Wednesday, 26 January 2022

How to write the expected result in the project

This section of the application assumes that the authors will reformulate the goals and objectives of the project in the form of the desired results. The basic principle of formulating results is the extreme specification of what will be considered the result of activity. At this stage, the desired results of activity in a given time period are formulated, cause-and-effect relationships between the results of different levels are determined.



In addition, it must be remembered that the results are divided into quantitative and qualitative. Accordingly, when describing the section, it must be remembered that any project involves the achievement of not only quantitative results, but also qualitative ones.


The organization intends to form the skills of those wishing to find a job in writing a resume and negotiating with a potential employer. As a method of achieving this result, training in the form of seminars was chosen. The number of trainees is 40 people. At the same time, the organization does not consider it its task to employ those trained at seminars. An organization can try to track how many of the trainees have found work.


But in order to employ seminar participants, it is necessary to provide for additional activities that are not reflected in this scheme. Hypothetically, the organization could simultaneously maintain a database of available vacancies, maintain contacts with employers, give recommendations for employment, help to pass the probationary period, etc. In this case, the employment of 30 people could already be the result of activities for a given time period.



If the organization formulates for itself the result as an increase in the standard of living of 30 trained, then it must include a number of other areas in its action plan.


Algorithm for describing the results of the project


In the following example, you can see the relationship between the goal and objectives of the project and the results, as well as the formulation of the criterion for evaluating the result.


Evaluation. How, by what criteria will you evaluate the effectiveness of the project? What data will you collect to assess the achievement of the goal and solve the tasks of the project, how to analyze and use this data? Criteria for assessing expected results should be considered. Qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation indicators should correspond to each outcome. If a questionnaire is expected, give approximate questions that will be included in the questionnaire.



The application should have a section explaining how the success or failure in achieving the set goals will be evaluated. If your goals are specific and measurable, then writing this section will not be difficult, since you know exactly what you need to evaluate. In this case, you should explain:

  • what assessment tools you will use (for example, tests, studies, questionnaires, interviews, results of scientific observations);
  • who and why will make measurements;
  • who or what and at what point in time is measured.


"Budget" section


In each project application, a budget (estimate) will be indicated. A full-fledged application should itself lead to the form and content of the budget. If the application contains all the justifications for attracting expensive technical assistance, the budget will reflect this. If the project plan convincingly demonstrates the need for a study visit to another country for the beneficiaries of the project, such activities will also be reflected in the budget.



The budget should contain a detailed list of the costs and revenues assumed in this project, reflecting all the nuances. It is necessary to indicate realistic and complete information, not to overestimate or underestimate costs. The column "The organization's own contribution" is extremely important. 

 

The more you invest yourself, the more impressive your adamant desire to implement the project looks. Therefore, look around and invest in the project everything that may be useful, it does not matter whether it is a monetary contribution, what you received from other funds, or in-kind. Non-cash deposits are goods or services that are directly related to the project and are used in the course of its implementation. An example of such a contribution would be a room provided to you by another organization, renting existing computer and photocopying equipment, etc. 

 

Although these services and goods do not cost you anything, you would have to ask the fund to allocate funds to cover them in case you did not take care of them yourself. Income may include other grants (received or requested), donations from individuals. Your goal: to prevent all questions regarding the budget that the fund may have. 

 

There should be no surprises in your budget, the expenditure points of the budget should reflect only what was discussed in the section "Project Activities" (if in this section you did not mention transportation services, then do not include in the budget the amount for the purchase of a minibus). Avoid vague items, such as "other" or "other." In the explanation to the budget, indicate how the non-cash contributions were valued.

Budget evaluation criteria


  • - A clear distinction is made between funds received from the donor and from other sources.
  • - Corresponds to the descriptive part of the application.
  • – The amount is sufficient to ensure all the works specified in the descriptive part of the application.
  • – Includes all donor-funded articles.
  • – Includes all articles funded from other sources (including from the applicant's own resources).
  • – Includes all types of work on a voluntary gratuitous basis.
  • – Separates the cost of benefits and taxes from wages.
  • – Includes the payment of consultants and other employees under the contract.
  • – Separates wages from other direct expenses.
  • – Includes all indirect costs if necessary.



