आवेदन गाइड · 10 मिनट
How to write a compelling general objective
The structure evaluators expect from your project's general objective: concrete, measurable and aligned with the call.
The general objective is what your project will achieve by the end, and it is your direct responsibility. A review committee has no time to decode vague text: if it cannot tell what you will achieve and for whom, the rest of the form loses strength.
What the general objective is (and is not)
In the logical framework it is the Purpose: exactly what you deliver. Do not confuse it with the Goal, the long-term impact you contribute to, which does not depend only on you.
Example purpose: "Develop and validate a computer-vision system for real-time detection of pathologies in salmon". It says what is done, with what, and for what.
What it should include
- A concrete, verifiable action, not a wish ("improve quality of life" cannot be measured).
- For whom: the population or user, and where they are.
- The change or result you expect, expressed in something you can measure with the tools you already have or that the fund lets you finance.
- A deadline. Every objective should have at least one measurable indicator and a deadline.
Write it in the call's language
Do not write for an abstract committee. Read the instrument's specific objectives and use its wording: if the fund aims to "reduce technology access gaps", your objective must explain how it contributes to that and not to something else. Many applications are rejected for solving a valid problem that does not match the call.
Mistakes that cost points
- An objective that is too broad ("poverty", "youth unemployment"): it does not identify your population or your area of influence.
- Unverifiable results: "we will strengthen the community". If you cannot measure it, do not promise it.
- Promising results that do not depend only on your management, such as "we will reduce poverty in the region".
- Mixing up activities and results: "we will run 20 workshops" does not say what change you will achieve.
Check it before you submit
- Does it name a specific population and place?
- Can it be measured with the resources available?
- Does it have an indicator and a deadline? SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
- Does its wording match the fund's objectives?
- Ask someone outside the project to read it: if they cannot repeat in their own words what you will do and for whom, rewrite it.
This guide was prepared with AI assistance from CIDIF content and is pending editorial review. It does not replace the official terms of each call: always check amounts, deadlines and requirements at the fund's source.