Educational Project, Implementation and Evaluation

MODULE THREE

PROJECT PROPOSAL WRITING

Introduction

Without direct project funding, most educational institutions would not be able to accomplish their goals. Writing clear, thorough and targeted project proposals is therefore essential to success of educational project. Therefore, mastering the art of proposal writing requires a unified approach to project management. This guide is therefore intended to serve as a basis for understanding issues related to the process, as well as the end product of project design.

A project proposal is a detailed description of a series of activities aimed at solving a certain problem. The proposal should contain a detailed explanation of the:
1. Justification of the project;
2. Activities and implementation time-line;
3. Methodology; and
4. Human, material and financial resources required

The project proposal should be a detailed and directed manifestation of the project design. It is a means of presenting the project to the outside world in a format that is immediately recognized and acceptable.
This guide on project proposal writing aim to create an understanding of:
a) The role of the project proposal and the activities related to each stage;
b) How to deal with projects and project proposals from an organizational perspective;
c) How project proposals fit into project management; and
d) How to structure a good project proposal.

OBJECTIVE OF THE GUIDE

This guide will enable planners through project proposal writing and the user to:
1. Improve planners skills in developing quality project proposals;
2. Show them how to manage projects within an organization; and
3. Help them to understand a project's value as a tool to achieve and further the organization's mission.

These can be achieved through three areas:
1. Enhancing skills and organizational procedures
 Learning proposal-writing techniques, as well as developing skills in designing and writing successful project proposals, is the objective of most educational planners
 Establishing systems and standards related to developing projects within the ministry of education planning departments is also a key objective.
2. Understanding the role of project proposals in project management
 The project proposal is a tool — not a goal. It should be followed as closely as possible, and deviations should occur only when necessary.
 Proposal writing is only one of the phases of project management. It is one of the several actions that form a logical sequence of events usually referred to as the project cycle.

3. Conducting preparatory work prior to proposal writing
 Note that, a quality project proposal is the final product of a participatory process that involves considerable study, discussion and learning from past experiences.

SKILLS TO BE DEVELOPED

The guide focuses on developing specific skills related to designing and completing good project proposals.
So the guide offers instruction in:
i. Conducting preparatory work;
ii. Developing comprehensive and viable project plans by setting realistic goals and determining the resources needed;
iii. Completing the project proposal package in order to provide funders with all necessary information;
iv. Preparing and following up on project budgets; and
v. Writing budget reports.

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WRITING A PROPOSAL

 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.

 Organize 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.

Main Terms of the Proposal Writing Process

■ Indicators-those elements of the project plan that translate the project's purpose and results into measurable units (quantity or quality) and thus provide the basis for measuring the impact

■ Input-the investment of resources (human, material or financial) invested in the project

■ Output-the results achieved

■ Activity plan-a description of the flow, time-line and responsibilities for the project's activities

■ Resource plan-a description of how the resources will be used in relation to the activities

■ PERT/Gantt chart-a specific model for activity plans that illustrates how the activities interconnect from initial stages of project activities up to the completion stage

■ Income-the funds secured for the project's implementation

CONTENTS
This guide covers the following topic areas:
i. What is and what is not a project?
ii. What is a project design?
iii. How are project elements formulated?
iv. Which methods are best for planning a project?
v. What is a project proposal?
vi. How is a project proposal written? (Suggested format covering all the aspects of the project proposal)
It is a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with the main terms of the proposal writing process outright.
Therefore, this guide should be used in combination with the skills learnt in module two of this course. Most of the guide’s content is designed in a way that can be used as a handout or reader material for you.

PROJECT BASICS

What is (and what is NOT) a Project
From the perspective of project management, any series of activities that go through the project cycle are projects. The project cycle consists of project phases. An organization should already have a well-defined organizational strategy from which it can begin to assess relevant needs and opportunities in its education. Several ideas will then come to light, from which an organization may choose. The project phases then follow logically through design, financing, implementation and evaluation stages. Planners often perform activities that do not fall into the category of projects. It is also important to recognize that a project is not:
1. Past activities that are repeated in exactly the same way on a periodic basis;
2. Activities with no clearly defined goals;
3. Activities which can be repeated or transplanted anywhere at any moment; or
4. Ongoing (regular) organizational activities (e.g. board meetings).


