Project Goals
To help you communicate effectively within your agency and with the wider community, you need to be clear about the following:
- project goals to be achieved
- business and/or social drivers
- needs, benefits or rationale for commencing the project.
Two examples are provided below, one from a strategic/service planning context and the other from a policy-making context.
Example of a project goal
- Planning – To identify and preserve a new [type] transport corridor by [date] from X to Y in order to cater for future growth and alleviate network congestion.
- Policy making – Develop policy and procedures to assist agency personnel to maintain individual accreditation to professional organisations that will contribute to the delivery of high quality and up-to-date client services.
Example of a business driver
- Planning – Deliver commitments made to communities and key stakeholders and achieve business plan targets. Effectiveness of outcomes related to ongoing good relationship with communities and acceptance by the wider community, local, state and federal agencies.
- Policy making – Deliver on commitments made to communities and key stakeholders and achieve business plan targets, specifically:
- maintaining qualified professional staff
- delivering high-quality client services
- assisting the agency to deliver innovative and up-to-date client services.
Example of needs, benefits or rationales
- Planning – Existing infrastructure congested due to growth causing delay and inefficient transportation of goods and services. Benefits include reduced travel time and transport costs, improved safety and economic development opportunities.
- Policy making – Benefits to the organisation will include:
- Stability of professional staff contributes to client confidence in delivering core agency objectives.
- Increased retention rates of experienced professional service delivery staff by 25% per annum would significantly reduce recruitment costs and possible concerns about the agency’s ability to meet its core objectives.
Negotiable and non-negotiable goals
It is vital to identify and state the project’s negotiable and non-negotiable goals. This helps all project staff to:
- develop clear communication messages and information to explain what has already been decided
- clarify those aspects that are the focus of the engagement
- provide consistency amongst project staff in communicating with community members.
Hint: Make sure that the non-negotiable goals are actually that. The more aspects that are not negotiable, the less community members will find your engagement relevant and the more likely it is you will just need to provide information. Confusion about what is and what is not negotiable can create unrealistic community expectations and lead to conflict and disillusionment.
| Examples of negotiable aspects (what can yet be decided) |
Examples of non-negotiable aspects (what has already been decided) |
|---|---|
| Planning example | |
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| Policy example | |
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