Writing Goals and Objectives

I was recently asked to describe the difference between goals and objectives. Simply put, the goal is the big idea that the program, exhibit, publication, etc. will accomplish. Objectives are the steps taken to meet the goal.

Goals

Goals are big ideas with capitol Bs. They directly support the institution's mission. We hope that they are something that visitors will care about; therefore, they must be relevant to the intended audience. They are phrased to specify the direction of change in actions, knowledge, or beliefs among the target group. Sometimes the goal describes the vehicle that will drive change. 

Example: "Inspire people to come together as an interconnected community through their participation in our community building programs."

In a museum setting, goals can be such big ideas that they are difficult to measure. It is very difficult to define the degree to which the audience has been changed. Goal statements often use words like appreciate, believe, think, feel, know, and understand. They are GLOBAL.

Objectives

Objectives list the actions that the museum or audience will take to meet the goal. Objectives are completely measurable, and--in fact--they should be measured. In theory, if the objectives are accomplished then, by definition, the goal will have been reached.

Example: 

Objectives: As a result of participating in this program, 

visitors will be better able to, 

1.  Identify problems faced by our community.

2.  Describe the community programs that we offer.sponsor.

3.  Discuss ways in which individuals can make a difference in our community.

4.  Register to participate in community programs. 

Notice that each objective is completely measureable. Participants can be asked to identify, describe, discuss, and register. The evaluation demonstrates the degree to which the objectives have been met. The process (e.g. program, exhibition, lesson) that is used to meet the objectives falls in between the objectives and the evaluation.  

What do you think?  To what extent do your goals specify change?  What are the objectives that you will undertake to achieve your goals? 

Share your examples!

Digital outreach

Like all other programs, digital outreach requires a strategy. Having a web presence does not guarantee that anyone will find your sites let alone click through them. An important question to consider when developing a digital outreach strategy is:

What are you trying to accomplish? 

A digital strategy can have several possible goals from mission advancement to audience building. One approach does not fit all. Museums' first web pages were built with a mission advancement agenda in mind. The focus was on making content available whether teacher lesson plans or virtual collections. While these are still important components, museums have learned that they are most effective at satisfying those who are already intrinsically interested in the topic. Those "scholars" among the general population.
The next phase was interactivity. Museums put up simple games, flash programming, and on-line tours with the idea of encouraging people to spend more time on the sites. These tools were effective in increasing time on site; however, time alone does not indicate the quality of the experience. These visitors were like the "strollers" in exhibitions.

The question many asked was to what extent were web site visitors becoming engaged with the museum over the long term. It was very difficult to measure how or if a web experience converted an internet encounter to a physical visit. Many realized that the web alone wasn't effective in building widespread virtual support. Web statistics often showed that the percentage of repeat visitors was a tiny percentage of the total. Museums also learned that building a repeat visitation audience was time consuming. many resources are required to keep encourage repeat visitation to a web site.

Spring Fever - Planning for summer museum visits

Wow! One more week of school and the summer stretches out before us. We need something to do. Museums are going to be part of the mix but in what way?

What are the needs of a family audience in the summer, and how can museums meet them?

History Day, History Day

The national competition for National History was held the week of June 14. I was privileged to be a judge, and I am pleased to say that the future of historical research and interpretation looks outstanding. It was exciting to see hundreds of kids and their parents engaged in historical interpretation and to hear their sophisticated analyses of historical movements and figures.

Even at this age, it was notable that many fell into the same traps that  professionals are subject to.  It was interesting to see how they dug themselves out.

Common Traps

1.  You cannot drop a museum into a kiosk.

• What is the one point that you want to convey? There can only be one main idea, and it has to be of the right size for the interpretive vehicle. If you have limited time and spaces to make your point, then you cannot give the entire history of anything.   

2.  Answer the question, "and then what?". 

• It isn't enough to know that something happened. What happened next? What was the result? Who was affected? Was I affected?   
• The story has to have an ending. It has to draw conclusions, and the conclusions need to be believable.  If the program has a week ending, then it feels unsatisfying. Conversely, if it overstates a conclusion, it feels overblown and not believable.

3.  Beware of being too subtle.

• If an exhibit is too subtle, few people will spend enough time with it to get the point. Whether it is a quote or an interview, someone has to tell us something personal that makes us care. If the subject doesn't have anything to say about herself, then others need to say it for her. 

4.  Flashy does not compensate for lack of content

• How many times have you been wowed by something and later could not describe the content? The vehicle has to support the message not mask it. 

What's the lesson to learn from this? Everything requires very careful planning. Ask yourself:

1.  What is my take away message? 
2.  What impact did this have on people? 
3.  Why should anyone care? 
4.   Is the packaging helping or hurting my content? 

When you answer these questions and apply the answers to the museum product, you give the audience/visitors/viewer something profoundly valuable. You give them an experience that they can take away and think about. Something that they can apply to other situations. And you get them coming back for more.

My first museum