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One time me and my team set targets for our project and later realized it was almost impossible to achieve them. We had made unrealistic targets. We revised and changed our target through consulting the executive board, stakeholders, and other experienced persons in the field we had targeted. I suggest that if you are tasked with unrealistic targets, the best thing is to re-revise the target with your donors/bosses/team and make better targets. Also consulting other people who have/are working in the same area of work is very helpful.

one time in my organisation am working,i was given a high target that was unrealistic.i was to maitain attendance of students to school of more than 70%.This was very difficult because many refugee students come to school only during examination.I responded by showing the previous records and trends of students attendance.That made the target to be set at lower percentage.At 40%

One time that i was asked to reach on unrealistic target was when i was asked to administer 1000 questionnaires at the rural areas within a period of three days but i responded by it was not impossible because of the work force and according to the previous questionnaires administered it took three months.

I once worked in a project that intended to work with 10 provincial platforms in a certain issue. During the baseline research it was found out that the provincial platforms receive information from the district platform, base in the communities. The project´s ultimate impact was supposed to be reflected in the district. So decision was made to change the approach and also the target, Instead of working with ten provincial platform the project decided to work in three provinces and cover a total number of 30 district platforms.
For those working on unrealistic targets the advice id to revise those targets so that the project can achieve its results.

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@NJERI_KARIUKI said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target whereby i was required to vaccinate 4,000 heads of cattle per day with a team of three vaccinators and two animal handlers. This was not possible because cattle requires a lot of manpower to restrain for proper vaccination. The realistic target would be 1,500 cattle per day. I responded by showing my supervisor the average numbers vaccinated by similar teams from previous projects. Data available from vaccination reports showed that the highest similar teams vaccinated between 1,000-15,00 cattle per day. we therefore agreed that my team would set a target of 1,500 cattle per day.

Arithi 4000 cattle per day that was so much unrealistic. Anyway, which region were you carrying out the vaccination process?

In Wajir County. When non technical people make the decision making teams, this is what happened. We had received a new Chief Executive Member ( Minister) who has never worked with livestock .

oh okay...but the good thing you are an experienced person in that field

Yes. The funder owns the money and if you are directed to achieve a target, you must put all efforts in to achieve the number or else you loose your funding

@NJERI_KARIUKI said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@NJERI_KARIUKI said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target whereby i was required to vaccinate 4,000 heads of cattle per day with a team of three vaccinators and two animal handlers. This was not possible because cattle requires a lot of manpower to restrain for proper vaccination. The realistic target would be 1,500 cattle per day. I responded by showing my supervisor the average numbers vaccinated by similar teams from previous projects. Data available from vaccination reports showed that the highest similar teams vaccinated between 1,000-15,00 cattle per day. we therefore agreed that my team would set a target of 1,500 cattle per day.

Arithi 4000 cattle per day that was so much unrealistic. Anyway, which region were you carrying out the vaccination process?

In Wajir County. When non technical people make the decision making teams, this is what happened. We had received a new Chief Executive Member ( Minister) who has never worked with livestock .

oh okay...but the good thing you are an experienced person in that field

Wow, I like the approach you used, you reasoned like an M&E expert, available data saved you the argument and actually did make your supervisor consider you as a good team player he needed. Bravo

ARITHI You have mentioned an outstanding criteria in setting targets that of using existing data from past projects or work. With such you were ambitious ambitious and still realistic as you were did not opt for the bottom (1000 heads of cattle vaccinated per day) but when for the maxixum 1500.

In 2014, we were working in communities to build home latrines. We had the target of 6000 per year for 3 years. With the resources available, the procurement process to follow and the poor accessibility to get to the communities with materials, our action plan revealed that this was unrealistically high taget for the first year also considering that the project is being implanted at the same time. We discussed and agreed with the project sponsor that the first year targets be extended for 15 months and the over all project duration was extended by 3 months
So my advice to learners is that in addition to the criteria for setting targets like existing data, expert opinion, baseline, a detailed project plan will also help in setting setting realistic goals in circumstances were existing data is not available

@nafulasmamai said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:
One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to include new reached target for both TB and HIV prevention after 3 months of starting project. I responded to funding organization by replying that inclusion of TB activities for HIV activities among reached target can be feasible; however, adding new target might be unrealistic in long term which could affect the program quality.

@RCPparticipant said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was requested to plan for too many field missions per month, which would not have allowed staff to have any rest. I responded by stating the reasons for refusal and adjusted the plan accordingly.

Hi Juhanna Sankelo, would be interested if could could shed more light how you came to the conclusion that the staff would not have any rest if the field missions were to go ahead as was asked

@MichaelTomoriBPharmMScMPH said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Yes. The funder owns the money and if you are directed to achieve a target, you must put all efforts in to achieve the number or else you loose your funding

Yes, realistic targets should be achieved not to loose a funding

@ArnaudSegla said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@nafulasmamai said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:
One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to have half young women and half young men in my entrepreneurship program but young women ws difficult to involve in those programme due to their many other reproduction occupation and less interest for being in the frontline with men. I responded by asking if the funder will accept tolerance to the indicators or to be practical if we should prioritise the women first and limit men to be sure that the final group have the desired team configuration .

@ArnaudSegla it cannot be over-emphasized that robust discussion with the funder and Prioritization of the Key Project Indicators (KPIs) are helpful in resolving unrealistic targets.....

@AungMoeThu said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@nafulasmamai said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:
One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to include new reached target for both TB and HIV prevention after 3 months of starting project. I responded to funding organization by replying that inclusion of TB activities for HIV activities among reached target can be feasible; however, adding new target might be unrealistic in long term which could affect the program quality.

@AungMoeThu I agree with you that unrealistic targets can affect project quality.... that is why the option of constructive engagement with funding organisations is inevitable towards a successful project implementation....Keep learning

@MichaelTomoriBPharmMScMPH said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Yes. The funder owns the money and if you are directed to achieve a target, you must put all efforts in to achieve the number or else you loose your funding

@MichaelTomoriBPharmMScMPH Yes retaining funding is very important for project success and continuity but note that there must be a positive deliberate balance of that funding and implementing impact-driven projects....

