Module 3 - Focus on Objectives

7/30/2019 Module 3 - Focus on Objectives

1/16

Participatory Developmental Project Cycle Management for IWRMModule 3: FOCUS ON OBJECTIVES

DWAF/Danida IWRM Project South Africa Page 1

Module 3

3FOCUS ON OBJECTIVESBy the end of the module participants will

Understand why there is a need for setting project objectives Understand what objectives are Understand the levels of objectives. Be able to formulate objectives Understand the principles of ownership of objectives Through examples be able to develop SMART objectives with ownership for their

own projects

Unit 0: IntroductionUnit 1: What are objectivesUnit 2: Objective levelsUnit 3: How to formulate objectivesUnit 4: Ownership of objectivesUnit 5 Examples of hierarchy of objectives

Short lectures by facilitator and group work, followed by practical assignments inperiod between Module 3 and 4

20 hours workshop time, 8 hours self study and 16 hours for practical fieldassignment


2/16



Module 3 Unit 3.0

Focus on ObjectivesIntroduction 3

Objectives

The Objective Focus Area is about objectives(purpose, goal, aim, vision) and about theirrelationships. Objectives are the driving forces inproject work, and they can often be a combination ofour sense of general purpose (why is this projectworthwhile or important for me, or for the group or

institution I represent) and the specific objective (orspecific aim or purpose), that the project shouldachieve

Logical Framework Approach shares the focus onobjectives with many other planning and managementtraditions. The importance of objectives is can besummarised by the proverb "If you don't know whereyou are heading, every step is in the right direction".

In the Objective Focus Area, the aim is to developalternative options or scenarios for the future, but notto choose between them.

Objectives can vary considerably in scope, specificityand level, and will serve different purposes dependingon how they are formulated. The options developed inthe Objective Focus Area serve to stimulate dialogueabout which objectives to choose in the Choice Focus

Area, and should therefore represent a broad range ofdifferent alternatives.

My notes


3/16



Module 3 Unit 3.1

What are objectives?Introductory text

3

What Are Objectives?.It is important to distinguish between:

Directional objectives

Specific or SMART objectives

Directional Objectives

Directional objectives state the direction we want tomove in, without stating how far we expect to get."Increased access to land and water for emergingfarmers is an example of a general directionalobjective

We use directional objectives in the very early stagesof the project cycle, or to state long-term objectiveswhere it is premature to be more specific

Projects and organisations can have directional

objectives that serve to attach overall meaning to theactivities undertaken and to state important valuesguiding these activities. Such objectives are normallyconsidered as worthwhile ends in their own right (andnot as means to higher ends). Both projects andorganisations can have directional objectives that serveto attach overall meaning to the activities undertakenand to state important values guiding these activities.Such objectives are normally considered as worthwhileends in their own right (and not as means to higherends). A world-famous cartoon producer has as amission "to make people happy".

Obviously, this purpose will never be achieved, sincethe company can go on forever striving to make peoplehappy. The objective serves as a guiding star for thekind of products to be made.

My notes


4/16



Module 3 Unit 3.1.

What are Objectives? 3

A project - which will be completed some day - couldhave as a mission to "improve access to land andwater for the rural poor". This sense of purpose anddirection does not give any indication about what to dotomorrow or next year, but could still serve as guidingstar in specific decision-making.

In projects, mission objectives or let us rather call themthe visions, mainly serve to state common values andoutline very broad, overall directions. They maytherefore be more important to guide project staff andstakeholders in the implementation stage than in thedesign stage, where analysis of feasibility and impactare more important.

Specific or Smart Objectives

A SMART objective is Specific, Measurable, Accurate,Realistic and Time-bound.

"Financially and technically sustainable, uninterrupted

supply of safe water (average consumption 30 litres pr.capita per day) of rural 2230 households in Province Xby June 2005"

is a SMART objective (assuming realism!). It quantifies(how much water to how many), state quality(uninterrupted supply, safe water), location, and time.

