Goals and objectives are key parts to any grant. Funders expect to see this information as it gives them more details on what you expect your program will accomplish and how their money will help fulfill your "purpose." As a refresher, the "purpose" is the why of your proposal. The goals and objectives will give further proof as to why the funder should care and how it ties your program to their own mission or funding interests.
Goals
Goals are more specific than your purpose, yet more vague than your objectives. Your purpose will be lofty and broad, but your goals should show, in concrete terms, how the purpose can be achieved. You will want to clarify what your program will accomplish with details that show it can realistically be achieved.
For example, my purpose for my new internship program is to nurture future museum professionals. This could be accomplished by any number of programs, such as a graduate course, fellowship, job, etc. My goals should narrow down how my program will accomplish that purpose.
Some examples may be:
- To provide real life museum experiences for students.
- To ensure interns have meaningful tasks that relate to their coursework.
- To prepare interns for a future museum job.
- To develop opportunities for interns to collaborate and learn from each other, as well as museum professionals.
Objectives
Objectives must address measurable outcomes of your program. Sometimes I think of this as questions on a test because you may end up looking for specific answers. In my example, I might see my interns can describe best practices of museum work or identify questions a museum might ask before acquiring a temporary exhibit. It would all depend on their internship. Some of the outcomes may be more qualitative (like short answers on a test). I might expect the students to be able to describe their internship in relation to what they've learned in class. Or I might want students to have completed a project that helps the museum in some way.
Why use it for programs?
Like I've said in my previous post, I find this information useful to have on hand when explaining my decisions. The goals and objectives will help explain my methods to people that I will need buy-in from. I'll need my boss to approve this program, but also, I'll need curators, collection managers, administration and other departments to see why we are doing things this way so I can effectively implement the program.