@jmuthoni593 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that i was asked to reach on unrealistic target was when i was asked to administer 1000 questionnaires at the rural areas within a period of three days but i responded by it was not impossible because of the work force and according to the previous questionnaires administered it took three months.

@jmuthoni593 Having structured project M& E plan from onset will help avoid this kind of impromptu targets that are highly unrealistic because all indicators to be measured in terms of quality and quantity would have been specified.....

@NgwayiE said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In 2014, we were working in communities to build home latrines. We had the target of 6000 per year for 3 years. With the resources available, the procurement process to follow and the poor accessibility to get to the communities with materials, our action plan revealed that this was unrealistically high taget for the first year also considering that the project is being implanted at the same time. We discussed and agreed with the project sponsor that the first year targets be extended for 15 months and the over all project duration was extended by 3 months
So my advice to learners is that in addition to the criteria for setting targets like existing data, expert opinion, baseline, a detailed project plan will also help in setting setting realistic goals in circumstances were existing data is not available

@NgwayiE ....Thanks for this erudite post as it will be helpful to other learners too......Happy continuous learning

@erickboniventure3 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

When you're exploring possible goals, you need to unleash your imagination and ambition, put your reservations aside, and dream big dreams. However, once you've decided on a goal, make sure that it is realistic, and that you can actually achieve it in the time frame that you have set for yourself.

@erickboniventure3 As you are dreaming big and streamlining your goals , also think about the source of funding along too......

@Natabirwa said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

When we were designing a project to increase dairy processing among rural communities, we were asked to indicate a large target number of farmers who would process dairy products by the end of the project period.
I responded by asking our team to assess and predetermine the number of farmers who kept dairy animals; people lifestyles and social activities for the target group first and their interest in processing dairy products. In addition I advised for us to take a smaller target number.

@Natabirwa Yes breaking enormous targets into smaller achievable ones is one of the ways of avoiding unrealistic target scenarios!!!!

@NaluwoozaWinnie said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

While working on my undergraduate research project,we were instructed by the research committee to hand in our reports a week after our final semester papers.with all the fatigue, exhaustion and unavoidable challenges ranging from financial incapacitation to unavailability of supervises, we did our best and still the day came and none of the groups had hit the target despite all efforts. eventually the date was pushed by 2 more weeks and everyone succeeded.
During that do or die week, we as students got so frustrated, worried, desperate, wrangles among ourselves, stressed and made more errors that set us even far back, all in the name of beating an impossible deadline.
well, my colleagues and I learnt that setting realistic targets not only calms down people thus enabling them do their best but also promotes better working relations among the project staff.

@NaluwoozaWinnie No doubt, working within realistic targets is capable of bringing about the best productivity without any undue self or collective imposed stress that can be counter productive......

@MWARUWA said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

one time in my organisation am working,i was given a high target that was unrealistic.i was to maitain attendance of students to school of more than 70%.This was very difficult because many refugee students come to school only during examination.I responded by showing the previous records and trends of students attendance.That made the target to be set at lower percentage.At 40%

@MWARUWA Yes existing and baseline records can be the basis of reviewing an unrealistic targets as depicted in this scenario.......

@somenath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In an anti-trafficking project we intended to track the trafficking cases through the indicator "number of cases of trafficking registered in the police station" and target set was to reduce the number of cases by 30%. But while doing the baseline we found the registered cases in police station was only 3 while in the community the number of cases was found to be very high but they were not reported. So, it has been observed that the target which was set based on the said indicator was unrealistic. So, I replaced the indicator with "number of unregistered cases of trafficking" reported through household survey.

@somenath That is a smart way of getting realistic with the unrealistic targets......Happy learning......

@umaruprosi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Unrealistic Targets are a prelude to project failures, and leads to adverse disappointment and feeling of low self esteem at the end of the project, usually I respond to such directive by politely pointing out to my superiors the dangers involved in putting up unrealistic Targets based on assumptions.

@umaruprosi “Thanks for posting your ideas, I can see you’re really thinking about the course content. Have you ever said yes to an unrealistic target and realized later that it actually hurt the team’s progress?”.

@ChrisKuria said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time I was engaged in a data collection exercise for an electrification project for a certain village in a rural setup.
We were given loads of forms (over 300, each 8 paged) that we were supposed to get to the villagers , share with them about the project & capture the information of those who wanted to be connected to the grid through the project.
We were two (me & a colleague), we went to the field & started the process but realized within minutes the exercise was quite a task that we couldn't achieve in a day, even a week.
I responded by requesting the project leads to mobilize the villagers, so that we could share the information with them as a group & easily get their details from the gathering. Thats what we did, there was a baraza & we eventually collected the info of approximately 100 villagers for the project but it was still an hectic task!
My advice from this experience is it is very effective to always begin with the end in mind, set realistic goals that will be practical to achieve without much strain.

@ChrisKuria What a true situation of an unrealistic project worth learning from, particularly how the issue was strategically resolved amidst the prevailing circumstances......

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to call 100 clients in a day. I responded by telling the supervisor that it was impossible because on average communicating to one client on phone is 7 minutes as i will discussed with the client varies way of the client repaying the loan and in a day i have 320 minutes, meaning if i was to call the 100 client i should have 700 minutes equivalent to 12 hrs, which 100% impossible. The supervisor understood my reasoning and we agreed to call between 30 to 40 people per day.

@ericmatthhew said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time me and my team set targets for our project and later realized it was almost impossible to achieve them. We had made unrealistic targets. We revised and changed our target through consulting the executive board, stakeholders, and other experienced persons in the field we had targeted. I suggest that if you are tasked with unrealistic targets, the best thing is to re-revise the target with your donors/bosses/team and make better targets. Also consulting other people who have/are working in the same area of work is very helpful.

@ericmatthhew Yes i agree with you that all stakeholders must be adequately consulted when reviewing an unrealistic targets which also is an avoidable situation if all these stakeholders have been consulted in the first place.....

@BMENGICH said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to call 100 clients in a day. I responded by telling the supervisor that it was impossible because on average communicating to one client on phone is 7 minutes as i will discussed with the client varies way of the client repaying the loan and in a day i have 320 minutes, meaning if i was to call the 100 client i should have 700 minutes equivalent to 12 hrs, which 100% impossible. The supervisor understood my reasoning and we agreed to call between 30 to 40 people per day.

