Beginner’s Manual for Project Proposal Writing 101
Not Another Boring Handbook: Learn to Write Successful Projects The RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia publishes the “Beginner’s Manual for Project Proposal Writing 101”. This Manual is conceptualized to support the advancement of project writing skills for the successful design of projects and initiatives that can connect the Western Balkan youth. It supports beginner practitioners to understand the structure of grant proposals, develop project elements and create inclusive youth projects. By offering a practical resource, the Manual includes a variety of exercises and tools on the topic. Most importantly, it draws on lessons learned from several trainings organized by RYCO and the OSCE field operations in the Western Balkans. The three thematic parts which lay at the center of the “Beginner’s Manual for Project Proposal Writing 101” are: ● Unwrapping grant-making logic and understanding processes behind the grant life cycle; ● Highlighting the importance of participation and diversity in youth mobility projects; ● Guiding through major project elements and technical aspects of project writing. RYCO and the OSCE Mission to Serbia hope that this Manual will serve as an important companion to all interested individuals, organizations and secondary schools.
Not Another Boring Handbook: Learn to Write Successful Projects
The RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia publishes the “Beginner’s Manual for Project Proposal Writing 101”.
This Manual is conceptualized to support the advancement of project writing skills for the successful design of projects and initiatives that can connect the Western Balkan youth. It supports beginner practitioners to understand the structure of grant proposals, develop project elements and create inclusive youth projects.
By offering a practical resource, the Manual includes a variety of exercises and tools on the topic. Most importantly, it draws on lessons learned from several trainings organized by RYCO and the OSCE field operations in the Western Balkans.
The three thematic parts which lay at the center of the “Beginner’s Manual for Project Proposal Writing 101” are:
● Unwrapping grant-making logic and understanding processes behind the grant life cycle;
● Highlighting the importance of participation and diversity in youth mobility projects;
● Guiding through major project elements and technical aspects of project writing.
RYCO and the OSCE Mission to Serbia hope that this Manual will serve as an important companion to all interested individuals, organizations and secondary schools.
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WHAT IS A GRANT?
3. Preparing a project proposal takes a lot of time and effort: True
Absolutely! Sometimes it may seem that the project proposal template or overall documentation
preparation is not demanding –and this indeed may differ between grant-schemes. Nevertheless,
what you put on paper is (hopefully) a result of thorough research, consultations, reflection and
planning. And this takes time. How long, you ask?
Usually calls for proposals are active for no less than a month, although there are examples when
you can submit proposals at any time of the budget year. If the call is recurring, as RYCO calls are,
then you know when to approximately expect the call and can even start planning beforehand.
To assess how much time you’ll need to prepare ell and stress-free, avoiding panic, administrative
and other banal mistakes, please consider:
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Do I already have partners or should I find them? How long should I invest in building
relationship?
How many people will take active part in preparation of the project?
Can I already do something to make the assessment of youth needs easier for a project
I’m contemplating? Can I make it a practice to consult young people on their opinions,
initiatives and problems?
How long it would take us to collect all the paperwork?
4. We should align our approach to perfectly fit the donor agenda or
a particular call: False
In principle, it is best to apply to those calls that are already in line with your overall mission,
values or aspirations. Adjusting your ideas to a particular grant-scheme is fine and the proposal
that any entity would fund is supposed to contribute to the concrete donor agenda. However, the
order of actions matters: area of work, ideas and goals should come first, and identifying suitable
donors to support it can be selected later.
5. There is no harm in making things in a project a bit nicer than they
really are: False
Do not make things up. As simple as that. This also goes for communication with partners.
Exaggerations in terms of capacity, knowledge, experience, or any other aspect, may seem like a
good selling point to improve your chances for a grant approval. The shortcomings almost always
come to the surface, leading to jeopardizing your reputation in the long run, if your claims are
proven false. In extreme situations, this may also have consequences of financial or legal nature.
Stakeholders like RYCO provide their grantees support and opportunities to learn and grow
through the projects and their implementation. If you have concerns in terms of your capacity to
carry out any segment of the project as envisioned, honesty is the best policy.
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