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SMART Goal Example

A SMART goal meets these criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and 
Tangible.

Ask yourself if your advocacy goal is SMART. In the first example below, it's easy to 
see how an organization could embrace the concept. But as a goal for a campaign or other 
concerted effort, it has several flaws that can stand in the way of success.

PROBLEMATIC ADVOCACY GOAL: "To increase the international affairs budget and 
shift how money is allocated from military funding to diplomacy and development." This 
goal lacks specifics; increase by how much? It's also a long-term and broad goal, not 
quite manageable for a single organization over a limited time-frame.  

BETTER ADVOCACY GOAL: "To shift 25 percent of international military education 
and training funding into women's economic assistance overseas by mobilizing a 
constituency of 30,000 registered voters who will reach out to key members of the 
Appropriations Committee." Although this goal is ambitious, it contains specific, 
measurable elements.

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