Step 2: Set Goals And Objectives
There
are various words that people use to describe what they want
to achieve -- aims, objectives, targets, goals, mission, purpose,
vision, achievement, results, product, outcomes.. . Although
each term might mean something slightly different to different
people, most would agree that these words all describe various
ways of defining what it is you are trying to do, and how
you will know if you’ve been successful.
It helps
to put these terms into different groupings, from the general
to the specific, from the lofty to the concrete:
VISION
MISSION
GOALS
OBJECTIVES
INDICATORS
Vision,
Mission & Goals
The process
of developing your vision, mission and goals is an extremely
important part of planning your initiative. It helps to define
the issue, solidify the commitment and leadership of the planning
group, and legitimizes to your group’s efforts.
It’s important
that the whole group decides on your vision, mission and goals,
not just one or two members. Since they will be involved early
in the process, members of your planning group will develop
a true sense of ownership and loyalty to the initiative. They
will have a personal investment in the success of the project.
Vision
Your
vision describes your dream, the way things ought to be.
Developing a vision will help you to
engage
partners, obtain resources, and encourage community participation.
It will also help to keep you on track during the planning
process.
|
The
vision of the Helping Skills Project included statements
like "People in communities have the interest
and aptitude to help each other". " Enhancing
peoples’ natural helping abilities builds community
capacity to address mental health needs".
|
Mission
Your
mission describes your statement of purpose: what you are
going to do, and why. The mission describes your special
task, and states the specific motivation which brings together
all those people to accomplish the task.
Together,
the vision and mission define your group’s common purpose.
They inspire you to turn your
dreams into reality.
| The
mission of the Helping Skills project was to build the
capacity of communities to respond to the
distress caused by the cod moratorium and other social
changes by strengthening people’s natural abilities to
support and help each other. |
Developing
a vision and mission with your group is the first step in
planning your project. The best way
to begin is by holding a brainstorming session to get as
many ideas and opinions on the table as possible. You will
want to start with a broad base of information, and zero
in on the issue as you move through the planning process
together.
Goals
Although
the terms "goals" and "objectives" are
often used interchangeably, they are not the same; there
are important differences between them. A goal describes
the eventual destination you hope to reach, and objectives
refer to what kind of steps you will take to get there.
You want to be sure that your goals reflect your dreams,
as well as the context and reality of the community.
Your
goal describes what you are trying to do in general terms.
Goals are:
- global
in nature: they encompass all aspects of the project and
provide general direction;
- generally
not measurable;
- long-term.
| The
goal for the Helping Skills project was to create a new
helping resource - a network of volunteers trained in
the essential skills of helping who could provide understanding,
support, and a confidential listening ear to people who
turn to them for help or are referred to them by professionals. |
Objectives
Your objectives
are much more specific than goals. Objectives describe what
you’re aiming at, and provide particular information about
how much change is sought, of what kind, and by when.
What Are Objectives?
Objectives
represent smaller steps than project goals -- steps that,
if completed, will lead to reaching your goals. Your objectives
can serve as intermediate markers of your progress, and are
closely linked with developing your evaluation, which we’ll
talk about later.
Your objectives
should be:
- Specific
-They should indicate several things: What is to be achieved?
By how much? By when?
- Challenging
-They should stretch you to set your aims on efforts that
are important importance to the community.
- Attainable
- On the other hand, objectives should be both realistic
and achievable within the community.
- Measurable
-They should be identified in terms that are as measurable
as possible, including specific
targets (e.g. # of people reached, jobs created, etc.).
- Relevant
-They should be consistent with your vision, mission and
goals.
- Timed
-Your objectives should contain a timeline by which they
will be achieved.
Why Create Objectives?
Although
it may seem like a lot of work, there are several good reasons
to set objectives.
- Objectives
can serve as a marker to show you (and your community, funders,
and others) what your mental health promotion initiative
has accomplished.
- Objectives
can help you prioritize your goals as you begin your work.
- Objectives
serve to re-emphasize your mission through the process of
change that your initiative brings about. This helps you
and those who you are collaborating with to work together
effectively towards the same goals.
It’s a
good idea to create objectives when you are trying to tackle
an issue or problem that is multifaceted, such as improving
the mental health of people in your community.
