Writing Project Proposals PDF

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND COMMUNICATION WRITING PROJECT PROPOSALS  What is a Project Proposal?  Project proposals are documents that define your project, including things such as start and end dates, objectives and goals.  A project proposal is a projec...

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND COMMUNICATION WRITING PROJECT PROPOSALS  What is a Project Proposal?  Project proposals are documents that define your project, including things such as start and end dates, objectives and goals.  A project proposal is a project management document that’s used to define the objectives and requirements of a project. It helps organizations and external project stakeholders agree on an initial project planning framework.  The main purpose of a project proposal is to get buy-in from decision-makers. That’s why a project proposal outlines your project’s core value proposition.  It sells value to both internal and external project stakeholders. The intent of the proposal is to grab stakeholder and project sponsor attention.  They tell stakeholders why your project ideas should be executed.  Project Proposal (Continued..) You may use project proposals for the following purposes:  To secure funding  To win new clients  To get existing clients to sign a extend their contracts  To convince manager or employer to allocate resources to a new initiative  Components of a project proposal  Executive Summary  Introduction and background  Solution presentation  Overall goal and objectives of the project  Project Work Plan Development  Human Resources  Project Site  Project Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria  Proposed Budget  Conclusion  Attachments  Executive Summary  Coming up with the executive summary is very critical when writing a project proposal. It’s a relatively shorter section designed to give investors and stakeholders a brief overview of the most important information about the project.  It should summarize what’s coming and also persuade the reader to continue reading. It often contains a short statement that addresses the main selling points of the project, such as:  The core problem your proposal aims to solve  Who will benefit and how  What resources are needed  A timeline and budget  How the success of the project will be measured  Return on investment (ROI) and more  The goal of an executive summary is to capture your audience’s attention. It should get them excited and motivated about the project you’re pitching and its potential impact.  Introduction and Background  This section gives you the opportunity to go into the background of the project.  When putting together the project background, it’s critical to explain the current state of the problem and why your audience should care about solving it.  Using references and statistics in this section can be helpful in getting your point across effectively.  Background of the project provides a trace of the problem or issue highlighting key developments that have been taking place in the area to date.  This helps to identify problems, opportunities, solutions that have been identified in relation to the project. It helps to refine the problem and re-focus the project on the core problem.  This section outlines previously successful projects. It also outlines those that could have run more smoothly.  By doing so, this section establishes precedents. Namely, how the next project can be more effective using information from previous projects. NB. The best practice is to keep this section no longer than one page.  Solution Presentation  This section describes the problem that you intend to address with the project.  In the context of business projects, it provides a clear but brief explanation of the business venture to be undertaken, the benefits associated with the venture, market to be addressed by the business, etc  The solution section addresses how your project will solve the client’s problem. Accordingly, this section includes any project management techniques, skills and procedures your team will use to work efficiently. Some points to cover may include:  A deeper dive into the problem your project addresses  What’s already known about the problem  Who has addressed the problem before  What research is out there already (if any) and  Why past research has been insufficient at fixing the problem.  Overall Goal and Objectives  The description of the purpose of the proposed project should be clear  Indicators, and should be as clear, concise and focused as possible. It should include the project’s purpose, goals, specific objectives, method, and anticipated impact.  Objectives need to be stated in measurable terms and be specific and consistent with the statement of need and the purpose of the proposed project.  Objectives should be formulated as a clear statement of what is expected to be achieved through project implementation.  These expected “outcomes” should be measurable and conceptually related to the objectives and goals of the proposed project. For example: 1. To reduce delivery costs by 50% per annum 2. To achieve US$2 million sales by 31 December 2023 3. To produce 5 tons of tobacco by the end of the first quarter  Project Work plan Development  This section of the proposal should present the detailed work plan for the project.  This should cover how the project objectives will be accomplished, what outcomes will be produced, what needs to be done and by whom, how the work will be organised, within what time frame, and how the outcomes of the project will be monitored and reports supplied to the project management team.  Provide a schedule of work outlining the project’s objectives, strategies, outcomes, main tasks and timelines. The use of a project log frame may prove to be useful here.  Human Resources  Please describe how and by whom the proposed project will be managed and executed and identify how the knowledge, skills and abilities required for implementation will be met.  This section helps to identify necessary skills and competencies that are required for the implementation of the proposed project.  This section will also help you in the development of the project budget which strengthens the project proposal and the implementation phase  Depending with your project, HR requirements may include:  IT specialists, Accountant, Legal Practitioner, Administrator, Economist, Procurement Specialist etc NB. You may have well-defined goals and project work plan but failure to identify the key Human Resources requirements for your project may lead to the failure of the project.  Project Site  In this section, you need to indicate where (location) your project will be implemented.  Depending with your project, the information on the project Site may include (Geographic, Physical, Virtual, other)  Please describe the proposed project site to be used and the criteria for its selection.  Site helps the potential stakeholders to evaluate the suitability of your project and their related interests.  Project Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria  This section should contain a description of how the organisation will monitor the progress and the outcomes of the project and its contribution to indicator achievement.  This may include the timeframes, reporting systems and evaluation methodologies during different stages of project management.  Proposed Budget  Your proposal should include a detailed Budget Justification explaining an estimate for each line item.  If applicable, support from collaborating agencies and other funding sources that contribute directly to the project should be itemized in the budget by source, amount and duration. NB. Budget is a critical element for project proposals. Donors or sponsors are influenced by the budget to participate in your project. Budgeting is affected with inflation. It is advisable to always use stable currencies when budgeting for projects. This also helps to attract enough investment into your business project.  Conclusion  Complete your project proposal by creating a summary of your of the points you have already discussed.  Include the most important information needed to enhance your chances of receiving approval.  Attachments  There is no limit to the number of pages allowed for the attachments, documentation from other funding agencies, letters of agreements with partners for the project, letters of support from other community groups or organizations. NB. This section is not mandatory for all project proposals. It varies with different projects and the context of those projects. Some proposals may require you to attach company documents like: tax clearance certificate, VAT registration, Certificate of Incorporation, etc. END