Setting monitoring objectives

Setting project objectives is a critical step in any monitoring project. The objectives should be succinct statements of what the project seeks to achieve, and will accordingly guide all other aspects of the project.

Often, monitoring projects try to achieve too much. If you have difficulty in determining a succinct statement of the objectives of your project, or there are many differing objectives within a single project, you should consider breaking the project down into a number of smaller projects and develop a monitoring plan for each.

Before you can determine the objectives, you must consider what issues are going to be investigated and why, who will use the data and how it will be used, and how accurate do you need your data to be. This information can be obtained by answering four key questions: 

1. Why are you monitoring?  
2. Who will use your data?  
3. How will your data be used?  
4. What level of data quality do you require?  

Why are you monitoring?

The first question can often be the most difficult to answer but it is critically important that you are able to explain why you are interested in undertaking a particular monitoring project. The answer given to this question will influence answers to all other questions so you should consider it carefully.

During your initial catchment survey you may have identified a number of water quality issues that your group would like to address. However, you need to be specific about which of these issues you will be investigating in your monitoring project. It is also crucial to identify your reasons for undertaking the monitoring program.

You may have one or several reasons, such as to:

• increase community awareness
• increase community skills
• assess the current condition using a snapshot (once-off) survey
• assess current condition by identifying and establishing baseline values
• monitor trends through time to determine decline or improvement in condition
• develop or refine water quality guidelines for ecosystem health
• detect any pollution events, pest species outbreaks or similar events
• estimate pollutant loads associated with flow events—for example, to refine catchment models
• estimate pollutant concentration and distribution over a given time period, including flow events
• assess impacts of a land use or pollutant source
• assess the effectiveness of a management action
• assess compliance with guidelines for a human use—for example, drinking, irrigation or recreation
• achieve other goals—you should specify these.

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Who will use your data?

Your group must consider all potential information users, clients and other possible stakeholders when developing a monitoring plan. Think about which individuals or organisations you would like to use your data, as well as those you are hoping to influence as a result of the project. Anybody with a potential interest in the data, results or outcomes of the project should be considered a stakeholder.

Develop a list of potential stakeholders. Data users may include:

• members of your group
• landholders
• Waterwatch groups
• catchment groups
• Landcare groups
• environmental organisations
• schools
• industry groups
• local councils
• regional NRM bodies
• state government agencies
• federal government agencies
• universities
• consultants.

Contact each potential stakeholder and tell them what you are planning to do and why. Gauge their interest in the issue and establish their support for the project. You should also ask them if they wish to be associated with the project or kept informed with project updates.

As well as considering what types of groups may have an interest or use for your data, you should clearly document who the data users are and how they can be contacted.

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How will the data be used?

The data collected must be compatible with the expected use of the data for both your group and other potential data users (those you identified in Question 2). An effective way to achieve this is to involve your stakeholders in developing your monitoring plan.

Community-based waterway monitoring data can be used at different scales. Consider the scale of use (local, regional or state) and how data will be used at that scale. For example, at the local scale, data could be used by catchment groups, schools and local councils. They may use your data to:

• raise awareness among school students about the general health of the local creek
• identify any major water quality issues or ‘hot spots’
• develop a catchment management plan
• evaluate the effectiveness of river restoration work
• decide where to place a new sewage treatment facility
• achieve other local objectives.

At a regional scale, potential data users could include regional bodies, which may use your data to:

• evaluate the effectiveness of a Water Quality Improvement Plan
• measure targets or progress towards regional water quality targets (resource condition targets)
• report on the state of the region
• achieve other regional objectives.

At the state scale, data could be used by state agencies or research institutions, which may use the data to:

• contribute to State of the Environment reporting
• develop or refine water quality guidelines
• assist with academic research activities
• achieve other state objectives.

Some of these uses may be similar to your answers to the earlier question, ‘Why are you monitoring?’ However, answers to Question 1 are only related to your own group’s reason for monitoring and using the data. Your stakeholders may be hoping to use the data for different purposes, so it is important to ask them for and document their requirements.

Record the answers they give in relation to each question within the monitoring plan guide. In particular, consider how they intend to use the data and what data quality is required to achieve this. As far as possible, any problems or differences of opinion should be sorted out during the project planning phase rather than once monitoring has taken place.

For some groups, the value of monitoring work is not so much in the data it produces, but rather in promoting community involvement, building awareness and a sense of stewardship towards the environment, and educating young people. Therefore, some groups may not be able to nominate a specific use for the actual monitoring data. This should still be noted within your monitoring plan.

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What data quality do you require?

After you have an idea of who your potential stakeholders are and how they may use the data, you can work out what level of data quality you require. This will assist you to design a monitoring plan (especially to choose monitoring methods and equipment) suitable for your needs.

Consider how accurate and precise you require your data to be. As data is never 100% accurate or precise, you need to think about what level of error in your measurements is acceptable to your group. This is known as a tolerable error range (TER).

To determine the level of data accuracy and precision (or tolerable error range) your group requires, think about what level of data quality will adequately answer your project objectives. You must also ensure that the level of data quality is achievable within your available resources (time, cost, knowledge and skills). Considerably more resources are required to collect higher quality data than lower quality data.

There are three levels of data quality: demonstrative, indicative, and analytical. You should select the most stringent category for your intended data uses.

More detailed information is available from the Queensland community waterway monitoring manual, Chapter 3.

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Last updated 17 February 2011