**A Short Statement about the Importance of Goals, Objectives, and
Strategies**

**By Bob Freitag**

Direction is provided only when there are clear and concise goals and
objectives.

You may know the "what"---such as rivers flood. You may understand the
"so what"---the impacts caused by the flooding. But can you devise a
"now what"---a course of action, a--- To avoid the adverse impact you
need a direction. You need goals and objectives.

The clearer and more measurable your goals the easier your actions are
to perform and evaluate. If your goal is \"to do good and advance
justice,\" for example, you will have to define \"good\" and \"justice\"
at some point. You might as well do it within the context of the
statements themselves.

An overly specific goal may force you into a corner. For example,
Davenport, Iowa made the press in 2001 when the Mississippi flowed into
their community---again. Most similar communities along the river have
\"flood walls,\" so Davenport might certainly set as its objective \"to
build flood walls to protect Davenport by March 2002\" for their updated
flood plan. Such an objective is clear, concise, and certainly
measurable, but it doesn\'t take into account any potential alternative
solutions. A study of the ecology of the river and long-term hazards
associated with flooding from various perspectives might show that
relocating or elevating structures would be the soundest alternative. If
you decided on objectives without studying alternatives, you would meet
your objective of \"building flood walls,\" but you might not solve the
problem in an effective and efficient way.

An understanding of goals, objectives, and strategies is fundamental to
all planning and evaluation procedures, and the field of emergency
management is no different. Here are some definitions for *issues*,
*goals*, *objectives*, and *strategies* drawn principally from FEMA
publications.

**Issues:**

An understanding of the issues involved and the development of issue
statements precede the structuring of goals, objectives, and strategies.
Issue statements do not provide direction and merely state the "what" or
"so what." For example, river floods and the flooding brings sediment to
this floodplain. This is an issue statement. Flooding and related issues
such as the transfer of sediment can be beneficial or have an adverse
impact. Issue statements are helpful to get the ball rolling, however,
and help to narrow the universe of inquiry.

**Goals**

Goals represent global visions, and are general guidelines that explain
what you want to achieve in the long run. An example of a goal could be
to ensure the economic viability of a community. An objective to achieve
this would be by reducing losses to the downtown commercial district
from flooding.

**Objectives**

Objectives can be thought of as steps to achieve the goals. Objectives
are specific, measurable, and have a defined completion date. An example
of an objective for a town could be \"to sell the lots bordering the
river to the XXX conservation organization for development of community
parks and recreational areas at a mutually agreed-upon price by January
2007"

**Strategies**

Strategies are the blueprints for achieving goals and objectives. An
example of a strategy may be a jurisdiction\'s planning document for
reducing the potential losses identified in the risk assessment. In the
document, they would discuss how they could expand on and improve
existing policies, programs, and resources.

If your strategic planning effort centered around hurricane mitigation,
you could list several goals and objectives for each phase of the
emergency management cycle. How could you measure if you were
successful?

For instance, mitigation strategies are a key component in any
risk-reduction planning. According to the Disaster Mitigation Act of
2000, mitigation strategies shall include the following:

-   a description of mitigation goals to reduce or avoid long-term
    vulnerabilities to the identified hazards;

-   an identification and analysis of a comprehensive range of specific
    mitigation actions and projects being considered to reduce the
    effects of each hazard;

-   an emphasis on new and existing buildings and infrastructure;

-   a description of how the proposed actions will be prioritized,
    implemented, and administered by the local jurisdiction; and

-   any prioritization must emphasize the extent to which benefits are
    maximized according to a cost/benefit review of projects and their
    costs.

-   provide clear border definition of controlled space;

    -   The borders of the space can be defined by using physical
        objects, like fences, signs, or symbols, like distinctive wall
        colors or pictures.

-   provide clearly marked transition zones;

    -   Transition zones let people know when they are moving into the
        controlled space. Transition zones for homes could be front
        porches or stoops that create a transitional area between the
        street, the home, and property lines. In subdivision lots,
        streets and houses are transition zones that should be designed
        to encourage interaction between neighbors. Entrances
        accentuated with different paving materials, changes in street
        elevation, architectural, and landscape design can designate
        transition zones. Transition zones clearly say that you are
        entering a different place.

-   relocate gathering areas;

    -   Gathering places can be placed where they are easy to monitor
        and where access can be controlled.

-   place safe activities in unsafe locations;

    -   Safe activities attract users and they can be a way to monitor
        undesirable users. In essence, the activities will attract
        enough people that they can ensure that no undesirable behavior
        occurs without being seen. For example, a city park that has
        drug dealing can attract more desirable users by encouraging
        business activity such as coffee carts, food vendors, and
        concerts.

-   place unsafe activities in safe locations;

    -   Unsafe activities can be placed in locations that permit public
        view and access control. For example, youngsters often
        skateboard on railings, benches, or down the middle of the
        street. A skateboard park designed with challenging activities
        could attract youths and provide a safer alternative.

-   redesign the use of space to provide natural barriers;

    -   Conflicting activities can be located far apart, separated by a
        wall or building, or separated by other activities.

-   improve scheduling of space;

    -   Activities can be scheduled to reduce the likelihood of
        conflicts and to make it easier to control behaviors.

-   redesign or revamp space to increase the perception of natural
    surveillance;

    -   The placement of windows, lines-of-sight, and walkways can
        increase the feeling of security by increasing the likelihood of
        surveillance, even without security cameras and other electronic
        monitoring devices.

-   overcome distance and isolation.

    -   Natural surveillance can be facilitated. For example,
        communications equipment provides access to assistance, and the
        placement of restrooms near entrances facilitates surveillance
        of people in buildings.