@BMENGICH What a Statistical cerebral ingenuity way of reviewing an unrealistic targets... this situation left no room for argument from the superior officer....therefore @all learners should be constructive and positive in resolving unrealistic targets......

@jkurama said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Sometime back we I was working on a project where we collected data/ surveys, and my team was given a target of each field officer to complete 4 surveys a day. All the other resources were provided but only one would not checkout, Time basing on the season of the year. It was a rainy season and we would take more time than usual to reach field being rural setting and very bad road. Each survey was taking approximately 2hrs which means we needed 8hrs of surveying to complete 4 surveys each and we had to a journey of about 1hr to go, 1hr to come back. The plan was meet the team at 7:30 in the morning debrief for 30 minutes, 8 headout, 9 start surveying till 5:30 in the evening. Head back, be at office by 6:30. Which was okay in real sense. But, it was a rainy season where we would get stuck on the bad roads for many hours and we did not have very good vehicles to. So, I talked to my supervisors, my team, about the target that we hard and the difficulties we are having reaching it. we first agreed on bringing closer reporting time to 7:00 am but we were still not hitting the target, we hard to settle for 3 surveys a day and at times it would mean leaving very early, earlier that 7 and sometimes coming back later than 6:30pm.

@jkurama This confirms that no factor should be overlooked in setting your targets or else you get stuck in an unrealistic targets!!!

@Delaida said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

When targets are unrealistic, it gives pressure to project team especially those directly involved in the implementation. Therefore, compromising the quality of service delivery to beneficiaries. Quarterly review meetings should help in making proper adjustments if such targets were set

@Delaida Thanks for your thoughtful post however , have you ever said yes to an unrealistic target and realized later that it actually hurt the team’s progress?”.

@S_abdul88 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I can remember vividly when my Head Teacher ask me to reach an unrealistic target. He tasked me to create a lesson plan and note each day for nine(9) subjects. Now that target from the outset was unrealistic considering the learners ability. For the pupils to have a grasp of a topic in literacy, that particular topic have to be taught for two(2) days consecutively, then numeracy, basic science, social studies,Health education,cultural and creative arts,religion,computer science. I had to plead morally to the Head Teacher that the target was unrealistic because it is time consuming. So I pleaded that I form lesson plan and note for the two(2) basic subjects ,which is literacy and numeracy.

@S_abdul88 it was good you were able to solve this problem of unrealistic target with an achievable proposition to your Head Teacher.....

@KOPJ said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Skaliyetu said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was which was cleaning an area in my local government of attachment, the target was too ambitious and unrealistic. I responded by by telling my project coordinator that I will need more hand on deck to clear the potion of field.

@Skaliyetu thanks for sharing with us
So did you receive the extra hands needed?
and if Yes how good was final output of the project please do share with us
......................................................................................................................................................................................Happy learning

Nice one

The one time i was asked to meet an unrealistic target was during a livelihood project where the organization had set a target to sensitize and train 7,000 farmers on good agronomic practices within 6 months. unfortunately, 6 weeks to the end of project, only 2700 beneficiaries had been reached out of the 7,000.

out of pressure to meet the target by end of project, 2 field staffs (My colleague and I) were asked to increase the number of farmers trained per week to 200. which implied that by end of 6 weeks, 2400 farmers had to be trained by only 2 staff. now this was so unrealistic and achievable as on average, i would train a maximum of 80 farmers specifically on the topic of good agronomic practices (GAP) weekly reason being i had already 3 other trainings coupled with other field monitoring activities.

so, in order for me to balance my work amicably, i raised my concern to the program manager and suggested that the target be revised and reduced to 4,000 farmers trained. in that, if i revised my work schedule to accommodate training 120 farmers weekly on the mentioned topic (GAP), i would be able to achieve 720 farmers trained by end of 6 weeks. when doubled by my colleague's efforts, we could meet the target of 4,000 and surpass by 140.

One time we had to give out school materials to a number of children in an IDP camp. we had prepared a certain number and on getting to our destination the target was unrealistic. I responded by sorting the targets according to age and gender, giving the younger children and the girls before considering the older ones

@MarionAkol said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

The one time i was asked to meet an unrealistic target was during a livelihood project where the organization had set a target to sensitize and train 7,000 farmers on good agronomic practices within 6 months. unfortunately, 6 weeks to the end of project, only 2700 beneficiaries had been reached out of the 7,000.

out of pressure to meet the target by end of project, 2 field staffs (My colleague and I) were asked to increase the number of farmers trained per week to 200. which implied that by end of 6 weeks, 2400 farmers had to be trained by only 2 staff. now this was so unrealistic and achievable as on average, i would train a maximum of 80 farmers specifically on the topic of good agronomic practices (GAP) weekly reason being i had already 3 other trainings coupled with other field monitoring activities.

so, in order for me to balance my work amicably, i raised my concern to the program manager and suggested that the target be revised and reduced to 4,000 farmers trained. in that, if i revised my work schedule to accommodate training 120 farmers weekly on the mentioned topic (GAP), i would be able to achieve 720 farmers trained by end of 6 weeks. when doubled by my colleague's efforts, we could meet the target of 4,000 and surpass by 140.

@MarionAkol said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

The one time i was asked to meet an unrealistic target was during a livelihood project where the organization had set a target to sensitize and train 7,000 farmers on good agronomic practices within 6 months. unfortunately, 6 weeks to the end of project, only 2700 beneficiaries had been reached out of the 7,000.

out of pressure to meet the target by end of project, 2 field staffs (My colleague and I) were asked to increase the number of farmers trained per week to 200. which implied that by end of 6 weeks, 2400 farmers had to be trained by only 2 staff. now this was so unrealistic and achievable as on average, i would train a maximum of 80 farmers specifically on the topic of good agronomic practices (GAP) weekly reason being i had already 3 other trainings coupled with other field monitoring activities.

so, in order for me to balance my work amicably, i raised my concern to the program manager and suggested that the target be revised and reduced to 4,000 farmers trained. in that, if i revised my work schedule to accommodate training 120 farmers weekly on the mentioned topic (GAP), i would be able to achieve 720 farmers trained by end of 6 weeks. when doubled by my colleague's efforts, we could meet the target of 4,000 and surpass by 140.