Expected results


Expected results are specific results that are expected to be achieved during the implementation of the project in quantitative and qualitative terms. The description of the expected results should be approached very seriously and responsibly, since they are the criteria for the effectiveness of the project.


Main characteristics of the results:



  • – compliance of the results with the goals and objectives of the project;
  • – measurability (this applies not only to quantitative, but also to qualitative indicators);


The main thing: the list of expected results as a whole should correspond to the list of tasks set by the contestant.


At the same time, some elements of the formulation of expected results should be described:

  • – focus not on preventing the consequences of problems, but on eliminating their causes;
  • - the focus of actions on the development of the target group's ability to subsequent self-sufficiency;
  • – involvement of representatives of the target group in the implementation of the project.


Budget


An important stage in the creation of a social project is the description of the budget. Each stage of the project requires certain expenditures of funds and material resources. Therefore, it is important after describing the methods and steps to accurately calculate how much each method and each step of your project will cost. In order for the expert not to ask many questions, it is worthwhile after describing the budget to give comments on the budget, i.e. explain what this or that amount is spent on.

Thus, the budget of a social project should have the following properties:

  • – the validity of the volume of estimated costs;
  • – consistency – interconnectedness with planned activities and other actions envisaged under the project;


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  • – proportionality to the scale of the project;
  • – proportionality to the experience of the designer;
  • – efficiency (transparency) of costs.


In conclusion, I would like to note that it is important (but not necessary) for the contestant himself that he will be told about his own experience in implementing social projects. In addition, the project, as it seems to us, should have the property of its replication in other territories (the conditions under which it can be replicated can be specified).


Expected results of the project



Speaking about the measurability of the goal, we found out that in order to assess its success after the completion of the project, it is necessary to establish its expected quantitative and qualitative results at the beginning of the design.

Quantitative results are the number of representatives of the target group who will feel positive changes after the implementation of your project.


Qualitative results are the specific changes you will achieve.

In order to correctly establish the expected results of your project, you need to remember about their three characteristics. They must be measurable, adequate and specific.

Measurable results are the ones we can count.


Adequate – corresponding in scale to the stated problem.

Specific – indicating the target group, timing, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the proposed changes.



Qualitative results, due to their specificity, will almost always be less measurable than quantitative ones, but they still need to be formulated as accurately as possible. Let's look at the characteristics of the expected results with examples.



In our example with yard games, the target audience is children 7-10 years old living in district H of your city. You know that there are about 400 children of this age living in this area. After assessing your capabilities, you understand that with the help of your project you will be able to reach about 150 people. Therefore, the expected quantitative result of the project will be as follows: "150 children of 7-10 years old living in district H will learn to play yard games. 80 of them will do it regularly." Other quantitative results of your project will be the number of activities that volunteers will conduct with children, the number of games that will be learned by children, the number of yards participating in the project. The qualitative result of the project will be the skills acquired by the children, the communication skills acquired by them during the project, the amount of time they began to spend on the street, i.e. the changes that will occur thanks to your project. These expected results are measurable, adequate and concrete.



The goal of your project is to promote a healthy lifestyle among teenagers from your region. The target audience is 250 thousand teenagers. The expected result is as follows: "A video about the dangers of drugs, posted on regional television, will be watched by 1 million viewers (the number of residents of the region). They are aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle." What's wrong with that? Firstly, teenagers were declared in the target group of the project, which means that they should appear in the expected results. Secondly, we cannot say exactly how many people will watch the video – it is incorrect to proceed simply from the number of residents of the region in this case. It is also impossible to measure a qualitative result - awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Thus, the expected results of the project are immeasurable and vague.



Tasks and activities


This stage is key in social design. It is simple, and the main thing here is to understand its mechanism and learn to think within the framework of tasks and activities.



We have a problem: this is what the situation looks like now. Now children, instead of playing in the yard, sit at home, buried in gadgets, because the tradition of playing in the yard has been lost. We have a goal – to create conditions for this tradition to return. Now let's ask ourselves: Why is there this gap between problem and purpose? What prevents us from achieving the desired result? Why is the situation the way it is? Probably due to the fact that modern children do not know yard games and do not know how to play them. And also because today there are no those who can teach the rules of the game – today's elders also did not play in the yard. And, finally, children's play is not organized in the yards, and they themselves cannot do it.


