SMART strategic goals are goals that allow us to clearly visualize the impact we aim to achieve within our organizations. When they are clearly formulated, they reflect the social changes we seek to bring about. A strategic goal describes what will change as a result of our organization’s work. In other words, it explains how a current situation will be transformed through our intervention.
Tonatiuh Paz Aguilar, Senior Consultant at COMETA
Why Is It Important to Frame Our Work in Terms of Strategic Goals?
If a goal is not well defined, it can be difficult to measure whether it has been achieved or to explain how its achievement is linked to our work. For this reason, it is very important to set strong goals in our strategic planning processes or for our projects. Although it is not easy, it is possible to do so by clearly answering specific, guiding questions.
How Can I Build SMART Strategic Goals?
SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. This methodology highlights crucial elements that help clarify our strategic goals by guiding us through a series of key questions.
For example, imagine an organization that promotes the proper functioning of public works through social audits that help identify and report the misuse of public resources. One of its areas of work focuses on public water and sanitation infrastructure projects.
Specific Goal
The Specific criterion helps define the change we want to achieve. It answers questions such as: What will be different? What exactly will change? What will this change look like? Who will benefit from it? A strategic goal could be:
Water sanitation infrastructure provides wastewater treatment of sufficient quality to allow its reuse for irrigating agricultural fields.
Measurable Goal
Measurable: It answers the questions how much? and of what? and allows us to include a quantifiable component in our strategic goals. This helps clarify the link between what we want to change and the tangible aspects of that change. Note: while making goals verifiable is important, measurement is not everything. For example:
Water sanitation infrastructure in three municipalities across three states provides wastewater treatment of sufficient quality to allow its reuse for irrigating agricultural fields.
Achievable Goal
To assess whether a strategic goal is achievable, we ask questions that help us evaluate its feasibility while considering factors beyond our organization’s control: Are there contextual conditions that make this possible? What is required to implement this goal, and from whom?
Following our example, a context analysis showed that conditions allow us to work in only two, rather than three, states. In addition, addressing all water and sanitation infrastructure across three municipalities in two states is not achievable. The goal is therefore adjusted as follows:
At least one wastewater treatment plant provides treated water of sufficient quality for irrigating agricultural fields in three municipalities across two states.
Realistic Goal
Our strategic goals should be ambitious, while also reflecting our organization’s capacities and resources. To assess this, we ask questions such as: Do we have sufficient financial resources and staff to pursue this goal? Do we have the necessary knowledge and expertise to implement the required activities?
For example, although working in two states initially appeared feasible, one of our field coordinators is about to leave. The time needed to recruit and train a replacement makes it unlikely that we can carry out the work in both locations.
At least one wastewater treatment plant provides treated water of sufficient quality for irrigating agricultural fields in three municipalities in X state.
Time-Bound Goal
This criterion helps define the progress we aim to achieve within a specific timeframe. It also allows us to assess what can realistically be accomplished. Based on this, our strategic goal for the water and sanitation program would be phrased as follows:
By 2028, at least one wastewater treatment plant provides treated water of sufficient quality for irrigating agricultural fields in three municipalities in X state.
Key Tips for Developing SMART Strategic Goals
It is not necessary to specify in the wording of a goal how the change will be achieved. To ensure clarity on this point, our Theory of Change should break down strategic goals into impact pathways that outline the steps needed to achieve them. These pathways specify outcomes, key actors, strategies, activities, and the assumptions that must hold true for the change to occur (such as funding availability, political stability, etc.).
Seek Precision and Clarity
Donors, in particular, value precision and brevity. In this sense, strategic goals should describe the changes to be achieved, not the strategies or activities that will be implemented to achieve them. Activities are not changes: holding a discussion forum, launching a communications campaign, or defining an advocacy strategy are not goals—they are means to achieve an end.
Thinking in Terms of Change
If our wording is: “By 2028, we will hold two discussion forums,” we still do not have a strategic goal—we are still talking about strategies or activities. A key question to test the wording of our strategic goals and determine whether we are describing strategies or activities is: Why do we do what we do?
Thinking in terms of change helps us clarify the purpose behind our actions. The SMART strategic goals methodology allows us to formulate goals with clear criteria that answer this question.
Taking this step back from our day-to-day work is not always easy. At COMETA, we can help facilitate your strategic reflection processes.