I hope you were able to achieve this. I also like the suggestion it made the work sound easy and achievable

@Dmegastar said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@somenath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In an anti-trafficking project we intended to track the trafficking cases through the indicator "number of cases of trafficking registered in the police station" and target set was to reduce the number of cases by 30%. But while doing the baseline we found the registered cases in police station was only 3 while in the community the number of cases was found to be very high but they were not reported. So, it has been observed that the target which was set based on the said indicator was unrealistic. So, I replaced the indicator with "number of unregistered cases of trafficking" reported through household survey.

@somenath That is a smart way of getting realistic with the unrealistic targets......Happy learning......

Thanks .........

Sometime ago my Boss wanted us to take a new product to a particular segment with a view to penetrate the market and shoot up sales by 50% of average sale from the other products. this new segment had a different cultural orientation that did not encourage acceptance of the product. notwithstanding my Boss want us to break even.
Despite prior research and due diligence conducted, we entered into the market and could hardly make a 2% sale. we latter further confirmed that the Cultural difference was a strong barrier. Hence the target was unrealistic.

Learning point was to identify risk and mitigate it rather setting an unrealistic target in the face of high potential risk.

@somenath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Dmegastar said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@somenath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In an anti-trafficking project we intended to track the trafficking cases through the indicator "number of cases of trafficking registered in the police station" and target set was to reduce the number of cases by 30%. But while doing the baseline we found the registered cases in police station was only 3 while in the community the number of cases was found to be very high but they were not reported. So, it has been observed that the target which was set based on the said indicator was unrealistic. So, I replaced the indicator with "number of unregistered cases of trafficking" reported through household survey.

@somenath That is a smart way of getting realistic with the unrealistic targets......Happy learning......

Thanks .........

Smart moves indeed. Can you please share with us which methods you use to reduce the number of cases by 30% so others can learn who are involved in similar project.

@DocPha said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In this current project, the Director set a target that seemed extremely unrealistic. He wanted us to have migrated 500 health facilities unto the EMR platform within 6 months from the start of the project. I deemed it unrealistic because at the time, the software hadn't been completely built or tested, we didn't have enough personnel who where vast in the use of the software to deploy to that magnitude of facilities, we didn't even have the financing to cater to that scale of deployment, there were other inputs that we had promised to deliver at deployment that we hadn't ironed out and we had not properly evaluated the risks and how they would affect the project. All in all, I thought it was not only aggressive and overly ambitious, I thought it crazy. I expressed my opinion at a meeting of the heads of department in not so aggressive way, trying to make the director see the reasons why we thought them unrealistic; because most of all the other HODs agreed with my point of view. In the end, the Director thought we weren't determined enough and kept it that way. Unfortunately, the target have yet to be reached almost a year after.

@DocPha , It's always good to approach your superior in a calmly manner to put your case across particularly in the case of unrealistic target been set for your team.

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to distribute/collect questionnaire within three days for an ongoing project. My intervention was to requested for the extension to a week. My advice is to always access time against resources for any given project.

We discussed the issue with our supervisor and prior to the next travel planning, we submitted the list of sites to be assessed to our co-worker who is based at the region and whom he really knows the area and he organized the site visit according to the distance of the sites. We managed to visit all the sites according to his plan and the issue was sorted. So the main point is to contact someone who really knows the area before travel.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

At my organization we usually make monthly targets, this year there has been a change in the number of activities that we have from last year. Activities are what brings us revenue in my organization. The monthly income target are unrealistic because they use last year's revenue to make this year's target projections without putting into consideration the changes in the activities of an organization from last year. Firstly i felt demotivated knowing that the targets given to me are unattainable. It is very important when you are given unrealistic targets to confide in your superiors with statistics and information that will help readjusting the unrealistic targets to attainable targets. When i was given unrealistic targets i raised a concern using statistics and information to convince my superiors of the need to readjust the targets. My advice is whenever you are given unrealistic targets, please do not be hasty, gather statistics and information to prove why you believe the targets given to you are unrealistic.

When sourcing for funds, I am often given targets that are deemed too high to meet. I usually regard it as being given a blank cheque to fill in anything. The more I aspire to meet up such targets, the more useful I feel to myself and to my organization. It is usually a test of character, a test meant to stretch you to become better at what you do.

I had an experience few weeks back in my department. Sometimes because of certain pressures, we would want to set target that seems good and certainly ambitious but rather extremely unrealistic in terms of the allotted schedule. In my case the target in view was not an issue, but the delivery schedule was not feasible at all. I came up with researched information and relevant case studies that clearly reveal that the department will run into delivery issues if we go ahead with the schedule; and these formed the bases of my response. I was able to convince the team to have a second look at the set target using the facts presented. Target was reviewed afterwards
Learners should politely respond to such citing empirical facts why the target is unrealistic even though seem ambitious. In addition learners can also seek an expert opinion on this matter.

@Dmegastar said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@NgwayiE said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In 2014, we were working in communities to build home latrines. We had the target of 6000 per year for 3 years. With the resources available, the procurement process to follow and the poor accessibility to get to the communities with materials, our action plan revealed that this was unrealistically high taget for the first year also considering that the project is being implanted at the same time. We discussed and agreed with the project sponsor that the first year targets be extended for 15 months and the over all project duration was extended by 3 months
So my advice to learners is that in addition to the criteria for setting targets like existing data, expert opinion, baseline, a detailed project plan will also help in setting setting realistic goals in circumstances were existing data is not available

@NgwayiE ....Thanks for this erudite post as it will be helpful to other learners too......Happy continuous learning

@NgwayiE. Great contribution! We can certainly make informed decisions when it comes to setting realistic target by using experts judgement or opinion

