SMART goals bring structure and tracking to the CJCC’s goals and objectives. They define a clear path towards a certain objective with clear milestones and an estimation of the goal’s attainability. They create transparency throughout the CJCC. Additionally, SMART Goals clarify the way the goals came into existence, and the criteria required to achieve success.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time Bound

Tips for Setting SMART Goals

Be Specific:

• Who – Consider who needs to be involved to achieve the goal?
• What – Think about exactly what is to be accomplish. Be detailed.
• When – Set a timeframe.
• Where – If there is a location or relevant event, identify it here.
• Which – Determine any related obstacles or requirements.
• Why – Explain why you are pursuing this goal.

Be Measurable :

• What is the baseline or starting point?
• What metrics are you going to use to determine if you meet the goal? This makes a goal more tangible because it provides a way to measure progress.
• Can you identify the two or three most important pieces of information for moving toward your desired outcomes?

Be Attainable:

• Investigate whether the goal really is acceptable to you. Weigh the effort, time, and resources the goal will take against other obligations and priorities.

Be Relevant:

• Is the goal in line with the larger CJCC mission?

Be Timebound:

• The goal must be measurable over a defined period of time.
• Install deadlines.
• Keep the timeline realistic and flexible.
• Does this goal address an immediate and urgent need?
• Providing time constraints also creates a sense of urgency.

A successful organization always has a set of goals and objectives they are working on, with objectives that can be achievable and measurable, CJCCs would also benefit from establishing measurable and achievable objectives and should continually measure the impact of what they are doing. Data analytics regularly drives how and what organizations do. In the same way, CJCCs should be implementing evidence-based practices. This means an emphasis on empirical research. It means confirming what works in reducing crime and reoffending. Criminal justice should always be measuring relevant processes and practices to test assumptions.((8) 7 Things Criminal Justice Can Learn from Businesses | LinkedIn, n.d.)

Evaluating the Work of the CJCC

Over the past several years, transparency in government has become increasingly important both in terms of promoting public trust and confidence in government agencies and to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. A key strategy for creating transparency is through performance measurement, establishing quantifiable benchmarks against which the progress toward goals and objectives of an organization can be assessed.

CJCC evaluation begins with the initial plan. It is important to have discussion around the evaluation of the work while in the early stages of the development of the CJCC. Early planning allows the establishment of historical data and historical benchmarks to measure success later. What is evaluated will largely depend on the type of work that is completed. Outcome measures for each SMART goal should be part of the strategic plan. The following steps can help begin evaluating the outcomes of the CJCC work.

1. Define your performance measure for each goal
2. Map how this data will be collected, stored, and analyzed
3. Begin collecting data
4. Analyze and share data with council regularly
5. Compare data to other benchmarks (see data section for more on this)
6. Set target data points to reach that represent the goal
7. Evaluate performance against target

Another key outcome that a CJCC should measure is its level of collaboration and engagement. These are extremely important topics for a CJCC to evaluate regularly. An annual survey could be a great way to measure success in these two areas.