The solution to each of the three problems we have formulated will be a specific task.


A task is a component of a goal that solves a specific problem on the way to achieving this goal.


So let's turn the obstacles that prevent the situation from becoming what it should be now into tasks:


  • - From the problem "Modern children of 7-10 years old do not know yard games and do not know how to play them" follows the task "To teach children 7-10 years old to play various games in the yard".
  • - From the problem "There are no those who can teach the rules of the game" follows the task "To prepare a team of volunteers who can organize games for children 7-10 years old in the yards."
  • - From the problem "Children's play is not organized in the yards, and they themselves cannot do it" follows the task "To organize regular games in the yards with children 7-10 years old by trained volunteers."


Please note that the wording of the tasks already includes the expected results of our project. Of course, in order to correctly formulate the results, it is still necessary to work with this, but in our example, the result can be, for example, as follows: – a team of volunteers has been trained who are able to organize games for children 7-10 years old in the yards;

  • – children 7-10 years old, included in the project, learned to play various games in the yard;
  • – in a certain number of yards, games for children are organized weekly by volunteers and children themselves;
  • – the number of children 7-10 years old who regularly play with their peers in the yard in various games has increased.


Then there's the fun part. We need to solve the tasks set. Tasks are solved with the help of specific actions - activities.


Let's go back to our example of backyard games. One of our tasks was to prepare a team of volunteers who know how to organize games for children 7-10 years old in the yards. Let's think about what actions we need to take to meet this challenge.


1First, in order to recruit a group of volunteers, it is necessary to first inform those who may potentially be interested: to hold a presentation of the project in universities and secondary schools of pedagogical orientation; negotiate with youth councils (city, university, etc.). That's where there are active young people. If there is a volunteer center in the city, meet with the guys there and tell them about the possibilities of the project.


Thanks to these actions, we will get, for example, a group of interested guys in the amount of 60 people who are ready to join the project.


2The next thing we should do is to teach these volunteers how to play and how to organize them, as well as how to interact with children of this age. What actions need to be taken to do this? To hold, for example, the "School of Game Technicians", in the program of which all of the above. The duration of training is 2 months. Classes 2 times a week for 4 hours. And, of course, if we plan such a training program, we must understand who will conduct it.


Is that enough for the task to be accomplished? No! Our task is not just volunteers who know the games, we have volunteers who know how to organize these games with children. So we need one more action.



3To give our volunteers the opportunity to test their knowledge, conduct practical exercises under the supervision of the teachers of our course and with their help (for example, in a pilot group).



So, our task will be solved with the help of 3 events:

  •  – selection of young people aged 18 to 21 years to participate in the project as game technicians in the yards;
  • – training of volunteer game technicians;
  • – development of skills by volunteer game technicians under the supervision of teachers.

 

So activities are what you do to solve a problem. In fact, they will be the direct implementation of your project.

Activities are the actions you take to solve a problem.


It is very important to understand the difference between tasks and activities. The task is the general formulation of what needs to be done, the "direction of travel". By formulating a task, you determine which obstacles between the problem and the goal need to be overcome.


Activities are concrete steps, actions that occur at a certain time in a certain place and have a result. The task is always broader than the event, because it consists of them. If there are no activities in the task or it consists of only one activity, then in fact it is not a task, but an event.


Expected results and effects of the project implementation


The workbook is a methodological recommendation designed to help you in the development of the project. It is not a binding dogma. Where it helps you, rely on it, where it interferes - do so, as the logic of the project work suggests.


The workbook is built in such a way that you can form a description of the project by directly using this file. In the final description of the project, the entire test written in colored font should be removed, and a title page should be added at the beginning of the text.


Summary of the main provisions of the project work: relevance and purpose of the project, the main idea / project solution, the key components of the implementation plan.
The annotation is written AT the END of the work on the project - after the formation of the rest of the text.



Relevance of the project


The answer to the question of why it is worth spending time and intellectual effort to deal with the stated topic: the characteristic of the problem that is supposed to be solved through the implementation of the project, the beauty of the inspiring idea that is supposed to be implemented, etc.