The image of the future situation that we want toprevail when a project or project phase is concluded, iscalled the immediate objective. If it is not SMART, itreally means that the project is free-wheeling: nooutsider or insider will be able to know for certain

whether the project achieved what it intended toachieve. A water supply project with an immediateobjective like "improved water supply" has in principleimproved the water supply when one additionalhousehold is connected to the net, or when servicehours are extended just five minutes.

My notes


5/16



Module 3 Unit 3.2

Objective LevelsIntroductory text

3

Objective Levels

Apart from being directional or SMART, objectivescan be at different levels in relation to each other.These relations are often seen as means-to-an-endrelationships:

The logic is hypothetical: Users' committees formed

and debtor policies implemented are stated asmeans to the end that users pay real costs of watersupply. This, again, is a means to the end:sustainable supply of safe water. But users paying isonly stated as a necessary means, not as asufficient: Efficient maintenance and a rehabilitatedsystem are seen as other necessary means, andonly the three together are seen as sufficient in theexample below

My notes

Sustainable supply ofsafe water

EfficientMaintenance

SkilledMaintenance

staff

User pays real

costs

Rehabilitatedsystem

Effectiveorganisation

New drillingsDebtor policyimplemented

New pumps,mains, leakdetection andrepairs

UsersCommittee

formed

MEANS


6/16



Module 3 Unit 3.2.

Objective LevelsIntroductory text 3It could easily be questioned whether theimplementation of a debtor policy and the formationof users' committees are sufficient to achieve thatusers pay the real costs. An adequate price structureand efficient invoicing could be other necessarylower-level objectives to achieve the higher-levelobjective.

This kind of analysis is the core of the work in the

Objective Focus Area. Maybe the participants areconvinced that the existing price structure isadequate and invoicing effective. Then these shouldnot be stated as objectives to be achieved. Theparticipants should be satisfied that the analysis ofobjectives and their relations includes all majormeans to achieve higher-level ends in the hierarchy.

It is very important to assure a real differencebetween levels of objectives in the hierarchy. Thismeans that higher-level objectives should not bephrased in such a way that it is a repetition of lower

level objectives, for example:.

My notes

Increased institutional capacity of NathlaEnvironmental Authority

Skilled,

motivated staffand managers

Efficient

procedures

Increased

budget


7/16



Module 3 Unit 3.2.

Objective LevelsIntroductory text 3

"Increased institutional capacity" is just another,general way of expressing what is implied by skilledand motivated staff, efficient procedures andincreased budget. The hypothesis: "ifskilled staff,efficient procedures and increased budget areachieved, then increased institutional capacity will be

achieved" is not a hypothesis, because the "if-" andthe "then-" statements are really identical behind thedifferent wording..To assure and check the difference between levelsof objectives is extremely important for projectdesign. Otherwise, the project hypothesis thatcertain results will lead to the achievement of acertain objective may become a tautology, making itimpossible to monitor impact and learn fromexperience.

In the example above, a difference in levels wouldbe clear as follows:

In this example, the hypothesis is: if skilled staff,

efficient procedures and increased budget, thenefficient performance will be achieved.

Note that in the examples just mentioned, allobjectives are directional. This would serve well todiscuss relations between objectives, but not forexpressing exactly what should be achieved.Depending on the stage in the project cycle and thedecisions to be taken, it may be necessary todevelop these objectives into SMART objectives.

My notes

Efficient performance of NathlaEnvironmental Authority

Skilled

motivated staff

and managers

Efficient

ProceduresIncreased

budget


8/16



Module 3 Unit 3.3

How to Formulate ObjectivesIntroduction 3

Formulating objectives is a difficult task. Threeissues deserve attention:

Objectives are future situations, not activities.

Language invites formulations such as:

"The objective is to strengthen the environmentalauthority...",

or,

"The objective is to reduce pollution".

