Objectives or Aims

This section is one of the most important of the proposal, for it, along with the abstract, is one of the sections that all reviewers are likely to read (Morrison and Russell).  While the Purpose section of the proposal tells the funding source why the project is necessary, this section indicates what this project is designed to do, in measurable terms.

The key to this section is establishing objectives that are

	concrete and measurable
	logical in their connection to the problem or need that you have established

The following tips may help you write an effective Program Objectives or Purposes section:

Distinguish goals from objectives.

Goals make a statement about some overall or far-reaching purpose.

Teaching children to become more safety-conscious is an example of a goal.

Objectives address the more immediate project outcomes; it should be concrete and measurable.

Training children how to use a fire extinguisher is an example of a measurable project objective.

You may want to include both goals and objectives in this section of your proposal. Generally, a project should include no more than two goal statements, while it may include a number of objectives consistent with that overall goal (Hall 100).

Distinguish between the ends and the means.

The Methods or Procedures section of your proposal will discuss and clarify how these objectives will be accomplished.

Some research proposals will require statements of hypotheses. A hypothesis is a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences (Morrison and Russell). Funding sources, especially for research proposals, may require that outcomes be stated in hypothesis form (Hall 101).  When developing hypotheses, remember that the hypothesis is not a pre-determined conclusion.

Conclusion, not a hypothesis:  The central hypothesis is to show that smoking contributes to lung cancer.

Hypothesis: The central hypothesis is that smoking contributes to lung cancer (Morrison and Russell).