In a livelihood project, the target was set as 30% increase in the income of the beneficiaries. Beneficiaries were defined as both direct and indirect beneficiaries. After baseline it was found by my team that the target was too ambitious to achieve within the project period of 3 years. So, we revisited our inputs outputs and outcomes and came up that if we focus only on direct beneficiaries (to whom we supported with inputs like training for improving agricultural production, agricultural inputs, linkage with supply chain for selling with produces), it will be achievable, yet ambitious. Then we discussed this with our donors and made them convinced. However we shared detailed stage by stage plan. There, we emphasized that project would facilitate the beneficiaries to get access to other resources(government schemes, agricultural research organizations etc.) beside ours.

i was asked to carry many articles in a short time. i replied that the time is too short so i need more than

@Alim16 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@somenath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Dmegastar said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@somenath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In an anti-trafficking project we intended to track the trafficking cases through the indicator "number of cases of trafficking registered in the police station" and target set was to reduce the number of cases by 30%. But while doing the baseline we found the registered cases in police station was only 3 while in the community the number of cases was found to be very high but they were not reported. So, it has been observed that the target which was set based on the said indicator was unrealistic. So, I replaced the indicator with "number of unregistered cases of trafficking" reported through household survey.

@somenath That is a smart way of getting realistic with the unrealistic targets......Happy learning......

Thanks .........

Smart moves indeed. Can you please share with us which methods you use to reduce the number of cases by 30% so others can learn who are involved in similar project.

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your interest in learning about our project. In order to give a clear idea about the project, I will first discuss the context of the project area and then come to the point you asked for.

The project was implemented in flood-prone areas of Bihar state of India. The economy of the area is primarily agrarian. Every year the flood washes away the crops, belongings and assets of the entire population of those areas. After the flood, the cases of missing girls or marriage of girls with unknowns used to happen every year. Marriage of girls in India is still considered as a burden for the parents. Different studies found that many poor families allured with handsome cash for the marriage of their daughters. In most of the cases, the grooms did not belong to the same community, rather they introduced themselves as they came from big cities with the sound economic condition. This induced many poor parents to arrange the wedding of their adolescent daughters in a hurry without proper background checking of the groom. Later, the families could not trace their girls and not even the grooms. In some cases, the adolescent girls from poor families allured with job offers in big cities, where the girls also got trapped in the hope of good life and income.

Under such circumstances, the project targeted to reduce the cases of trafficking by means of (i) developing alternative livelihood for the areas, (ii) enhancing the awareness as well as the capacity of the girls, their families and the community to identify the traffickers and address the issue (iii) strengthening the institutional mechanisms for child protection. Moreover, during the intervention, we also found that most of the cases of trafficking were not reported to the police station. Because the parents were unaware of the mechanism and they feared about societal pressure as the police investigation is not considered as a good repute of the family. Thus, to get proper information about unregistered cases, we appointed a few community people as the community guides in our project. They facilitated the project staff to build rapport with the community as well as the victim families.

I hope you can get my points. However, I am happy to reply if you have further queries.

Luckily I have not faced such situation till the date. But if one is ever asked to work towards unrealistic target, it is important to describe the scenario to the supervisor. May be that way, you can readjust the target. I believe that team discussion is very important as you get different ideas from different people to cope with one situation.

Sometimes you can set unrealistic target knowingly or unknowingly, and this may be attributed to the fact that you might have used a given data or project of the past to project a target of your new project based on the assumption that all facotrs would remain constant, only to find out that there are a lot of variations. For instance, we had a project where by we trained community hygiene promoters to the conducting hygiene promotion within a given community. We established that one community hygiene promoter was able to reach 10 households per day. When we developed our next project we set a target for one community hygiene promoter to be reaching at least 10 households per day, our assumption was simply that the areas were could not be so much different in terms of population and settlement distribution, little did we know that this particular community had a scattered kind of settlement and the distance from ohe homestead to another was quite long. Mid may the project we realize that we had set target to much high that one community hygiene promoter could only achieve households in a day. This therefore meant that we had to review our targets and communicate early enough to our donors giving a justifiable reason.

@pmeoidiwa2019 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

i once worked on a project where the targets set where unrealistically too high. the project coordinator called for a meeting and we adjusted the targets basing on what we had been able to achieve the previous year.

it is very important to rely on the previous data to adjust your targets, it is also crucial to assess your working practices

@RolandDongmo said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

i was asked to carry many articles in a short time. i replied that the time is too short so i need more than

hey @RolandDongmo, thanks for posting your thought. you know If you’re going to miss deadlines, it is very crucial to raise your hand early on, andTalk these with your project manager with your potential solution in your hand

I was a time ago faced with the situation of an unrealistic target. the project to target the disaster victims of hunger. I supposed to register a population of 15 000 households and feed them in the same month.The time was for only for 14 days .Travelling meant to go as far as 300km.We had to follow all procedures and criteria but failed to reach the target of feeding the target.
Advice; if the target is unrealistic, don't stress yourself,reach out to the supervisor or the organization in charge and share with them your opinion or reasons why you find to unrealistic to reach the said target.When planning, look through the lens of been realistic and practical to your capacity. The fact that you have a lot to achieve does not mean everything has to go into high targets within a short period. Targets can be spread over a period of time. By setting target that realistic and practical you will be able to concentrate towards it is achievement, rather than set so much high and achieving nothing

@Emlight said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was to distribute/collect questionnaire within three days for an ongoing project. My intervention was to requested for the extension to a week. My advice is to always access time against resources for any given project.

@Emlight, my advice on that, it is important to focus on what you can control and have a plan to follow, and then ask immediate support to your superior in order to achieve the set objective or targets in the time scheduled.

@Shabina said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Luckily I have not faced such situation till the date. But if one is ever asked to work towards unrealistic target, it is important to describe the scenario to the supervisor. May be that way, you can readjust the target. I believe that team discussion is very important as you get different ideas from different people to cope with one situation.

i agree with you @Shabina, it is not a job of one person, it is a job for a team, because it is important to understand the situation in advance before moving to the project field, in order to plan accordingly and to avoid surprise ....