It can follow from the general framework (world and country trends, in line with which your project is located or the problems that it solves) or rely on some specific justifications: information / statistics / facts (give links to sources).


Concept of the project


Here is a description of what you propose to do - a design solution that responds to the above provisions on the relevance of the project.


This view is conveniently formed in the formulation of the goal of the project and the description of the idea of what is expected to be obtained as a result of its implementation.


The formulation of the objective (the purpose of the project is ...) should fit into one simple sentence and contain a clear idea of what is expected to be achieved as a result of the project.


The description of the result (the result of the project will be ...) should be more detailed and can be built in those formats that are most convenient for you.


Obviously, the result of the project should, in one sense or another, have uniqueness / originality – why design something that already exists?


Analysis of prototypes and analogues of the project


Usually these are not complete analogues, but those works from the analysis of which you take something useful for your project. These works may be aimed at solving completely different tasks than your project, but contain all sorts of ideas and considerations that are valuable to you.


It is important not only to list these works, but also to give analytical conclusions showing what exactly they interested you and what is important to pay attention to in them, from the point of view of your project (conditions, implementation program, cost, organization, interesting solutions, etc.)


Do not forget to indicate the sources from where the relevant information is taken.

Analysis of the situation



Characteristics of the features of the situation in which the project is developed. It is determined, first of all, by the nature of your project.


To analyze the situation, it is important to really take the position of the designer, i.e. identify with the subject who thinks about how to achieve the intended goal in these available conditions. It is necessary to review the widest possible set of circumstances that may help or hinder the achievement of the goal and isolate in them those aspects that may be significant for the project.


At the stage of analyzing the situation, you deal with a) all the circumstances that will help or complicate the implementation of your idea, and b) with the interested parties whose interests you need to take into account during the implementation.


Analysis of the situation should give you an answer to the questions about which:



(a) problem areas that need to be addressed,

b) possible directions for solving / de-linking problem areas,

c) opportunities/resources for the implementation of your project are contained in the situation.

It is important to compare problems and opportunities with each other: what resources make it possible to cope with problems, whether there are enough resources, what resources are lacking, etc.

Important circumstances that need to be comprehensively analyzed may include, for example:

  • – features of the territory in which the project will be implemented: the organization of space, the peculiarities of interaction of people, the sufficiency / limitation of conditions for life and activity, etc.,
  • – the infrastructure on which you can rely: from the road network and transport conditions to the presence / absence of important for your project forms of organization of life and activity (shops, office space, cultural centers, etc.),
  • – legal conditions: what activity requires what permits, licenses, approvals, etc.,
  • – market conditions: what is the demand (including solvent) for the solutions you offer, who is already working in this subject field, what are their strategies, strengths and weaknesses
  • – trends: what circumstances related to your project are attracted to attention today, what people expect from the near future, what they are tuned to, what they are inclined to, etc.,
  • – problems that you encounter or see that you will encounter during the implementation of the project (with possible ways to solve them),


Do not forget to indicate the sources from where the relevant information is taken.

Persons interested in the implementation of your project (or, conversely, in ensuring that it is not implemented) can be, for example:

  • – users and potential users (target audience),,
  • competitors (in particular, those who are interested in using the resources you need in their own way),
  • – partners and potential partners,


In relation to each of them, it is necessary: a) to identify / characterize their interests, b) to assess the degree of their importance for the project, c) to form a set of actions scheme of work) in relation to them:


The wording of the task is formed according to the following scheme.

  1. We remember well how the goal is formulated, i.e. we clearly understand / see what we want to get as a result of the project.
  2. We understand the situation in which the project will be implemented (this is the result of the analysis of the situation).
  3. We answer the question of what needs to be done in order to achieve the goal in this situation.


These answers will be the tasks of the project.



A task is a second-level target installation. The goal of the project is one, the tasks that need to be solved in order to achieve the goal are several. But not too much: it is normal when 3-5 tasks are formulated. Tasks are tasks that will need to be completed to implement the project. If there are more than 3-5 of them, look more closely: for sure, something from this list will not be tasks / tasks, but actions / activities that need to be implemented to solve one of the tasks.



It is wrong to write out as tasks the work that needs to be done by default: to analyze the situation, to develop a scheme of information support for the project, etc.


