SMART Goals Worksheet[i]

Keeping in mind the overarching purpose of your team’s participation in the Community of Practice, develop goals that are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based. Be sure to:

  • Use clear language: define or operationalize any words that are not obvious
  • Begin your goal statement with a “to” and a verb (i.e., to improve, to raise awareness, to stop, to reduce)

Remember, you will most likely need to develop and carry out several goals to achieve your purpose. It could be helpful to share this completed worksheet with your partners to gather feedback, identify assumptions, and test your logic.

Develop your goal

  • What is the activity, behavior, or resource you are aiming to influence or develop?
  • Where is the specific place, or who is the specific population you would like to influence?
  • What measure will mean you have achieved your goal? By how much or how many? This measure is stronger when stated as a rate or percent change rather than as a raw number. This is your measure or quantity. Be sure to show whether the number should be an increase or decrease.
  • By when do you hope to achieve this goal?

Restate your goal

  • Combine all the components above to re-state your goal

Test your goal

  • Is this goal attainable? Justify why you think this goal is achievable.
  • Is this goal realistic? Given you and your program’s current resources, commitments, skills, knowledge, and abilities, can you reach this goal? Explain how and why.

If your goal is either not attainable or not realistic, please revisit the goal to make it more achievable and/or realistic.

Link your goal to your purpose

How will achieving this goal lead to achieving the overarching purpose your team’s Community of Practice team?

Click here to enter text.

[i]This worksheet was adapted from the following resources:

  • University of California San Diego-- Trio Outreach Program SMART Goal Setting Guide Sheet
  • SparkPeople.com SMART Goal-Setting Worksheet

For additional resources on goal setting and SMART goals, see The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Summary of Goal Brainstorming Exercise