Why Some Proposals Fail
The problem being faced / need for the project has not been explained properly No project can be supported if the donor cannot understand why it’s necessary. Sometimes this may be because the problem actually isn’t very relevant to the donor, or they don’t see it as serious (see next point), but often it’s because it’s poorly communicated.

Your explanation may be flawed because the chain of cause and effect hasn’t been adequately explained, and the reader can’t follow the logic: or it might be because it takes forever to get to the main point. It’s important to explain the Core Problem first. We will discuss this in more depth in the sections on Analysing the Situation and drafting the Situation Analysis.

The issue does not strike the reader as significant

This doesn't mean that the issue itself is not significant – just that the donor can't see it. This could be due to the last point, where the problem is not explained properly. However, poor explanation is usually because we have failed to go 'one step further' when describing the consequences of the problem. As development practitioners and community mobilisers we can see clearly how important the issues we are facing are; but often conveying this importance to those who make decisions is difficult. We may have satisfied ourselves that the issue is significant, but haven't taken that extra step to explain to our reader why this issue needs to be addressed.

End users (communities) have not been involved in the planning

Few proposals will be successful if the relevant communities and end-users haven't been consulted and listened to. Whether the project is a large-scale irrigation project that needs to take into account existing irrigation practices, social dynamics and local peoples' ownership and capacity for maintenance, or whether it's a village-level campaign against child marriage, all projects need to involve stakeholders in identifying problems and agreeing on solutions.

The proposal is poorly written and hard to understand

During this programme we will address some of the core problems caused by poor writing. First, let me say it's not about a lack of vocabulary or poor grammar. If anything, it's the opposite: you don’t need an incredible command of English to draft a good proposal, and, often, writers who have a lot of language ‘skill’ merely end up confusing their readers.
Poorly written can mean:
• Lack of clear objectives – it takes forever to get to the point or the main message is hard to find, leaving the reader to work through lots of unnecessary information to extract the objective of the writing.
• Poor organisation of ideas – key points are buried in paragraphs, or absent.
• Unclear writing – too many abstract nouns and unnecessary words, phrases and emphasising words can cause the reader mental strain, as can sentences and paragraphs that run on longer than necessary.

The proposal’s outcomes do not reflect the donor's area of concern

Don't give up hope here. Obviously, if the donor isn't interested in your particular project, or if their mandate doesn't cover your proposed idea, it seems like a dead end. So why did you submit that exact proposal to that donor in the first place?
This problem can be avoided by first investigating your target donors’ current and upcoming priorities. No, they're not secret. Most can be found online from the donors' web sites, along with proposal submission guidelines. After all, they want to receive the right proposals, too, and they are always looking to say 'yes'. What good is their money without your skills to create positive change? And if the information isn't easy to find, just ask. If it's clear that your project has absolutely nothing to do with the donor's field of interest, let it go. But, before you do, analyse the problem through your donor's eyes.

For example, let's say that you intend to provide water and sanitation (WATSAN) facilities to local communities. It's not just a WATSAN project, though, is it? What are the benefits of improved access to safe water? To name just a few, we have improved health / improved livelihoods, reduced migration, reduction of women's labour leading to greater involvement in community decision making ... so, while our project’s outcomes might not appear to fall within the donor’s area of interest, the project goal can still match their requirements.

The Problem Tree tool (which you will see later) has many different kinds of ‘fruit’ (positive impacts) beyond the immediate change (core issue). You can develop your analysis and draft a slightly different proposal for each donor, in each case, where needed, focusing on the outcomes and impacts that do fall within the donor's objectives.

To Be Contniue Next Week.....

Have a Nice week End!!!!