your potential funders to determine whether your project is feasible. The implication of your goals and objectives speaks to whether you are being realistic is assessing the practical aspects of your project (Coley & Scheinberg, 2008).
5. For the most part, Goal #2 in the Learner Associates sample proposal provides a SMART   The intention to “effectively use volunteers as a major factor in helping people to learn” (Levine, 2011) is measurable and achievable.  It is not very specific, however, which makes it difficult to determine whether the goal is realistic and time-oriented.

Objective 2.1 involves recruiting students to “become volunteers in the ‘Pusat Ibu dan Anak Sihat’ (PIAS) Project” (Levine, 2011).  This objective meets the SMART statement requirements because the proposal writer took into consideration the specific elements involved in the objective (the number of students needed), which gives him or her a measureable group from which to determine whether the objective is realistic.  The time-frame isn’t mentioned in the objective; if it had been, the potential success of Objective 2.1. would have been that much more measurable.

Part Two

An implementation plan is a comprehensive piece of writing that seeks to outline how you intend to carry out your project. This involves identifying the people who will be involved in the project, their individual roles, and the overall structure of your organization. You must address whether you already have people in place to take on these roles or whether you will need to hire them from outside your existing organization.  You will need to detail the required time frame for various elements of your project, such as hiring staff, finding a location, and implementing your action plan.  A time frame will also address whether your project will occur in stages or all at once, and whether it is a project that will be repeated in the future or a one-time occurrence.  A successful implementation plan will explain where the project will take place; if multiple sites are required, the plan should explain what steps will be taken to ensure that access to appropriate locations is obtained. The implementation plan should also address the potential resources available to facilitate the project, and what must be done to acquire these resources. (Coley & Scheinberg, 2008)

Potential funding sources will want to ensure that your implementation plan provides a practical and reasonable understanding of the financial resources necessary for your project.  To this end, a budget with a specific breakdown of the various expenses associated with your project will help the funders visualize the way in which their support will assist your project.  The implementation plan must be as specific as possible in terms of how each step will fulfill the goals and objectives of the project.  Levine advises that an implementation plan should demonstrate that the methods employed are “very important to your unique clientele” (Levine, 2011).  If there are any other groups or organizations doing similar work, it is important to address their role (if any) in your project.  An implementation plan provides an excellent opportunity to illustrate how collaboration can play a critical part in ensuring the success of your project.  This plan can also show funders how your project can be used and/or applied by other groups to accomplish similar aims. (Levine, 2011).

Part Three

1. Program/proposal evaluation allows for the submitting organization to specifically ascertain whether their prospective project has been properly developed to suit their needs. It is useful for the funding agency, as well, because it can demonstrate your level of commitment towards reaching your goals, thus giving the funding agency confidence that their funds will be put to good use. Receiving feedback about the evaluation is also helpful to me, as the proposal developer, because it will help to illustrate areas that I need to focus on in the future, as well as the areas that I’ve developed well in my proposal (Levine, 2011).
2. An evaluation plan can be formative, meaning that it provides feedback on the proposal/program while it is still in progress, or it can be summative, providing an overview of the proposal/program in order to assess whether the project’s objectives and goals were met. In undertaking an evaluation plan, you must first state what you believe the evaluation will show about your project, and then determine how you will assess your program’s effectiveness–this could take the form of a survey, for example.  Once you’ve collected information about your program, you then analyze the information and report back to the funder (if that was one of the requirements of their support) (Coley & Scheinberg, 2008).  If nothing is specified by the funder, then I would plan an evaluation that would incorporate both formative and summative evaluations so that I would be able to evaluate the effectiveness of my proposal/program at all stages of its implementation.
3. The sample proposal “Capacity Building Grant” has a planned systematic evaluation plan that operates at a number of stages alongside the stages of their initiatives. This will allow them to assess the effectiveness of their proposal objectives.  Although the evaluation will assess the skills learned by its board, it doesn’t seem to take into account feedback from any other sectors, which might be helpful in the evaluation process (Castaneda, n.d.).  The sample proposal from Learner Associates involves both formative and summative evaluations with strong connections made between the evaluation plans and the proposal’s original objectives.  The evaluation plan also extends into the future, with the goal of assessing the program’s effectiveness at six and twelve month intervals (Levine, 2011).

References

Castaneda, Olga. (n.d.)  Sample proposal for a capacity-building grant.

Coley & Scheinberg. (2008). Chapter six:  writing goals, objectives, and implementation activities. Proposal Writing. pp. 47-55.

Hayes, Mike.  (2004). Writing outcome objectives:  a monitoring and evaluation tip sheet. The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. Retrieved from    http://www.otru.org/pdf/updates/update_outcome_objectives.pdf

Levine, S.J. (2011). Guide for writing a funding proposal. Learner Associates. Retrieved from http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/—. (2011) Evaluation plan example. Learner Associates. Retrieved from http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/exam16.htm

Step 5:  write your goals down. (n.d.) Goal Setting Guide. Retrieved from http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/step-5-write-your-goal-down