@Jotieno said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Sometimes you can set unrealistic target knowingly or unknowingly, and this may be attributed to the fact that you might have used a given data or project of the past to project a target of your new project based on the assumption that all facotrs would remain constant, only to find out that there are a lot of variations. For instance, we had a project where by we trained community hygiene promoters to the conducting hygiene promotion within a given community. We established that one community hygiene promoter was able to reach 10 households per day. When we developed our next project we set a target for one community hygiene promoter to be reaching at least 10 households per day, our assumption was simply that the areas were could not be so much different in terms of population and settlement distribution, little did we know that this particular community had a scattered kind of settlement and the distance from ohe homestead to another was quite long. Mid may the project we realize that we had set target to much high that one community hygiene promoter could only achieve households in a day. This therefore meant that we had to review our targets and communicate early enough to our donors giving a justifiable reason.

@Jotieno , I agreed with you that data or past project target are sometimes not enough when setting up your target. That why it is always advisable to exhaust all possible resources available like community engagement. I believe if your team would have engaged/visited the community fully during the planning phase you would have notice the topography of the settlement.

@MuzamaniJamesBaloyi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I was a time ago faced with the situation of an unrealistic target. the project to target the disaster victims of hunger. I supposed to register a population of 15 000 households and feed them in the same month.The time was for only for 14 days .Travelling meant to go as far as 300km.We had to follow all procedures and criteria but failed to reach the target of feeding the target.
Advice; if the target is unrealistic, don't stress yourself,reach out to the supervisor or the organization in charge and share with them your opinion or reasons why you find to unrealistic to reach the said target.When planning, look through the lens of been realistic and practical to your capacity. The fact that you have a lot to achieve does not mean everything has to go into high targets within a short period. Targets can be spread over a period of time. By setting target that realistic and practical you will be able to concentrate towards it is achievement, rather than set so much high and achieving nothing

@MuzamaniJamesBaloyi , It always to appropriate to discuss unrealistic target with your superiors/donors explaining why you think the target set are unrealistic base on the resources at hand and proffer ways and means to revisit the target set or increase the resources at hand to meet the set target.

@Carlama, This is the essence of data when setting up your target because it gives you a complete highlight of your targeted community. This helps you to set ambitious but realistic targets.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Some targets can be way more higher that what we can realistically achieve within set time.
I was involved in a research project that required the field officers to register at least 100 farmers/ per day in an online platform. This target was over ambitious as the area of study has plantations owned by companies thus getting the farmers would be a big challenge. We resolved this issue by reducing the target number and also increasing the area under study.

I was working on a School Health and Nutrition project as a planner. I was given an unrealistic target of monitoring school feeding in all the schools in the District in a period of three months. There were over 60 schools. The challenge was mainly with the amount of resources available for logistics such as fuel. previously, in that period of time, and with similar resources, i could only reach 20 schools. I made it known to my supervisor that the target was unrealistic and i put it in writing, explaining the reasons in detail. The supervisor was very understanding and agreed to make reasonable adjustments

One time I was asked to reach an unrealistic goal was when I was working on a project where the budget was too small with so many expectations which involves enrolling People living with HIV/AIDS with high percentage that negative people, where we also have to do sessions and workshops .

I worked on a School Health and Nutrition Project as an M&E Officer. I was given a target of monitoring 60 schools in a period of three months. Using information from previous experience, i knew that the tart was unrealistic. Using the same duration, it was only possible to monitor 20 schools. This was because the schools were far apart and the District was very extensive. The terrain was also very poor. Another factor to consider was the amount of resources available. The District had some financial challenges. Available funds could not cater for logistical arrangements such as fuel. Therefore, after making this analysis, i communicated to my supervisor that the target was unrealistic. Fortunately, my supervisor understood the logic and agreed to adjust the target to a realistic one.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when i had to finish updating the database in a space of 3 days before a project review meeting. i promised my supervisor that i would finish on time. I responded by trying to speed up the finishing process but i failed to complete on time. I want to advise my peers to not commit or promise to reach a certain target in a given period if they will require more time than available.

One time I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was tasked by my project coordinator to ensure that 80% of our project participants send us through text messages feedbacks on their impacts experienced while 50% of them were illiterates and without mobile phones. I responded by presenting a data on the participants location, phone ownership and literacy rate to my coordinator so he then decided that we should get the feedback by going to the participants in peeson

One time I was given a project where I had to reach a certain target. My group worked tirelessly to successfully finish our work but we could not achieve the target because of time and poor planning. There are so many things to consider when setting targets for a project. It is also very important to set realistic targets.

@Kasondems said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I worked on a School Health and Nutrition Project as an M&E Officer. I was given a target of monitoring 60 schools in a period of three months. Using information from previous experience, i knew that the tart was unrealistic. Using the same duration, it was only possible to monitor 20 schools. This was because the schools were far apart and the District was very extensive. The terrain was also very poor. Another factor to consider was the amount of resources available. The District had some financial challenges. Available funds could not cater for logistical arrangements such as fuel. Therefore, after making this analysis, i communicated to my supervisor that the target was unrealistic. Fortunately, my supervisor understood the logic and agreed to adjust the target to a realistic one.

It is very important to set realistic targets

@Kasondems said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I worked on a School Health and Nutrition Project as an M&E Officer. I was given a target of monitoring 60 schools in a period of three months. Using information from previous experience, i knew that the tart was unrealistic. Using the same duration, it was only possible to monitor 20 schools. This was because the schools were far apart and the District was very extensive. The terrain was also very poor. Another factor to consider was the amount of resources available. The District had some financial challenges. Available funds could not cater for logistical arrangements such as fuel. Therefore, after making this analysis, i communicated to my supervisor that the target was unrealistic. Fortunately, my supervisor understood the logic and agreed to adjust the target to a realistic one.