But "to strengthen..." or "to reduce pollution" areactually processes, and not end-situations. It mayseem - and can be - a formality to change thewording to "the environmental authoritystrengthened" and "pollution reduced". The mostimportant is not whether the wording is changed, butwhether the participants are discussing the goal orobjective they wish to achieve, or whether they arediscussing the process leading to the objective.

Objectives should be at one level only.

Often, objectives are formulated like:

"Reduced infant mortality through safe supply ofwater"

or

"Reduced pollution of Lake Nathla by decreaseddischarge from industry"

Both these formulations include means-endrelationships, or objectives on different levels. Thiscan create confusion about what the objective reallyis.

My notes


9/16



Module 3 Unit 3.3.

How to Formulate ObjectivesIntroduction 3

Small changes of wording are significant.

The wording of an objective can have significantconsequences for the identification of the necessarymeans to achieving the objective:

"Safe water to households in Nathla South-East".

Would not allow any specific identification ofnecessary means. It is a directional objective.

"Supply of safe water (average consumption 30litres pr. capita per day) to 2230 households inNathla by June 2005"

Could be achieved without bothering about thecapacity of the water company to maintain thenetwork.

"Financially and technically sustainable,

uninterrupted supply of safe water (averageconsumption 30 litres pr. capita per day) of 2230households in Nathla South-East Area by June2005"

Would require whatever necessary measures(financially, organisational, managerial) to enablethe company to maintain operations, includingdepreciation of capital investments.

"Financially and technically sustainable,uninterrupted supply of safe water (average

consumption 30 litres pr. capita per day) of 2230households in Nathla by June 2005, and capacityto expand network by 300 connections annuallythereafter"

Would take the project a step further, since it wouldimply that the water company has surplus funds fornew investments and technical capacity to designnetwork extensions (or to direct and superviseconsulting engineers providing technicalspecifications etc.).

My notes


10/16



The objective could also include a vision on how the waterutility is managed:

"The water utility of Nathla, by June 2005, is autonomous,with a Board with a majority of water consumers; isfinancially and technically sustainable; suppliesuninterrupted safe water (average consumption 30litres pr. capita per day) of 2230 households inNathla by June 2005; has capacity to expandnetwork by 300 connections annually thereafter;and conducts regularly successful campaigns forappropriate water use as part of the utilities normaloperations".

These examples should demonstrate that objectiveformulations such as: "Safe water to households inNathla South-East" can be fine for the initialoverview of relations between objectives, but not forstating the exact future situation that a project isintended to achieve.


11/16



Module 3 Unit 3.4

Ownership of objectivesIntroduction 3

Objectives are somebody's vision of the future.Some stakeholders or some persons affected by theobjective may be enthusiastic, others may beindifferent, some may be passively opposed andsome may try their best to impede the achievementof an objective.

"Reduced pollution of Lake Nathla" may be

enthusiastically endorsed by the environmental non-governmental organisations and the tourist industry,and bitterly opposed by farmers that may fear fortheir future income opportunities.

Often, objectives seem to be neutral, without"owners" or protagonist.

Examples of such objectives are:

"Reduced pollution of Lake Nathla", and

"Financially and technically sustainable, uninterruptedsupply of safe water (average consumption 30 litres pr.

capita per day) of 2230 households in Nathla South-EastArea by June 2005"

None of these formulations indicate who is taking orshould take ownership for achieving the objective, orwho is really interested and willing to fight for theobjective.

If it is a non-governmental organisation fighting foran improved environment that has adopted the firstobjective, the organisation will naturally feelownership - it is, simply, their objective, whethershared by others or not.

If the second example has been adopted after alengthy design process with participation of watercompany management, representatives from anational water authority and an international donor,it may be that none of the participants feel that it is"their" objective.

My notes


12/16



This does not necessarily create any trouble in theearly design stages of the project cycle. But when

implementation is due, it must be possible to definea person, a group or an institution that takesownership of the objective, and has a commitmentto achieve the objective.

