how to / create centres / business plan / aims A mission statement is the overview of what you are trying to achieve. "The mission of ....... is to provide a fully equipped resource centre to enable the local community, local businesses and individuals of all ages, to take advantage of developing Information and Communication Technologies by ensuring that businesses, the community and individuals can gain access to information technology and acquire the skills needed to take advantage of the employment opportunities provided by new technology." Your aims explain what you hope to achieve and the targets explain how you hope to achieve those aims. They should be very clear and precise, ideally they should be SMART. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely, so you need to put figures in and state the time period over which you hope to achieve those targets. If you have several target groups you may want to break them down for each group. (ICT or NOF 7.1) Aim To provide access to learning in information and communications technology to adults who have barriers to learning. Target: to enable x people to become competent in basic computer skills in the first year. Aim To provide access to office equipment for individuals, businesses and the community, (e.g. fax, photocopier, binding equipment etc.) Target: To attract x regular users of the facilities over a period of 6 months. The government expects you to set demanding targets for your centre which will be agreed with you. They also expect to see a number of targets for - % of the local population and client groups who visit and use the centre - % of visitors or potential learners who return on a regular basis to use the facility and/or develop their skills - % of users who complete an introduction to the Internet/e-mail and are then able to access the Net - % of users who move on to other learning, qualifications or jobs (see page 27 of the application guide)   For ICT and NOF applications you will also need to talk about how the project relates to your organisation's plans for future development after the life of the project. how to / create centres / business plan / aims