2. Being clear about your aim and outcomes

There are three parts to the difference you want to make:

• your overall aim the overall purpose of your project
• your intended outcomes the specific things you want to have changed by the end of the project
• your tasks or activities what you will do to make that difference.

A helpful way of thinking about these and setting them out is to use the CES Planning Triangle. It can help you to discuss and record what you want to change and how you will do it, and then let you test how realistic your plans are. A general model of the triangle and a completed example appear on the next two pages. Note that the three levels of the triangle match the three levels set out above. This is how you can go about filling in the different levels:

1. Put your overall aim at the top of the triangle

The overall aim sums up the difference that you want to make. It helps focus everything that you do. Your aim should clearly set out what the need or problem is, and what difference you want to make overall. The needs and reasons that you identified in the previous section should help you to do this.

Choose a simple aim and word it carefully. It should be something that you can achieve or at least influence strongly over the course of your project.

Remember that your aim is also the summary of how you will explain why your project exists and why it should be funded.

When applying to BIG, include your aim in your project summary.

2. Put your intended outcomes into the middle level of the triangle

What needs to change for your project to achieve its overall aim? What differences will your project help to make for your beneficiaries? The answers to these questions are your intended project outcomes. Some of these outcomes might happen quickly, while others may take longer and depend on meeting other outcomes but they must be changes that will happen by the end of your project.

Be sure to use words of change when describing your intended outcomes, such as: more, better, less, improved. In some cases, though, your outcomes may involve keeping a situation stable or stopping things from getting worse.

You should also make sure that your intended outcomes refer to changes that are not simply related to the workings of your project for instance, instead of saying young people contribute to decisions about running the project, say young people are more confident and able to express their opinions.

Remember not to come up with too many or too detailed intended outcomes. Think of grouping them together or pick out the most important ones. Please also note that later you will need to think about how much of a change you want to make and to identify ways of measuring progress. For the moment, though, it is more useful to think about the type of change.

It can be hard to think in terms of intended outcomes. If this happens, start by looking at what activities you intend to do and ask yourself why. (What changes will those activities lead to?)

CES Planning Triangle (adapted)

A completed triangle for a youth project

BIG will ask you to identify up to six outcomes as part of your application. We will not usually tell you what they should be, because we want you to tell us how and why you will run your project. Please remember, though, that you will also need to explain how your intended project outcomes fit with our own programme outcomes. You will also have to tell us about the level of change you want to make see, How much? Setting SMART outcomes in section 2.1.

3. Set out what you are going to DO in the bottom layer of the triangle

What you are going to do in order to bring about your intended outcomes and address the need? These are tasks, services or activities. Examples include:

• running groups, courses or classes
• producing and distributing information
• building a community centre.

Example: Community recycling project activities:

• community events to raise local awareness
• talks at the community centre
• setting up easy collection points.

Make sure you use words of action to describe what you will do, such as: to provide, to run, to organise, to produce or to promote.

When applying to BIG:

• list and explain the main activities of your project this may be called delivery method
• mention the main activities as part of your project summary if they help to make it clear what your project aims to do and how it will do it.

When you have filled in a triangle, check the following:

• Have you used words of change in the top and middle and doing words in the bottom of the triangle?
• Does the middle of the triangle describe what changes for your beneficiaries (or for organisations, the community or environment)?
• Does the bottom of the triangle describe what staff or volunteers will do?

Now you can look at the triangle as a whole to check that the plans for your project are realistic:

• Look at each of your intended outcomes in the middle level. Will the activities you have listed at the bottom realistically help you to achieve one or more of your intended outcomes?

• Now look at the activities. Does each one link directly to one or more of the intended outcomes? If not, why is the activity included? You may need to consider whether the activity really is important. It may well be that the activity will help you to achieve another change. If this is the case you may need to include another outcome. It may help to do this if you number the outcomes and put the number(s) against each activity.

2.1 How much? Setting SMART outcomes

If you have used a triangle as described above, you will now have a good idea about why you want to run your project, what difference you want to make and how you will get there.

But you will also have to think about the scale of your project, how much of a change, for how many people, and when you will have achieved what. This will help you to plan your project further, and it will also help you to explain to funders just how much you think you will be able to achieve.

When BIG or other funders consider your application, we need to work out quickly and clearly what changes you want to make and how and by when you will do this. To help us to do this, we ask you to make your outcomes SMART  that is, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. What this means is that your intended project outcomes will need to include such information as dates and numbers, as well as what and who.

SMART outcomes might look like the following:

• 100 young people in Dungannon understand political processes better by the end of the second year.
• 200 more households on the Cullingworth Estate are regularly recycling at the end of the project.
• 15 local groups who have taken part in the project report more success in attracting funding by the end of the second year.
• 25 local families with autistic children report reduced stress as a result of respite opportunities (end of second year).

It may be very difficult to estimate numbers you should aim for, especially if you are starting a new and innovative project and trying to be clear about outcomes. Try to be as realistic as possible and base numbers on any information you have, such as:

• your experience or that of similar projects your capacity (time, people, money and other resources) or
• the scale of the need you want to meet.

It can be tempting to set high figures when you are applying for funding. You may want to impress funders with the scale of your project. But you have to remember that funders will ask you how far you have progressed towards meeting outcomes as time goes along. If you cannot meet them, you may find your project working beyond its capacity, reducing quality and disappointing people who were keen to be involved or to benefit.

It is always best to be realistic and honest with both funders and other people involved in your project.

BIG is very concerned that applicants should be realistic in project planning. This should not stop you from being ambitious when you plan and set out SMART outcomes as part of your application. Our staff may be able to discuss this with you during your assessment. But if you are unsure about what levels to suggest, try to find out more before you submit your application, because we will use the information you include as part of any grant  contract.

2.2 Linking your intended outcomes to your funder's programme

You should make sure that your potential funder will understand how your intended outcomes will help contribute towards their own priorities or outcomes.

If you are not sure that they do, speak to the funder before you submit your application. They may be able to give you further advice, including whether it is worth applying to a particular programme.

Example: Linking project outcomes to programme outcomes

A project aims to involve more families in a recycling scheme. The funder's programme outcomes include:

• improved local environments accessible to all and relevant to people's needs
• a greater sense of community ownership of the local environment
• improved social, economic and environmental sustainability.

The project will help meet the first by reducing the amount of litter in the area, the second by increasing local awareness and involving residents in running project activities, and the third by increasing the levels of recycling in the area.

You will need to describe how your intended outcomes address the needs you have identified and help to achieve BIG programme outcomes. Programme outcomes appear in the relevant guidance notes. Remember that we do not expect you to write your own outcomes directly in response to ours, but we are interested in how you think your project as a whole will help us to achieve our programme outcomes.