Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes
This trifecta makes up the foundation of writing a compelling grant application. Even if not explicitly asked, grantors what to know the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the project they are being asked to fund.
What are goals, objectives, and outcomes and how do they relate?
Think of the sequence as a trajectory from goal to outcome, where a goal is set, and objective is an action taken to achieve the goal, and the outcome is the result of the objective that measures to what extent the goal has been met or exceeded.
A goal is a broad aim. For example, a project goal can be to increase high school graduation rates in a targeted population or service area.
An objective is a specific activity or intervention that forwards the goal. For example, if the goal is to increase high school gradation rates, an objective to achieve this goal could be to offer 45 minutes of afterschool academic tutoring to students in need of remediation or in danger of failing.
An outcome is a measurable result of an objective that measures 1) whether or not the objective was successful, and 2) to what extent the goal has been achieved. There are short-term, medium-term, and long-term outcomes that test the success for a project. For example, say 100% of students in need of remediation and in danger of failing who received 45 minutes of afterschool academic tutoring graduated high school, this is an outcome that was a result of the objective.
Increasing the number of students in danger of failing who instead graduate forwards the goal of increasing high school graduation rates. This outcome is a measurement of the extent to which the objective was successful in achieving the goal. Programs are composed of multiple goals with multiple objectives to result in multiple outcomes that measure to what extent the goal is achieved.
A good way to identify the goals, objectives and outcomes of a project is with a logic model. These are great tools for use internally at an organization to better visualize the workflow of a project, and to use in a grant application to illustrate the program.
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