What is the Project Design?

The project design is one phase of the project cycle. It consists of two elements:
i. Project planning (formulation of project elements); and
ii. Project proposal writing (converting the plan into a project document).
Project design is a result of both project planning and the project proposal. Both steps are essential to forming a solid project design

A Model of the Project Cycle with Six Project Phases

Phase 1: Assess relevant research needs and opportunities
Phase 2: Identify the project idea
Phase 3: Design the project
Phase 4: Finance the project
Phase 5: Implement the activities
Phase 6: Evaluate the results

PROJECT PLANNING -FORMULATION OF PROJECT ELEMENTS

Before the project is written, its individual elements need to be developed. Addressing the planning considerations helps develop the project elements.
Another way to break down planning questions is to take into consideration the project design stage at which these questions are asked. On the basis of these criteria the project planning questions could be classified as to whether they are made during project planning or proposal writing. Regardless of the project planning model presented here, quality proposal writing is not possible without proper planning.

PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS

Issues to Be Considered At the Beginning of Project Planning
■ Beneficiaries of the project
■ Project team and cooperative partners
■ Success criteria
■ Goal and objectives
■ Methods chosen to achieve project goal
■ Costs and expenditures
■ Own contribution
■ Potential funders

Elements of the Project Proposal
1. Project title
2. Goals and objectives of the project
3. Description of project activities
4. Description of expected project results
5. Project implementation plan
6. Beginning of operations
7. Resource allocation
8. Project personnel
9. Detailed project budget (fixed costs, equipment needed)
10. Other technical means (e.g. vehicles)
11. Division of financial sources (own contribution and other resources)

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

1.0 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 organization (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.

2.0 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.

Effective and Ineffective Project Titles
Example of Effective Project Titles
■ Raising Students Performance in Science Subjects for Marginalized Nomadic Society in Newly Created Manyara Region
■ Construction of Four Hostels for Girls in X Secondary Schools
Ineffective Titles
■ Environmental Education in Rural Areas
■ Quality Improvement in Disadvantaged Community

3.0 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.

4.0 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:
i. The problem statement;
ii. The project’s objectives;
iii. Implementing organizations;
iv. Key project activities; and
v. 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.

5.0 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 sector analysis 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.

6.0 Project Justification

Rationale should be provided for the project. Due to its importance, usually this section is divided into four or more sub-sections.

6.1 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.

6.2 Priority Needs

The needs of the target group that have arisen as a direct negative impact of the problem should be prioritized. An explanation as to how this decision was reached (i.e. what criteria were used) must also be included. For example, if the problem is stated as “… poor infrastructure in the school” the list of needs associated with this problem may be:
i. Improved water supply in quality and quantity;
ii. Better classrooms; and
iii. Installed electricity within dormitories and classrooms.

These three needs would then be given higher or lower priority according to the level of importance for the school, and a description would be given of how that decision was reached (e.g. a poll taken from the school 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 school,” with some description of the specific features of the solution proposed.

The Implementing Organization

This section should describe the capabilities of your organization by referring to its capacity and previous project record. Describe why exactly your organization is the most appropriate to run the project, its connection to the school community, the constituency behind the organization and what kind of expertise the organization can provide. If other partners are involved in implementation provide some information on their capacity as well. See some tips below on presenting an organization. This list should by no means be considered exhaustive.

Tips for Successfully Presenting an Organization

 Never use language that could be perceived as an attack towards any other organization or institution.
 Carry out an analysis of your organization's strengths prior to preparing the proposal and then showcase these strengths.
 Show that your planning process is participatory and takes into consideration the opinions of the target group.
 Prepare a short document that presents your past experience (organizational record) and attach it to the project proposal.

PROJECT AIMS

The first issue to deal with is naming the objectives. Several other English terms may be used including “project goal/aim,” “project purpose,” etc. Often one major “goal” is declared and then broken down into various objectives.
Once this issue has been dealt with, the hierarchy between objectives needs to be established, as well as how many levels the hierarchy should present. In reality, an organization should have already resolved this issue in the project planning phase. Figure 1 below, displays three typical hierarchic levels.