It is very important to set realistic targets

@Fidelia said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was tasked by my project coordinator to ensure that 80% of our project participants send us through text messages feedbacks on their impacts experienced while 50% of them were illiterates and without mobile phones. I responded by presenting a data on the participants location, phone ownership and literacy rate to my coordinator so he then decided that we should get the feedback by going to the participants in peeson

Organizations are only interested in results. They do not care about the process so they tend to set unrealistic targets for emoloyees. So it may be unavoidable

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when i was asked by my supervisor to cut down by 50% on the cost of fuel for our operations when we had a tracking system in place. I responded by reminding my supervisor about the effectiveness of the tracking system in the fuel management system and that there was no system reported incident of pilferage,before its (Tracking system) implementation the cost had escalated by 150% and in addition the company had just bought a new fleet of vehicles

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target whereby i was required to vaccinate 4,000 heads of cattle per day with a team of three vaccinators and two animal handlers. This was not possible because cattle requires a lot of manpower to restrain for proper vaccination. The realistic target would be 1,500 cattle per day. I responded by showing my supervisor the average numbers vaccinated by similar teams from previous projects. Data available from vaccination reports showed that the highest similar teams vaccinated between 1,000-15,00 cattle per day. we therefore agreed that my team would set a target of 1,500 cattle per day.

The set target was unrealistic, the approach taking by Arithi and team through research and setting an ambitious yet achievable target is great! Quite educative.

sometimes last year, i was given a target to collect data from 3 communities within a state in my country. This was a malaria project and needed to publish a midyear report. I was given just 3weeks to conduct this exercise, only for me to spend over 2weeks on just one community. I had to consult with the principal officers and design a quick sampling frame to meet up time. The targets were reviewed and a more realist approach was employed in getting data from the communities before the time elapsed.

One time that i was asked to reached unrealistic target was not long ago regarding maternal mortality. The inputs from the donors were grossly inadequate to realize such outcome and impact within the stipulated time. So we outlined all these challenges and forwarded to them, to make necessary adjustments where need be.

@shamsuddeen said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was requested to teach and cover a non verbal reasoning book 2 to a 6 year old child in three hours which would not be possible for the child. I responded by given the managing trustee reasons why that could not be achieved and suggested 10 hours with 20 minutes break after each hour to enable the child comprehend effectively.
I would advice myself and anybody reading this, that it's inevitable to run away from such kind of unrealistic targets from our managers, supervisors e.t.c but how we respond back to them is very important. We should be calm and clear to the reasons why the targets can not be achieved and give alternatives to achieving such a target. I believe it would go a long way in helping us achieving our targets.

You are very correct. Somethings, our superiors introduce unrealistic targets but the manner that we respond to them is very significant. Proving beyond reasonable doubt why the target(s) may not be achievable is another important key.

In our organization, we planned to work for APC of bitter gourd last years. While setting the targets, since it was first time farmers are going to practice it, I suggested to make the time of transplantation in their regular time of transplantation of vegetable. There were other assumption as well, First assumption is that, When they usually do vegetable plantation, they will take it up very easily as because of they are doing the same type of jobs. Secondly, at the time of august, rain would be average which would-be good for vegetable cultivation. Thirdly, at that time, other work of agriculture like paddy cultivation and maize cultivation would be very less so farmers would be available for this work. But our team decided to do it during June. So most of the nursery bed was prepared and get destroyed due to heavy rain and the remaining plants would not been transplanted due to unavailability of human recourses.

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was implementing a project on savings groups. I was given a target of establishing 50 savings groups (approximately 600 individuals) and training them on the savings methodology within a period of eight months. The groups were expected to practice saving and loaning amongst the members with some interest. It was not easy to sell the concept to target group as their religion forbids interests. Further, majority of the population were already in the savings group. I responded by identifying and providing the training to the already existing groups, which built on their capacity provided them with financial literacy skills. The community was impressed and referred me to several groups that were in need of the training and were ready to practice the methodology. for the loans being provided, they introduces a facilitation fee, which was an equivalent of the interest. I captured their details in the organization’s database with their consent and provided the report. Through intense monitoring and mentorship sessions, the existing groups slowly adopted the methodology and the donors were impressed too by the outcome.

When given unrealistic targets, one should stay optimistic and work towards achieving the targets. Further, one should explore the possible alternative ways of meeting the target and where possible seek approval from their supervisors.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was very high, I was told to deliver about 120% of my sales target within 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks . I responded by looking at the risk and assumptions associated, and forwarded to the management that based on the timeframe, I could only deliver on 100% of my target. Although it resulted to a query but at the end I was able to achieve 103% in 3 weeks

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I participated in a project I that required commissioning 200 sites in 1 week due to customer request. I discussed with my immediate supervisor about it and we called for a stakeholders meeting. After the meeting we agreed that we will engage some staff from another department to assist in achieving the target.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .
Many a times it comes to encounter unrealistic targets. At that time, First of all we need to convey our donor about the situations and request them to allow us to set the targets again. We have to intimate our internal governing system about the situation as well and take their advice. Is donor would not be ready to change the targets, than we have to break the targets into manifolds and make our strategy to at most achieve it.

@RCPparticipant said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was requested to plan for too many field missions per month, which would not have allowed staff to have any rest. I responded by stating the reasons for refusal and adjusted the plan accordingly.
at first we need the target and find the reason and bottlenecks. then, focus on what else that we can do to adress the bottleneck. Generate some new innovative idea to adress it and work towards the best achievements.

One instance that represented a low target came from last year's Operation Christmas Child. We had set a goal of 5,000 pairs to be distributed as a part of Operation Christmas Child, and we based this number off of the previous year, which only sent 1,800 pairs. We thought it would be difficult to reach this target but attainable. We completely underestimated this number since we sent 15,000 pairs of shoes to be used for Operation Christmas Child. Now we know what the response has been for Operation Christmas Child, and our 2019 targets reflect this knowledge. The best piece of advice was discussed in this module: set targets that are realistic but are not too easy to accomplish.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was training 100 peoples physical exercises who lived in a rural area where people were not that much aware of exercises. I responded by my voice that there should be another target which maybe more important for those people...

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was of collecting data over a large area in only 3 months . I responded by adjusting the timelines to 6 months and increasing data collecting agents .

I never had such an assignment, but from this course i have learned that adequate planning and appropriate indicators may be required for high targets. on the same breath, high targets may motivate optimistic people, while low targets may cause pessimism.

