Proposal Outline Directions

Proposal Outline Directions

A. Statement of problem, need, and target population, which may include the following:
  • A discussion of the nature and scope of the problem in your service area (not a discussion of the global problem) with supporting evidence.
  • A discussion of the needs of target individuals in your service area
  • A description of the geographic area to be served by the program
  • Statistical information about the group of individuals your program will target for services

This section should include relevant citations from verifiable and reliable sources. It may include tables, charts, diagrams and other visual information that clarifies, but does not replace the written text.

B. Program plan:

Goal - a broad statement of the intent of your program. Include discussion of the goal and the expected outcomes. Explain the uniqueness of your program.

Objectives - specific, measurable, statements that address the methods, activities and/or implementation strategies you will use to achieve the goal. Each goal should have several objectives identified.

Activities - specific statements that identify the plan of action to be initiated in order to carry out the objectives. Each objective should have several activities identified.

Implementation plan - a description in narrative form of how you plan to implement the activities described for each objective. Indicate specifically what individuals or groups will participate in your project and what the role of each will be. Indicate how your program will coordinate with existing programs if appropriate.

Time line table - In this table, summarize each objective and activity. For each, name the person responsible and the time for beginning and completion. Sometimes this table can go in an appendix.

C. Institutional Commitment: a narrative description of the facilities, equipment, supplies, personnel, funds, and other resources that UVU will contribute to the project and the value of these contributions to the project. This section may include an estimated value of resources, a description of administrative policies and procedures that augment the project, and a description of equal opportunity and non-discrimination policies. In an appendices this section is supported by letters of support, commitment and collaboration.

D. Quality of Key Personnel: this section should include a description of the role and duties of each person identified in the implementation plan and the budget, and should include a summary of the qualifications of people who may be hired or who have been predesignated to work with this project. Resumes and job descriptions may be attached as appendices.

E. Methods of evaluation: this section should explain how the success of each objective will be evaluated. You can list each objective (or a shortened form of it) and explain how each objective will be evaluated to assess its effectiveness. Consider your evaluation in terms of both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Also consider it in terms of both formative evaluation (designed to determine the extent to which progress is being made toward the stated objective) and summative evaluation (designed to determine the extent to which the objective was accomplished).

F. Budget Narrative: this section should specifically describe each item identified in the budget in narrative form. Each item must correlate to specific activities described in the program plan and to the budget forms required by the grant. You can use this section to explain items from the budget tables in more detail, especially items that may not be clear to the reader or may need further discussion to establish their necessity.