How to be SMART while Building your Campaign

October 27, 2015
Strategic FrameworkComments Off on How to be SMART while Building your Campaign

Your campaign objectives should be:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-Bound

 

This will help you set clear targets that can become a reality, focus your campaign team around agreed upon goals and objectives,  remain on target throughout your work, stick to set deadlines, continuously assess your progress, and utilize all your resources.

 

  1. Specific

 

Your campaign must have clear and specific objectives to guide your actions and goals to your ultimate campaign vision. Establishing SMART objectives involves creating a campaign timeline and stating particular steps needed to keep on track.

 

Unspecific Objectives Specific Objectives
Help LGBTQ homeless youth.
  • Raising awareness of the amount of LGBTQ youth made homeless every year.
  • Open/collaborate with shelters willing to deal directly with LGBTQ youth.
  • Contact stakeholders who would be willing to support and advance the cause.
  • Create a support center/community center for LGBTQ youth to receive medical advice, counselling, career advice, etc.
Improve working conditions for LGBTQ individuals
  • Lobby for anti-discriminatory legislation.
  • Contact relevant stakeholders for collaboration opportunities or letters of support
  • Establish anti-discriminatory policies in the workplace.
  • Organize mandatory anti-discrimination/anti-harassment training for employees and employers.

 

Whatever you decide to focus on, knowing what advocacy groups are already working on similar initiatives and what key pieces of legislations may affect your cause will help inform your timeline for your campaign objectives and ultimate vision. This will also provide an opportunity for you to form collaborations with other organizations and get statements of support from members of the community, medical professionals, or politicians to advance your cause to overturn or resolve particular social, political, or legal issues.

 

  1. Measurable & Achievable

 

Making sure your campaign objectives can be accomplished allows you to measure your successes and analyze your campaign advancements. Whether your campaign is ambitious or relatively straightforward, it is important for you and your team to be able to recognize and work clearly on achievable objectives.

 

The victories or milestones throughout your campaign will be indicative of the success of your campaign. This requires keeping track of the WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHO, and HOW. It is important to not only know WHO the stakeholders are, but WHY they are for/against your cause, WHAT the pressing issues advancing/delaying your successes are, WHERE to focus your strategies, and HOW to target pressure points/people that will help you get one step closer to your campaign objectives or ultimate vision . To achieve this it is a good idea to review your SWOT and the internal/external factors influencing your campaign (see SWOT).   

 

  1. Relevant

 

Now that you have set your campaign objectives, it is important to remain on track. At times social or political opportunities present themselves. While it may seem necessary or even natural to capitalize on these moments (through a direct action), this opportunity may also derail you from your original campaign objectives. In these situations, it is advisable to review your campaign objectives. This will help determine if any planned actions for to the opportunity that has presented itself will be relevant to the course of action/objectives you had originally anticipated.

 

  1. Time-Bound

 

Both your campaign objectives and plan need to be time-bound. This means a specific target date must be set for each of your actions, specific objectives, and overall plan will be achieved.

 

For example: If your campaign is meant to span over a period or 1, 2, or 5+ years, then you’ll need to set dates for when each of your objectives will be accomplished within this time frame. By updating, reassessing, and following the procedures for monitoring and evaluating your internal and external factors that arise during your campaign, you will be able to assess whether your anticipated timeframe is feasible.