The SMART Objectives Toolkit from the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) is designed to help prospective and current Charter Schools Program (CSP) grantees develop successful initiatives. The toolkit combines planning principles with CSP grant requirements to guide current and prospective grantees in developing objectives and performance measures that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound (SMART).
The example objectives used throughout the toolkit are derived from the CSP grant programs: State Entity (SE), Charter Management Organizations (CMO), Developer, Credit Enhancement (CE), and State Facilities Incentive Grant (SFIG). Although the sample objectives are tailored to specific CSP programs, each one illustrates a SMART component and is beneficial to all grantees.
A helpful instrument for writing or revising grant objectives, the toolkit is useful for first-time applicants or experienced grantees reviewing their project objectives.
The toolkit is divided into three parts:
- Part 1 provides an overview of SMART objectives.
- Part 2 provides a protocol for developing SMART objectives.
- Part 3 provides a protocol for assessing current objectives and making them SMART.
In addition, please find a short guide that explains how to review and revise both a logic model and objectives and performance measures.