Project Goal (or Overall Objective)

This is a general aim that should explain what the core problem is and why the project is important, i.e. what the long-term benefits to the target group are.

Rules for Setting a Project Goal

1) There should be only one goal per project.
2) The goal should be connected to the vision for development.
3) It is difficult or impossible to measure the accomplishment of the goal using measurable indicators, but it should be possible to prove its merit and contribution to the vision.

Some Examples of a Project Goal Might Be:
i. Raising environmental awareness to primary school students ;
ii. Improving the quality of life in the school community; and
iii. Fostering social empowerment among women from underprivileged rural areas.
If it is difficult to follow the rules mentioned above, then the project itself may have to be redefined or reconsidered.

Project Objectives

. The objectives from Figure 1 may be defined as:
 Improving the water supply in quantity X and quality Y for the school community of village Z; and
 Reducing by X the rate of acute Diarrhea infections among primary school students in village Z.
Project objectives provide a more detailed breakdown of the project goal. A project will likely have multiple objectives. The objectives should address the core problem in terms of the benefits to be received by the project beneficiaries or target group as a direct result of the project as shown in Figure 2 below:

Five Steps to Develop Good Indicators
 Project objective: Reduce the rate of acute Diarrhea infections in the school community;
 Quality (the nature of the indicator): Infection rates reduced;
 Target Group (Who?): Infection rates reduced among school children;
 Place (Where?): infection rates reduced among children of Village Z;
 Quantity (How Much?): infection rates reduced among children of Village Z by 65 percent;
 Time-frame: infection rates among children of Village Z reduced by 45 percent by 2012.

Project Results

Results describe the services or products to be delivered to the intended beneficiaries.
This is what the project management is promising to deliver. The results are more detailed than the objectives and the goal, and should be possible to measure through the use of objective indicators. Special consideration should therefore be paid to this area. The results should address the main causes of the problem that the target group faces. To ensure relevant results, project management should have correctly identified the group’s needs.
Relating back to the previous example, the results would be written as:
i. Increased number of dormitories and households connected to the water supply system; and
ii. Increased number of clean and safe water taps in the school community in village Z.
The arrows in Figure 2 show how the results of the project can be tied back to the project's objectives. Note that indicators provide the project team with a quantifiable basis on which to judge the project's success in reaching its objectives. The specification of indicators acts as a check on the viability of the results and project objectives. It forms the basis for a project monitoring system. Once the indicators are defined they should be developed to provide details of quantity, quality and time.

Target Group

Define the target group and show how it will benefit from the project. The project should provide a detailed description of the size and characteristics of the target groups, and especially of direct project beneficiaries. The criteria for target group analysis may be ethnic composition, gender, age, etc. When these analyses are more elaborate, they may be attached as an appendix.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation plan should describe activities and resource allocation in as much detail as possible. It is exceptionally important to provide a good overview of who is going to implement the project’s activities, as well as when and where. The implementation plan may be divided into two key elements: the activity plan and the resource plan.

1.0 Activity Plan (Schedule)

The activity plan should include specific information and explanations of each of the planned project activities. The duration of the project should be clearly stated, with considerable detail on the beginning and the end of the project. Table 2 breaks down the various steps involved in preparing an activity plan. In general, two main formats are used to express the activity plan: a simple table and the Gantt chart. PERT can also be used for the same purpose.
A simple table with columns, as shown in Table 3, for activities, sub-activities, tasks, timing and responsibility, is a clear, readily understandable format for the activity plan. The Gantt Chart, is a universal format for presenting activities in certain times frames, which shows the dependence and sequence for each activity. Table 4 overleaf shows a sample Gantt Chart.

2.0 Resource Plan

The resource plan should provide information on the means necessary to undertake the project. Cost categories are established at this stage in order to aggregate and summarize the cost information for budgeting. Refer to table 5 in this module.