This can be the team that is assigned to implementthe project. Usually, however, that is not sufficient. Ifno stakeholders have active interest in the projectobjective, the project will most probably run intoserious troubles, and if the objective includessustainability elements, these will most probably notbe achieved once the project team is dispersed.

When defining alternative objectives for laterdecision in the Choice Focus Area, it is thereforeimportant to assure that all alternatives haveowners. Agreeing on a middle ground that awakesno protest may lead to failure if it also implies thatno one will commit themselves actively to theobjectives.


13/16



Module 3 Unit 3.5

Examples of hierarchies ofobjectives 3

On the following pages, three examples are given ofobjective hierarchies. In the first, directionalobjectives are used, in the second, SMARTobjectives. In the third, an element indicatingownership has been added to the SMARTobjectives where possible..

My notes


14/16



Module 3 Unit 3.5Examples of hierarchies of objectives

Objective Hierarchy Lake Nathla - Directional

Industrial pollution of Lake

Nathla reduced

Industry

coo erates

Industrialistsexposed to

positiveinternational

practices

Effective performance of Lake NthlaEnvironmental Agency

Skilledmotivatedstaff

Efficientproceduresand systems

Adequatelegislation

Training Incentives

Access toinstitutionalexperience

Increasedoperating

budget


15/16




Objective Hierarchy Lake Nathla SMARTObjectives

Medium concentrations of heavy metals A,B and C in lake water reduced to X, Y and

Z and no phenol traces by end of 2005

At least 3 initiatives have, during 2005,

been jointly undertaken by industry andthe Environmental Agency in relation toindustrial pollution and at least 5 ownershave approached the EnvironmentalAgency to seek advice on mitigatingmeasures

10 board members, 10 managing directorsand 10 shop stewards have spent studyingenvironmentally advanced sister industries in

other countries before end of 2005

Lake Nathla Environmental Agency, by the end of2005, has initial response time of maximum two weekson requests for environmental permissions, and amaximum of 2 complaints annually to the nationalboard on the substance of decisions. The Agency hasbeen able to give advice on mitigating strategies to75% of industry in the area, to monitor water recipientquality in accordance with UNEP monitoring standards

in 7 rivers and the lake, and to conduct two majorenvironmental awareness campaigns directed atindustry employees annually, in cooperation withindustrialist associations

By the end of 2003, a law and pertinent bylaws havebeen approved establishing reference norms to beachieved by industry in 2013, and definition ofauthority of local environmental bodies in relation toinspections, monitoring and power to impose sanctions


16/16




Objective Hierarchy Lake Nathla SMARTObjectives with Ownership

Medium concentrations of heavy metals A,B and C in lake water reduced to X, Y and

Z and no phenol traces by end of 2005

At least 3 initiatives have, during 2005,

been jointly undertaken by industry andthe Environmental Agency in relation toindustrial pollution and at least 5 ownershave approached the Environmental

Agency to seek advice on mitigatingmeasures

The Environmental Committee formed by theIndustrialist Association and the IndustrialTrade Unions has organised that 10 boardmembers, 10 managing directors and 10 shop

stewards have spent studyingenvironmentally advanced sister industries inother countries before end of 2005

Lake Nathla Environmental Agency, by the end of2005, has initial response time of maximum two weekson requests for environmental permissions, and amaximum of 2 complaints annually to the nationalboard on the substance of decisions. The Agency hasbeen able to give advice on mitigating strategies to75% of industry in the area, to monitor water recipientquality in accordance with UNEP monitoring standardsin 7 rivers and the lake, and to conduct two major

environmental awareness campaigns directed atindustry employees annually, in cooperation withindustrialist associations

By the end of 2003, a law and pertinent bylaws havebeen approved establishing reference norms to beachieved by industry in 2013, and definition ofauthority of local environmental bodies in relation toinspections, monitoring and power to imposesanctions

Documents

Module 3 - Focus on Objectives