One time I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was working in a church office almost a decade ago, the church was just about two years old at the time and the growth was pretty slow. The set man of the church asked all church office workers to bring at least ten new people each to church every Sunday and if possible an additional ten every mid-week service. Mind you, we all work in the church office and are required to be at work every Monday to Friday, occasional Saturdays when church programs are fixed and every Sunday service. How then do we meet these new people? At the time, internet was not this advanced and as such it was not an option. Weeks and weeks went by and not one of us could meet this unrealistic target.

I responded to the situation by expressing truthfully, when I was questioned by the set man, that the target was unrealistic and I let him see my point. I made reference to other churches similar to ours that ended up growing, using existing information on how they came about their growth. I suggested that we adopt same strategy other than setting unrealistic targets.

My advice to anyone who maybe asked to work towards unrealistic targets is to find and use existing data to prove to whoever set the targets that they are unrealistic and based on bias not facts.

@Shayla said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was training 100 peoples physical exercises who lived in a rural area where people were not that much aware of exercises. I responded by my voice that there should be another target which maybe more important for those people...

Hi Shayla,

I agree with you that the interests of beneficiaries should be considered in choosing a project and in setting targets. Maybe a better way to reach people in that rural area would have been to carry out an awareness or education program to sensitive them on the need for and benefits of physical exercises.

@Voaali said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

sometimes last year, i was given a target to collect data from 3 communities within a state in my country. This was a malaria project and needed to publish a midyear report. I was given just 3weeks to conduct this exercise, only for me to spend over 2weeks on just one community. I had to consult with the principal officers and design a quick sampling frame to meet up time. The targets were reviewed and a more realist approach was employed in getting data from the communities before the time elapsed.

Hi Voaali,

This is a good example of what we were taught in this course, that targets can be adjusted sometimes. You did the right thing by discussing the need for this change with your team. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Working on VMMC project this has been difficult as Targets are being set according to Demographic population, this has dire consequences as the numbers are not accurate as the Baseline or Past Project were not accurately monitored when submitting the axial numbers. You are given higher targets and when on ground you find out the majority of individual have been rendered the services in the past.

As part of a predator monitoring project in Fiordland, New Zealand, several workers were tasked with install

One time that I was asked to achieve an unrealistic target was when our Organisation was contracted by a research institute in New Zealand to install 120 monitoring cameras in a national park in four days with only four staff and heavy snow lying and falling in a remote area accessible only by helicopter. By the end of day one, I raised concerns that attempting to complete the task would involve health and safety challenges, and, after discussion, we changed our plan to install 60 cameras in three days, and flew out a day early, avoiding greater risks of hypothermia and other health and safety issues.

@jmunemo said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Unfortunately I have not yet worked on development projects involving M&E, thus I have no previous experience on this matter. I am however looking forward to learning from those that have had experience with this situation.

@jmunemo, There are two reasons we can set unrealistic target:
Optimism
Uncertainty

I was asked to reach unrealistic target by identifying people who lived with HIV and the kits for testing were insufficient due to the high target that was set. My advice to the organization was that, provision of adequate testing kit should be made in other to have a wide range of people to be tested so the desired number or Target of positive clients can be achieved

One time when I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when we were asked to collect certain data within 7 days. Looking at the data requested it was unrealistic to collect it within the 7 days. So i responded by suggesting either to have more people to work on the data. Or increase the number of days from 7 to 10 days. I would advise those that have been given unrealistic targets to open up with their managers. Telling them that this is not realistic and offer them (Managers) reasons and possible solutions.

I was asked to reach the unrealistic target when I was working as a project coordinator in the year 2011-12. I was the responsible person to dealt four projects i;e flood recovery and rehabilitation, Disaster Preparedness project, Second green revolution project and STEER project in one year in one district, Kendrapara under state of odisha. Among these the target of 2nd green revolution project was too ambitious. The target was to cover 2500 acres of land under line transplanting of rice crop in a compact area. It was difficult but achieved within the time frame. It was possible because I analysed my staff strength and their skill on agriculture field. Since staffs have less skill, I negotiated with agriculture experts and organised one orientation for staff and recruited progressive farmers as volunteer. Simultaneously organised the campaigning on green revolution and its benefits in each village in presence of the experts and scientists as a result the farmers of each village came forward and supported the volunteers and staffs during distribution of seeds and monitoring the line transplanting of rice.
As immediate effect the adjacent village farmers also adopted the same line transplanting method because it gives the more yield.

@Toni5459 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was while working on the PeaceFarm project as a volunteer in Kenya. My collegue and I fundraised money for building a farm with the aim of feeding 60 children. The problem is that, during the dry season, the field needs lot of water for maintaing good quality crops. Therefore, for using large amount of water, a municipal consense was required and also, the money weren't enough to sustain the cost of the irrigation system.

I believe the best response to an unrealistic target as being part of a team is to give the team leader reasons why target may not be achieved based on existing facts, trends and important factors like time.

we should not be too optimistic nor too pessimistic when setting our target because when we set targets we are comitted to that and a faillure will not only discourage your team and beneficiaries but it will reduce your self confidence

Once time i was asked to reach an unrealistic goal was when i was working on a project where average income community members were to open saving account for basic healthcare and nutrition needs but the targets were too high.I responded by giving the managing personnel reasons why that could not be achieved,by collaborating with colleagues and we did a survey on households.By this we realized that most of the community members had other accounts and secured insurance policies therefore they did not need other options.

@apostledavid58 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

We used to file monthly report for certain organization that I once worked with and at the beginning of every month the National level would set targets for each province and being at the local level the set target would seem unrealistic due to either the target exceeding the resources at hand or the target not being applicable to the situation at hand..e.g: the target would request that only high school student be included in program by reason of age while we have student of the same age whilst in primary school.
in such scenario, it is better to revisit the target and discuss with the donor if any changes in the target is required

@manengspatricia said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

we should not be too optimistic nor too pessimistic when setting our target because when we set targets we are comitted to that and a faillure will not only discourage your team and beneficiaries but it will reduce your self confidence

the target should be based on some data

I remember there was a time I was asked to compile a six month report in two hour which needed you to go through registers and you are expected to give segregated report of age and village this person came from which I declined its always important to understand what you are to do before accepting and analyzing

I have never been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low. My advice for learner who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets is to do not accept to work with unrealistic targets because in the future will not be possible to measure the real impact of your action.