How to write the successful project proposal?

Joanna Morozowska

Having an excellent project idea with the sweet spot for an innovation but not sure how to cope with that?

Let me guide you through all steps needed to be taken with the object of successful submission and getting funded 🙂

Let’s start from some fontal information. As the old saying goes – “Health is Wealth”. That’s the main logic of why the e-health market became expanding that rapidly. Nowadays, whole world is investing in research, technology, and innovation development solutions to improve peoples’ health, lifestyle and wellbeing as well as to help them to live longer and healthier lives.

As per research report, the global e-health market size was valued at USD 97,640.4 million in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 338,147.7 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 14.8% during the forecast period (2022–2030). Facing the pandemic situation, it is no surprise that more and more organizations come up with the ideas of new solutions which will improve and impact current e-health market. Now, probably wondering how to rip through all of these existing and upcoming innovative ideas? Well, on the one hand, that is no mean feat, however – from the second one – nothing easier as long as you have an ace up your sleeve!

IDEA – that’s your ace! But that is what you already have.

So, going further – time for 3W questions:

What is your solution that will enable you to enter the market targeted?

Who will be the end-user of this solution?

What is the viability?

If you can assuredly answer these questions – it is certain you are ready to write your superb project proposal ! Bear in mind that before you start, you should consider some aspects to make your project proposal persuasive and clear. Here, you should focus mainly on 2 things:

Your audience

If you don’t know who the recipient of your idea will be, the possibility of the failure increases. Remember that various versions of the proposal should be written depending on your audience. You need to answer yourself questions if you know what they want to hear, how familiar they are or could be with the problem you present the solution for or if there is any need for providing background on the particular topic.

Pitfalls

You should be aware that the one of the main reasons why project proposals get rejected is not that the idea is not sufficient or bad, most likely it lacked clarity and convincement. While planning how to successfully write your proposal, make sure it’s aligned with all goals set.

We already have the starting point. Now it’s time to go through more details.

Problem statement

It is crucial to define the problem your project is trying to address and why is it worth solving. Remember, you want your audience to fully understand severity of the problem. To achieve the goal use facts, not opinions. Also, it is worth considering that reviewers and decision makers do not spend a lot of time on going through the proposal deeply – that awareness should lead you to the point to make the pain point described in a nutshell.

Solution

It’s the key of importance to convince all readers that it is your idea which is at other reviewing projects’ heads. Be fully confident of your solution steering others – that will help you to defend your project from all angles. Before that, dive into already existing in the market solutions and while comparing them with your idea – draw a conclusion why the one you are presenting is better and heading.

Success criteria

Your project proposal should consist of at least several strong deliverables with dates included. This will give to reviewers the brief overview on what will be realized inside your project and what will be its impact. Remember to keep your success criteria in a SMART way (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound).

Project plan

Here I would need you to focus the most as that’s the only way to successfully manage your project proposal. Establish the sequence of all actions which will be taken while realizing the project. Outline your schedule and budget – provide as many details as possible, nobody wants to waste their money… Don’t forget about highlighting the most critical aspects of your risk management! If feasible, relate it to your deliverables, milestones, and project outputs.

Merging

Now it’s time for all aspects considered above to be summarized. Remember – your project proposal should be read like a book – it needs to deliver joy, not pain… Every single section must work together to form a cohesive whole. Try your best to emphasize all compelling parts and make your proposal be distinguished by its innovative, transparency and uniqueness you would like your audience to remember!

Feedback

Now, go through the masterpiece you’ve just created and if necessary, rewrite or improve some of the parts. It is worth to ask for the feedback – other person can obviously see something you could miss.

Ready? Now it’s time for the final step – to get your project noticed and funded! How to do that? Well, first of all you need to find the suitable funding scheme where your project proposal will meet all requirements needed. I could list here many of them, but let me cross-refer you to our previous article, where you can learn more on the most permanent calls in the e-health domain.

At the end, just to stir you into writing your successful proposal, it is worth to mention that at the turn of 2021/2022 we have managed to get as many as 7 proposals funded and another two are going to start next year.