Some decisions have to be made before you write your proposal to get funding for the project. The goals and objectives of a project must be identified in your proposal. (See Writing a Funding Proposal later in this section.) The group can make some of the other decisions once the project is underway.

Decide What the Goal of Your Project Is Here are some examples:

Is the main goal of your project to do research?

Your group’s main focus may be collecting valuable information about your ancestors’ lives in the past. You want to preserve the words and wisdom of the Elders in your community before it is too late.

Is the main goal of your project to strengthen language and literacy skills?

Your target group may be a literacy or upgrading class. You want to work on an interesting project that engages the class and allows them to strengthen their language and literacy skills in meaningful ways.

Is the main goal of your project to strengthen communication within families and between generations?

The purpose of your group may be to strengthen family relationships and intergenerational communication in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun.

Is the main goal of your project to increase cultural pride and help people develop a positive personal identity?

Your group may feel that people will develop cultural pride and strong personal identities through studying the ways that their ancestors survived and thrived.

Your group might identify yet another goal.

Although you have a main goal for your project, all of these goals are interconnected. If collecting research is your goal, you can still raise language and literacy skills, intergenerational communication and cultural pride through your project. The group just needs to remain aware that all these goals are related and important.