Action plan and project implementation plan




This section prescribes all the actions / activities that need to be carried out to solve problems.


First of all, it is necessary to answer the question about the organizational and legal form that will ensure the implementation of the project. Will you do this personally or your project team, or will you create and register an organization of one type or another: an individual entrepreneur, a non-profit organization, a limited liability company, etc.?


An action plan is an aggregated view of what will need to be done to implement the project (by type: stage 1, stage 2, etc. or direction 1, direction 2, etc.)


The implementation plan is the most detailed list of activities that need to be carried out for the implementation of the project. Each of the activities should be compared with the entities responsible for its implementation - those responsible for the implementation of this activity in the prescribed period (while those responsible for the result and the executors are not necessarily the same persons).


It is also necessary to consider the resources necessary for the implementation of each of the activities and the points and indicators of control in which and by which it will be concluded that the activity has been completed / not completed successfully.


ACTION PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT



The project implementation period is the period for achieving its actual results. The project completion point is the point of achieving the sustainability of the result obtained (do not forget to understand when the costs incurred pay off, when there is a profit, if the project is commercial). This point can be reached in a couple of months or in 3-5-10 years.

Project Resources


This section presents and evaluates the material and intangible resources necessary for the implementation of the project: equipment, people, time that they will have to allocate for the implementation of the project, etc. Regarding each of the types of resources, an understanding of how, from where, as a result of what actions they will be attracted to the project should be formed.


One of the key formats for characterizing resources is the budget/financial plan of the project. To compile it, it is necessary to assess the amount of financial costs necessary for the implementation of all project activities. The sum of these costs will be the costs of the project. On the other hand, it is necessary to assess the possible financial revenues from the implementation of the project - the income from the project.


Do not forget that expenses and incomes should be correlated with the period of implementation of the project (for example, if you plan to pay a salary, then you need to clearly understand how long you will do it, if you plan to proceed from the sale of something, then you need to form ideas about the volume of sales at different stages of the project, etc.).


If the amount of income exceeds the amount of expenses, the project brings income, if they are equal, the project is break-even: it brings neither income nor losses. If the amount of income is less than the amount of expenses, it is necessary to answer the question of where the missing funds will come from.

PROJECT BALANCE


Budget figures should be justified by analyzing the value of the proposals that exist on the market (e.g. certain goods or services) or by referring to comparable solutions.


Do not forget to decipher the figures given: for example, salary per month - A rubles, tax accruals on wages are B rubles, paid within N months, the total amount = (A + B) * N.


Taxation depends on the organizational and legal form chosen for the implementation of the project. In this regard, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the tax regime associated with the chosen organizational and legal form and take into account the requirements imposed by this regime (insurance premiums, income tax, etc.) in the project budget.



Do not forget to indicate the sources from where the relevant information is taken.


Expected results and effects of the project implementation


It characterizes the possible results of the project and their impact on the surrounding circumstances (secondary effects.



The results are what comes from the implementation of the project (for example, the opening of a youth leisure center or – the removal of the curb, which people regularly stumbled over), the effects are how the impact of these results manifests itself (for example, the open center began to attract young people from other parts of the city, which led to an increase in tension and the number of clashes between "local" and "newcomers" or – people began to stumble less, which led to a decrease in the number of ideas that came to their minds from the surprise).



The results are usually very specific: for example, an art center, with such and such a number of jobs, with such and such attendance, such and such a saturation of art events; or reducing pizza delivery time from so-and-so to so; increasing the availability of social centers of early development from such and such a level or % to such-and-such; launch of a medical aid team – as many machines, an educational complex – as many programs, as many graduates, etc. etc.



Effects – usually what the implementation and results of the project have an impact on – what indirect things are attached – it is not by chance that they talk about multiplicative effects (economic and social): for example, a decrease in crime in the area, an increase in the investment attractiveness of the territory, etc. What can be calculated – consider, what is not – list.

Risk analysis


Here is the result of consideration of critical points of the project, in which, in the event of certain unfavorable circumstances, the project may not be implemented, in accordance with the plan. Possible events of this kind - risks - are given, the probability of their occurrence is assessed, the actions that will need to be taken, in case of risks, are described in order to continue the successful implementation of the project.

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