Purposeful Writing in the Disciplines and

for Professions: Writing a Project Proposal

Tiffanny Rose A. Flores
A project proposal is a highly persuasive and informative documents that
aims to address a particular problem or issue. It is a bid or offer to initiate
a project for an individual or a group. It usually ranges from 1,000 to 2,500
words depending on the complexity of the project being proposed.
Writing a Project Proposal
A good project proposal specifies the following:

• Goals and objectives that the project wants to accomplish;

• Project plan that details how the set goals and objectives will be accomplished;

• Financial, human (e.g., experts, consultants), and technical (e.g., equipment and
facilities) resources useful in implementing the project; and

• Budget that specifies how much money is needed and for what purpose it will be spent.
Types of Project Proposal
There are four types of project proposals which vary depending on the context of the
problem and the receiver and sender of proposals.

1. Solicited internal

• It is used when the target reader is within the organization.

• It responds to a specific request within the organization.

• The problem has been identified within the organization and the decision

to solve it has been made.

2. Unsolicited internal
• It is used when the target reader is within the organization.
• It is a self-initiated proposal that no one asked for.
• The target reader has not yet identified that a problem exists within
the organization; hence, no decision has been made to solve the
problem.
3. Solicited external
• It is used when the target reader is not within the
organization.
• It responds to a specific request from someone who is not
within the company.
• The problem has been identified and the decision to solve it
has been made.
4. Unsolicited external
• It is used when the target reader is not within the organization.
• It is self-initiated proposals that no one ask for.
• The target reader has not yet identified that a problem exists;
hence, no decision has been made to solve the problem.
Parts of a Project Proposal
1. Cover letter

• Introduces the proposals to the reader

• States the project proposal title, date the proposal was requested (if solicited),
general purpose and scope of the proposal, and acknowledgement of people who have
contributed to the completion of the proposals

• Includes the highlights of the proposal and directs the readers to these highlights.
2. Title Page
• Includes the project title that is concise and informative
• Includes the lead organization, place and date of project, client’s or donor’s
name, proponent’s name and the department or organization he/she represents, and
date of submissions
3. Abstract of Executive Summary
• Includes the objectives, implementing organization, major project activities and
total project cost
• Usually composed of 200 to 250 words and highlights only the major points;
some abstract may be longer depending on the culture of the funding agency
• Uses a paragraph format
4. Context of the Proposal
• Describes the socio-economic, cultural, and political background
in which the proposal is situated.
• Presents data collected from other sources that are relevant to the
planning stage
5. Project Justification
• Provides a rationale for the project
• Includes the problem statement that specifies the problem addressed by the project
• Points out why the problem is an issue that requires immediate attention
• Specifies the target group’s needs that arise from the adverse effect of the described
problem
• Presents the approach or strategy that will be used to address the problem
• Describes the capability of the implementing organization or group by stating its track
record

Note: When writing this section, justify why your organization or group is the
best group to implement the project.
6. Personnel Involved

• List the people involved in the project, their corresponding roles, and their summary of
qualifications

7. Project implementation

• Is divided into an activity plan which specifies the schedule of activities and a resource
plan which specifies the items needed to implement the project

• Describes the activities and resource allocation in detail, as well as the person in charge
of executing the activities

• Indicates the time and place of activities

8. Budget
• Presents the expected income and expenses over a specified time
period
• Itemizes the budget
9. Monitoring and Evaluation
• Specifies when and how the team will monitor the progress of the
project
• Specifies the method for monitoring and evaluation
• Specifies the personnel in charge of monitoring and evaluation
10. Reporting Scheme
• Specifies the schedule for reporting the finances and progress of the
project
11. Conclusion
• Briefly describes the project, the problem it addresses, and its benefits
to all stakeholders through a summary
• Directs the readers back to the good features of the project
• Urges the readers to contact the proponent to work out the details of the
project proposals
12. References
• Lists all the references used in drafting the project proposal using the
format required the funding agency
Guidelines in Preparing a Project Proposal

1. Decide what the problem is and prepare a rough idea on how this problem can
be addressed.
2. Develop or select a framework that will help you organize your ideas
systematically.
3. Identify the organization that will probably fund your project. These can be
government agencies, non-governmental organizations, private companies, and
foundations, and international funding agencies.
4. Build your project proposal team and appoint a project leader who is
responsible for coordinating activities and communicating with the
funding agency.
5. Identify the organization that will probably fund your project. These
can be government agencies, non-governmental organizations, private
companies and foundations, and international funding agencies.
6. Hold and initial meeting with your team to discuss the plans in
preparing the project proposal.
7. Allot sufficient time for planning.
8. Involve all the team members by assigning specific
responsibilities to them.
9. Be realistic with your project proposal. Make sure that your
objectives and activities are within the given time and resources.
10. Contact the funding agency if some items and requirements are
not clear to you.
11. Always put yourself in the shoes of the receiver of the project
proposal.
Guidelines in Writing a Project Proposal

1. The title page must be unnumbered but it is considered page I; the back
page of the title page is unnumbered as well; but it is considered page ii. The
abstract, which follows after the title page, is considered page 1 and must
already be numbered.
2. Do not use abbreviations on the title page.
3. Attach the curriculum vitae of the personnel who are part of them.
4. In the project implementation section, use a Gantt chart for
presenting the timeframe.
5. Write the abstract after you have completed the report.
6. Study the successful proposals that are similar to yours.
7. Be factual but use technical terms sparingly.
8. Choose a reader-friendly format
9. Use sections words to make your proposal more dynamic.