Diocese of Gloucester LIFE Development Fund
Outcomes, Activities and Targets Guidance
The LIFE Development Fund aims to make a sustainable long-term difference to the diocese and its local communities through the grants we make so, at the start of each year of funding, we would like you to tell us what you intend to achieve and whatdifference you hope to make over the coming year.
To provide a standard framework, at the start of each year of funding we will ask that you complete an Outcomes, Activities and Targets Form. At the end of the year we will ask you to submit an End of Year Report which describes what has been achieved, what you have learnt during the course of the year (including what has not gone as well as you had hoped), and your plans for the coming year. Photographic evidence is welcome!
Please try to involve relevant workers, volunteers and managers in this exercise, as they will all have useful insight to share about how the project will run.
You will already have done some thinking about your Outcomes when you prepared your application, so this would be a good place to start. The purpose of the Outcomes, Activities and Targets form is to encourage you to focus specifically on what you plan to do over the next 12 months.
How to complete the Outcomes, Activities and Targets Form
Please identify up to threeOutcomes that describe the difference you hopeto make by the end of the year. Then, for each Outcome, identify and describe theActivities and Targetsthat you will put in place to help you achieve these outcomes. Keep it as brief as possible, and donot feel that you have to fill in every box.
Outcomes
Outcomes are thespecific differencesyou would like to make by the end of the year. This may includedevelopment in individualskills, knowledge, feelings or behaviour, or changes in the widerenvironment. It is likely that your Outcomes will be long-term,so they may not change from year to year.
Examples of Outcomes:
- Young people experience the Christian faith for themselves
- Lonely elderly people feel better able to cope
- Members of the church feel more confident in their faith and discipleship
- Children have opportunities for safe and constructive play
- People in the local community get on better with each other
Activities
These are the things you need to do that will help you deliver your Outcomes.
Examples of Activities:
- Recruit a youth worker
- Raise additional funding for an activity
- Set up a weekly youth club for young people
- Train a group of volunteers to provide support to older people living on their own
- Provide new equipment to the church hall so that it can be used for a drop-in for mums and dads at home with pre-school children
Targets
Providing up to three specific targets for each Outcomewill help you to measure the progress you have made.
Examples of Targets:
- Increase the numbers at our holiday lunch club from around 20 to at least 30 children
- Have five volunteers trained to support young mums by the end of the year
Tips on filling in the Form
- Be specific and realistic about what you can achieve
- Make sure your Outcomes are focused on delivery of the project.
- Donot feel you have to fill in every box or repeat yourself – keep it simple.
You may find it helpful to think of Outcomes as your destination, Activities as the route you will take to get there, and Targets as the milestones thattell you how far you have come.
Writing your annual report
Make sure you keep records so that you know when you have met your targets or completed your activities. If you have not met your targets, or you activities have taken a change of direction, use your report to explain what has happened, and make sure that these changes are reflected in your Outcomes, Activities and Targets form for the next year.
If you are required to provide outcomes, targets and reports to other Funders, employers or interested parties, please let us know, and we will try and make sure that you do not have to duplicate your efforts, so that what you provide for others can be used for our purposes as well.
At any stage in the process, do get in touch with the Secretary for advice and support.