HOW to Write Project Proposal /template

Interview past and prospective beneficiaries. Though feedback was likely
received when the previous project ended, new benefits and conditions may have
arisen since that time. Speak to prospective beneficiaries to ensure that what you
are planning to offer is desired and needed.
■ Review past project proposals. Avoid repeating mistakes and offering to reproduce
results that have already been achieved. Donors will be unlikely to provide more
funding for something that should already have been done.
■ Review past project evaluation reports. Don’t count on project members to
remember all the mistakes and areas for improvement from previous efforts.
■ Organise focus groups. Make sure that the people you need are willing and able
to contribute.
■ Check statistical data. Don’t let others discover gaps and inaccuracies in the
data you are relying on.
■ Consult experts. Outside opinions will give you ideas and credibility.
■ Conduct surveys, etc. Gather as much preliminary information as possible to
demonstrate commitment to the project and to refine the objectives.
■ Hold community meetings or forums. When the public feels that they have
been consulted on an issue, they will be much more likely to cooperate and support
the project.

How to Write a Project Proposal
Once the groundwork has been completed, proposal writing can commence. The key
decision to be made at this stage is the structure of the project proposal (including the content
and length). The structure is determined by the nature of the project as well as by the
funding agency’s requirements. In the variety of formats, application forms, project design
outlines, and grant application guidelines, it is possible to detect some common elements.
Proposed Format
Title page
A title page should appear on proposals longer than three to four pages. The title
page should indicate the project title, the name of the lead organisation (and potential
partners, if any), the place and date of project preparation and the name of the donor
agency to whom the proposal is addressed.
Project title
The project title should be short, concise, and preferably refer to a certain key project
result or the leading project activity. Project titles that are too long or too general fail to
give the reader an effective snapshot of what is inside.
Contents page
If the total project proposal is longer than 10 pages it is helpful to
include a table of contents at the start or end of the document. The
contents page enables readers to quickly find relevant parts of the
document. It should contain the title and beginning page number of
each section of the proposal.
Abstract
Many readers lack the time needed to read the whole project
proposal. It is therefore useful to insert a short project summary —
an abstract. The abstract should include:
• the problem statement;
• the project’s objectives;
• implementing organisations;
• key project activities; and
• the total project budget.
Theoretically, the abstract should be compiled after the relevant items already exist in
their long form.
For a small project the abstract may not be longer than 10 lines. Bigger projects often
provide abstracts as long as two pages.
Context
This part of the project describes the social, economic, political and cultural background
from which the project is initiated. It should contain relevant data from research
carried out in the project planning phase or collected from other sources. The writer
should take into consideration the need for a balance between the length of this item and
the size of the overall project proposal. Large amounts of relevant data should be placed
in an annex.

Project justification
Rationale should be provided for the project. Due to its importance usually this section
is divided into four or more sub-sections.
Problem statement
The problem statement provides a description of the specific problem(s) the project
is trying to solve, in order to “make a case” for the project. Furthermore, the project proposal
should point out why a certain issue is a problem for the community or society as
a whole, i.e. what negative implications affect the target group. There should also be an
explanation of the needs of the target group that appear as a direct consequence of the
described problem.
Priority needs
The needs of the target group that have arisen as a direct negative impact of the problem
should be prioritised. An explanation as to how this decision was reached (i.e. what
criteria was used) must also be included. For example, if the problem is stated as “… poor
infrastructure in the community” the list of needs associated with this problem may be:
• improved water supply in quality and quantity;
• better roads; and
• improved solid waste collection.
These three needs would then be given higher or lower priority according to the level
of importance for the community, and a description would be given of how that decision
was reached (e.g. a poll taken from the local population, costs associated with project
intervention, etc.). This procedure provides credibility to the selected intervention.
The proposed approach (type of intervention)
The project proposal should describe the strategy chosen for solving the problem and
precisely how it will lead to improvement.
One way to describe the approach related to the need previously stated as improved
water supply could be: “intervention to provide basic water supply facilities in the community,”
with some description of the specific features of the solution proposed.