Project proposal writing: basic elements
Proposal Title
• Positive
• Persuasive
• Capture attention
Proposal Summary:
Although written last, this proportion appears and is read first. It is the most
crucial part of the proposal and put your best here. It should include at least
brief statement about
Your credibility;
Key problems/issues/needs;
Proposed strategy or methodology
Total cost- already committed and
Amount being requested
Proposal Introduction
Before going into the main body of the proposal, this portion gives your
reader some further information. The following could be partially or fully
included.
♦ Your organization’s track record;
♦ Why and how you get started and since when you have been in existence
♦ Highlights of your qualification, accomplishment and experience;
♦ How you get involved with the problem you are proposing to solve;
♦ Other situations or clientele where the solution you are proposing worked
♦ Clarification of scope and timing of your proposed action;
♦ Size and type of your clientele your are involved with; and,
Outsiders view (brief citation is the introduction and full documents in the appendices)
Problem statement/Needs Assessment/Situation Analysis
The problem you plan to solve must be related to the purpose and
objectives of your organization described in the introduction.
Do not present wide range of problems, and don’t try to solve all the problems
of the world. This often “overkills” your proposal. Try to be of reasonable
dimension.
Consider the inclusion of any (or all) of the following;
Data backed description of the problem tell how much you know about the
problem; don’t assume;
Use key statistics (don’t fill this section with charts and tables).
Use variable which are strongly and directly related to the problem;
Ensure that the problem is of solvable with a reasonable time and with
minimum resources and
Provide a rational for a choice of the problem in terms of
o Consequence of further neglect;
o Opportunity for favorable impact or closing the gap; and
o Potentials for explicability
Objectives
This section convincingly presents the proposed solutions. Objectives are not
activities, methods or means. They are specific outcomes, which describe end of a
project or program scenario. Common characteristics of good objectives
Simple/clear
Measurable
Achievable/attainable/area specific
Realistic/relevant/reliable
Time bound
Proposal Methodology/Strategy
This section deals with the issue of how you plan to achieve your stated objective. It
also provides activities you will employ to attain the specific outcome you have
proposed.
Important checklist of assessing methodologies
o Flows from problems and objective
o Clearly describe programme activities
o States reasons for the selection of activities
o Describes sequences of activities
o Describes clients and client selection
o Presents a reasonable scope of activities that can be
conducted with the time and resources of the program.
Implementation/organization and management
In this part you discuss the logistics of putting your proposal into effect. You state details of:
Activities by phase
Time it will take;
Staff needed;
Special skills outside your organization that may be contracted;
Infrastructure (office) materials, equipment and
Participation of different stakeholders
Monitoring and Evaluation
This section describes how the monitoring and evaluation of the project is carried out/
particularly the evaluation part may include, depending on the nature and size of your
project, the following information.
Who should evaluate (insiders or outsiders)
Who to evaluate (process, products or both)
When to evaluate (inter-midway through implementation, terminal-
end of project evaluation and ex-post –post project evaluation)
How to evaluate (method of data gathering, data analysis and reporting)
Resource requirement (money and man power/human resources)
Budget
In this section you present the breakdown of overall costs into
Project summary
o Total of major budget category
o Sub-total of budget line items
o Sub-total of donate and
o Amounts being requested
Detailed budget narrative/sheet
o Budget line item for each sub-total and
o Cost of each item under project categories
