Quick Tips for Planning

Here are key steps to planning your outreach or training initiative. Each step is important, but it is not necessary to do them in order. In fact, thinking and decisions about one step will affect how you approach another one. You may find that, as you increase your understanding about what you want to do, you revisit one or more steps several times.

1. Identify the type of outreach or education effort that you will emphasize. Accomplish What? helps you plan how to:
   • Provide Information
   • Communicate
   • Educate
   • Build Capacity
2. Familiarize yourself with the “community of interest.” Link your effort to local issues and activities.
3. Define and assess the target audience(s).
4. Define clear goals and objectives, in cooperation with stakeholders and target audience.
5. Inventory resources and constraints, and adapt your initiative to capitalize on results.
6. Design your initiative with a focus on your goals, audience characteristics, and resources.
   • Match to resources and audience characteristics.
   • Identify education or outreach knowledge areas relevant to the topic and use best education practices for each.
   • Actively engage target audience.
7. Pilot test and modify
8. Implement, deliver, or disseminate
9. Evaluate and revise