Lecture #3

Topic: Planning the Project

 Explore and Understand the Project Planning
and Development Processes
 Understand the project goals, outcomes,
objectives and activities
 Explore the Challenges and Contingency
Planning Processes
 Project planning involves a series of steps
that determine how to achieve a particular
community or organizational goal or set of
related goals. This goal can be identified in a
community plan or a strategic plan
 A specific need analysis or a survey and
research data is vital for planning
 The activity implementation planning usually
is done after the funding approval for the
project proposal.
Project Planning Help us to; Project Planning helps us to
eliminate;
• think ahead and prepare for the • poor planning overambitious
future projects
• clarify goals and develop a vision • unsustainable projects undefined
• identify issues that will need to be • problems unstructured project
• addressed choose between options work plans
• consider whether a project is
possible
• make the best use of resources
• motivate staff and the community
• assign resources and
responsibilities
• achieve the best results
 Projectplanning begins with the formation of
a project planning committee or group.
Whenever possible, should use a team
approach to plan new projects which
involves staff, community members, or
organizational leadership, consultants
 The project goal is a basic description of the purpose of the
project, in other words, a reduction or resolution of the
problem or problems you identified earlier. The project goal
should reflect positive changes in the set of conditions
desired by the organization after the problem is addressed.

 The goal statement represents the result of the successful

completion of the project. It is important to show the
relationship between the project goal and the long-range
organizational goals.

 The project goal should clearly describe how the project

relates to one or more of the community’s long-range goals.
The statement should be brief and to the point, as well as
realistic. Your goal determines the scope of your project, so
do not state your project will accomplish more than it
possibly can.
Once you have determined your project goal,
you are ready to develop your project
approach or strategy. Based on the information
gathered in the previous steps, develop a list
of possible strategies for addressing your
problem and achieving your goal and then
select a strategy that represents the best
method for implementing your project. This
strategy will be the basis for developing your
objectives and activities.
Once you have determined how you are going to
implement your project, you can begin developing
your objectives. Objectives are specific,
measurable accomplishments designed to address
the stated problems and attain your project goal.

An objective is an endpoint, not a process, to be

achieved within the proposed project period.
Completion of objectives must result in specific,
measurable outcomes that benefit the community
and directly contribute to the achievement of the
stated project goal
The clearer, more concise, and more specific
your objectives are, the easier it will be to
implement your project and the easier it will
be for a funder to understand your project
approach.

A good test for this is the S.M.A.R.T. objective

strategy, outlined below: S.M.A.R.T. objectives
have the following characteristics;
 Specific — Start with an action verb (strengthen, train,
develop, teach, implement) and specify the outcome; state
what you will do to achieve your goal and meet your
identified need.
 Measurable — The objective must include measurable
outcomes and describe measurable changes in community
conditions (including social, cultural, environmental,
economic, and governance conditions).
 Achievable — The objective must be realistic and attainable,
something you can expect to achieve given your available
resources and project strategy
 Relevant and Results-oriented— Your objective should
address your project goal
 Time-bound — The objective should reflect a time period in
which it will be accomplish the project goal and therefore
the long-term goals of your organization.
 Every project has the potential to run into challenges that
can impede progress and prevent or delay successful
completion.
 Development of a contingency plan requires that you
identify and prepare for potential challenges that may
cause your project to be late in starting up or to fall
behind schedule and/or over budget.
 Developing a contingency plan as a fall back position, or
“just in case”, will leave you better prepared to handle
challenges. By identifying potential challenges and
planning ahead, you will be more likely to overcome
challenges with minimal disruption and cost to your
project

 Identification of potential challenges and development of

a contingency plan should be done by a team that includes
project stakeholders.
 There are different components involved in project
evaluation. Outcomes are the measurable changes that
can be observed as a result of the project’s successful
completion. These are the measurable results and
benefits that will be observable within the targeted
population once the project is complete, determining
the extent to which the identified problems were
reduced, resolved, or eliminated.

 The results and benefits measure the progress toward

achieving project objectives. Outcomes are the short-
term and medium-term effects of the project on the
community. Examples of outcomes include new
knowledge, increased skills, increased understanding,
and increased participation in after-school activities
 Impacts measure the change that can be
specifically associated to a project’s
implementation and after project completion.

 In other words, they measure the extent to

which the project achieved its goal. Examples of
impacts include increased quality of life,
decreased incidence of disease or infection, and
higher numbers of students completing post-
secondary education, increase in sales and
marketing, increase of products and services
etc.
An evaluation plan is the next key element for
the successful implementation and
management of a project. An evaluation plan
describes the process and provides the tools to
measure progress in implementing the project;
it also assesses how effectively the project
addressed problems and achieved its
objectives.
1. Impact Indicators. The objectives and
project goal provide the framework for project
evaluation.
2. Methods/Procedures
The project is likely to have several objectives to
evaluate, and several different methods of evaluation
might be needed.

What methods will be used to measure the results

and benefits?
What records will be maintained?

The evaluation plan must include the method(s) used

to determine whether the objective was
accomplished, and whether the desired change
actually occurred.
In addition to evaluating the final project results, you also
should regularly monitor and evaluate the project’s progress in
carrying out work plan activities, completing project objectives
and staying within the approved project budget. This “process
evaluation” determines whether the project was conducted in
a manner consistent with the plan and whether the project
activities contributed to the success of the project. In other
words, was the plan followed, and was the plan effective in
achieving the objectives?