From the example given in table 2 of your readers' notes, the activity of establishing an in-service teachers training programme could require equipment and allowances. These are the cost categories related to the activity.
The next step is to identify units, quantity per period and estimated unit cost. On the basis of these figures, it will be easy to calculate costs per period and total project costs.
Table 5 in your readers' notes depicts these costs in a typical resource plan as it might look for Activity 1.1 (in-service teachers training programme) from the previous table. This form of planning enables us to plan and calculate all the costs related to project activities.

Budget

In simple terms, a budget is an itemized summary of an organization's expected income and expenses over a specified period of time. Budgeting forms and financial planning procedures vary widely, especially in the non-profit sector. It is nevertheless essential that financial officers comply clearly and punctually with a funding organization's budgeting and reporting requirements. The two main elements of any budget are income and expenditures.
Income: (sometimes referred to as revenue) is the amount of financial assets and in-kind contribution used as sources of support for the project. If the funding source is unique, the income side of the budget may not be shown. However, many projects have more than one source of support. The income side should show the share of contribution of each of these sources. Table 6 shows a sample income form.

Expenditures: (also called expenses or costs) are all the costs that are anticipated to occur during the project’s implementation. Regardless of the calculation and classification criteria used, the project costs should present a reasonable reflection of the activities presented in the project proposal. Table 7 gives a sample of what an expenditure form might look like. The categories presented would then be broken down into greater detail where required. A projection of the specific amounts of time needed at different phases of project implementation represents a basis for calculating the spending dynamics at different periods of the project.

Budget categories: classify expenditures into smaller groups according to a certain criteria. This is to monitor spending and ensure compliance with the plan.
The two main costs are direct costs and operational costs. Direct costs are associated with a certain activity (e.g. organizing a workshop). Operational costs are related to internal activities of an organization and are considered fixed costs in the short term (e.g. staff salaries, rent, utilities, etc).
Units, quantity per period and estimated unit costs are the three elements that are needed to calculate costs associated with any of these categories.

Monitoring and Evaluation
The basis for monitoring is set when the indicators for results are set. The project proposal should indicate:
1) How and when the project management team will conduct activities to monitor the project’s progress;
2) Which methods will be used to monitor and evaluate; and
3) Who will do the evaluation

Table 6: Sample Income Form (in US$)
Total Budget: 85,400
Income:
• World Bank 11,400
• Contribution from central government 27,000
• African Development Bank 2000
• European Union 40,000
• Provided by organization itself 5,000
Total income: 85,400

Table 7: Sample Expenditure Form (in US$)
Total Budget: 85,400
Expenditures:
• Consultants (4 months X US$ 10,000) 40,000
• Salaries (7 trainers X 2 months X 10,500) 21, 000
• Office staffs (2 support staff X 2 months XUS4 3000) 6,000
• Office Supplies:
• Computer (2 X US$ 2,100) 4,200
• Photocopy (3 X US$ 2,400) 7,200
• Printer (2 X US$ 1,000) 2,000
• Travel and lodging 1,500
• Direct costs 1,000
• Miscellaneous 1,500
Total expenditures: 85,400


Reporting

The schedule of project progress and financial report could be set in the project proposal.
Often these obligations are determined by the standard requirements of the donor agency. The project report may be compiled in different versions, with regard to the audience they are targeting.

Management and Personnel

A brief description should be given of the project personnel, the individual roles each one has assumed, and the communication mechanisms that exist between them. All the additional information (such as CVs) should be attached to the annexes.

Annexes
The annexes should include all the information that is important, but is too large to be included in the text of the proposal. This information can be created in the identification or planning phase of the project, but often it is produced separately. The usual documentation to be annexed to the project proposal is:
i. Analysis related to the general context (e.g. Primary Education Sub-sector assessment);
ii. Policy documents and strategic papers (e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper-MKUKUTA/MKURABITA);
iii. Information on the implementing organizations (e.g. annual reports, success stories, brochures and other publications)
iv. Additional information on the project management structure and personnel(curriculum vitae for the members of the project team);
v. Maps of the location of the target area; and
vi. Project management procedures and forms (organizational charts, forms, etc).