Setting
objectives can help you and your group to tease out the various
strands of your specific mental health issue, making it more
manageable. Your objectives can become useful motivators and
effective tools to bring a complex community mental health
issue within your grasp.
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How Do You Create
Objectives?
The process
of creating objectives is fairly straightforward, and involves
four basic steps.
Look at the "big
picture"
It begins
by revisiting your original vision, mission and goals, so
that you see the "big picture" that your
objectives will fit into.
| The
Helping Skills project sought to strengthen the capacity
of community members to respond to distress by enhancing
their natural helping abilities. |
Identify changes
The
second step in creating realistic objectives involves determining
the changes that need to be made.
You can figure these out by:
- returning
to your vision, mission and goals to see what you want
to change;
- brainstorming
with other members of your group to see what changes need
to be made in order to reach your goals, both short and
long-term;
- identifying
the people who need to become involved, both those in
a position to contribute to a solution and those who experience
the problem or issue on a day-to-day basis;
- identifying
which sectors or groups within your community can help
you fulfill your goals.
| Having
defined what they wanted to accomplish, (mission and goal)
CMHA sought guidance from knowledgeable resource people
about how this could be carried out. They decided on a
train-the-trainer process, and identified the Community
Health Boards as the partners they would need in order
to connect with communities and potential trainers. Community
Health Board members and employees had strong networks
in their local communities and were well positioned to
assess problems and appropriate solutions, as well as
to promote the project and recruit volunteers. |
Collect data
The
third step in creating your objectives consists of collecting
baseline data on the mental health issue that you are addressing.
Baseline data reflects the current situation in the community
with respect
to the mental health issue you have decided to focus on.
It helps you measure the boundaries of the issue.
| CMHA’s
previous project, A Needs Assessment for Self-Help, provided
the baseline
data for the Helping Skills project. While it can be difficult
to get precise data on community mental health issues,
the need for helping skills had been widely identified
both by health professionals and by communities themselves.
For example, in one community more then 200 km. from the
nearest mental health counsellor, 78% of people who completed
a questionnaire said that they, or someone they knew would
benefit from counselling. |
Baseline
data provide the starting points against which you can measure
how much progress you have
made. Later in the life of your mental health promotion
initiative, when you are asked, "What have
you accomplished?" you will be able to provide a clear
and specific response.
There
are several ways to collect baseline data. You can collect
your own baseline data for the information related to the
specific mental health issue you want to address in your
initiative. You can gather this information using surveys,
questionnaires and personal interviews. We’ll talk more
about baseline data in Chapter
5: Evaluating your project.
You
can also use information that has already been collected.
Public libraries, local government, social
service agencies, local schools or health departments may
already have the information you want. especially if similar
work has been done previously in your community.
Set the objectives
The
fourth step is to set the objectives for your initiative.
Once you have collected some baseline data,
you can decide on what short-term goals and objectives are
realistic and feasible for you to achieve.
Remember, objectives refer to specific measurable results.
They should help you to track how
and how much change has occurred.
|
The
objectives of the Helping Skills project were built
on its goal, but provided a concrete indication of how
that goal would be reached:
- to
develop and pilot a "train the trainers"
program for service providers which will enable them
to facilitate the learning of effective helping skills
by community volunteers;
- over
an 18 month period, to establish a corps of trainers
and volunteer helpers with the skills to appropriately
refer or otherwise assist people with emotional or
social needs;
- to
use and teach others how to use a mentoring model
to teach skills in areas such as active listening,
empathy and setting boundaries, focusing on learning
from personal experience through small group discussion,
role play and debriefing.
|
Indicators
For
each of your objectives, you need to identify criteria,
or indicators, which will provide reliable and valid measures
to show you if you’re making progress toward your objectives.
By gathering "before" and "after" statistics
on your chosen indicators with baseline data, you can use
them to help you determine whether your initiative made
a positive difference in your community.
|
The
indicators for the Helping Skills project included:
- number
of people who had completed the training program;
- number
of referrals to the volunteer helpers;
- number
of volunteer helpers who used their training to assist
others.
|
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Step 3: Select
A Strategy To Achieve Your Goals >
|