This part of the evaluation plan is used to effectively manage

the day-to-day and week-to-week activities and is the basis of
regular progress reports prepared for the project’s funder.
Many funders requires reporting on progress made towards
achieving the impact indicator target numbers, and annual
reporting on the results and benefits outlined in your project
work plan.
 An Objective Work Plan (OWP) is to describing how
(through what activities), when (within what time
frames) and by whom (assignment of responsibility) the
project will be implemented—as well as the expected
outcomes or benefits. Items included in an OWP are:
 Project Title and Goal
 The problem addressed
 The Results expected and criteria for evaluating
success in achieving them
 The Benefits expected and criteria for evaluating
success in achieving them
 The Project Objectives (an OWP form is needed for
each objective) o Activities o Begin and End Dates
o Positions Responsible for the activity
accomplishment
 A sustainable project is one that can and will continue
without additional funds from funders, and will
therefore contribute to long-term success and impacts
within your organization.
 A sustainability plan is a narrative description of how
you plan to continue your project after funding is
complete. Perhaps the first question to ask is:
(1) How can we use available, existing resources to
continue our project’s benefits and achieve our long-
term vision?
(2) Will other outside funding be needed or can the
project processes be absorbed into the organization’s
daily operation without placing a burden on the staff?
 The project budget is a program and fiscal document. The
budget reflects the costs necessary to perform the activities
of the project. The budget is the dollar expression of the
project being proposed and must be reasonable and tied to
the project objectives and work plan.

 The budget should not be prepared until the organization’s

policies, priorities, and plans have been established. Without
clearly stated goals and objectives financial projections
cannot be made nor should budgeting substitute for planning.

 Approval of the budget should be regarded as a commitment

on the part of the governing body and the administration to
carry out the policies, respect the priorities, and support the
plans that have been translated into dollars through the
budget.
 Budgeting is the method by which an organization
translates the project goals and objectives into the
resources necessary to accomplish the goals and
objectives.
 Budgeting is not a hit-or-miss approach. Rather, it
involves serious consideration of many factors.
These factors include:
1. Available Resources. Analysis of available
resources involves an identification of what is
available in terms of dollars and people. This includes
an assessment of human resources, capital resources,
and financial resources. If the budgeting process does
not assess the three areas of resources available it
lessens its ability to achieve the goals and objectives
2. Regulations. The regulations govern programs. The budgeting
process must assess the impact that these regulations will have
on the allocation of resources to the various line items. If this
is not done the tribe or organization will spend excessive time
forcing expenditures into inappropriate cost categories.
3. Scope, Quality and Method of Service. One of the most
important factors in determining expenditures is the range and
quality of services to be provided.
4. Volume of Activity. The volume of activity must be analyzed
to determine fixed costs and those that are impacted by an
increase or decrease in the funding or level of activity. The
organization must establish a base level at which the project
can be operated. If this level of revenue is not secured, then
the tribe or organization will have to either generate additional
revenue or combine the project with another with similar
goals.
5. Cost elements. The organization will need to determine the
types of labor, materials, equipment, and other cost elements
required to perform the services and the cost for each.
Personnel

List all full- and part-time staff in the proposed project,

the number of hours they will work on the project, and
the hourly rate. Identify each position working on the
project

Fringe Benefits

List each of the fringe benefits the staff will receive and
the dollar cost of each benefit. The fringe benefit
category will include both mandatory payroll taxes and
organizational employee benefits. Examples of mandatory
payroll taxes include FICA or OASDI and Medicare.
Examples of employee benefits include health and life
insurance and retirement plans.
Travel
Only out-of-area travel is calculated in this budget
category as local travel will be included in the
“other” category (see below). In the budget identify
each of the out-of area trips planned and the cost of
airfare, ground transportation, lodging, and meals for
each planned trip.

Equipment
List all the items of equipment to be purchased.
Equipment is defined as an item costing more than
$5,000 and with a useful lifetime of more than one
year.
Supplies
List all supplies such as paper clips, paper, pens, and
pencils. Do not simply use one line item, written as
“Office Supplies: pens, paper, pencils, etc.” If there are
unusual needs for project supplies such as training
supplies use a separate line item for each category of
supply and the amount.

Contractual
If the project plans to contract with a company or
individual to perform work for the project, the cost of the
contract should be included under the “contractual”
category. It is important to include cost of the contract.
The scope of work should be included as an attachment to
the application.
 The project summary is the last component written but will be
the first read by an application reviewer. The project summary
should not exceed one single-spaced page, and should reflect the
essence of the entire project

The summary section should include the following:

 Clear statement of the priority area the application is submitted
under
 Two or three pertinent facts about the community and the
population to be served
 A brief discussion of the problem that exists in the community,
relating it to the facts you presented in the first paragraph about
your community (one paragraph maximum). This can include your
problem statement
 The project goal
 The project objectives
 The impact indicators
 The number of people to be served or impacted by the project
 Lock, D. (2007). Project Management, Ninth
Edition. Hampshire
 Pinto J. (2016) Project Management,
Achieving Competitive Advantage. Pearson
Education Inc. USA
 Heagney, J, (2011) Fundamentals of Project
Management. Sayville, NY, USA.