We do not get tired of writing that in the project application all sections should be clearly connected. We will continue to call you to this and in the description of the section to which this article is devoted.
Project activities are a set of concrete actions and steps that will solve the problem and achieve the goal set by the project. The logical sequence of each project can be characterized by the simplest formula:
Problem - project activity = project goal
In fact, this formula can be illustrated as follows. By taking certain actions to implement the project, you will be able to solve the problems you have set in the project and remove them from the public field, which will lead to the achievement of the project goal.
In fact, it is the project activity that is your project. We have repeatedly stressed how important other sections are. But the final evaluation of your project proposal depends on the methods you have proposed to solve the problem.
Conventionally, this section can be divided into the following stages:
1) preparatory stage;
2) the stage of project implementation;
3) the final stage.
Preparatory stage
Includes preliminary work that must be carried out to begin the implementation of the active phase of the project. At the end of the preparatory stage, you must be fully prepared for the implementation of the key phases of the project.
Here are the following examples of the project's activities at the preparatory stage:
1
Selection of suppliers of goods and services, reaching agreements and preparation of civil law agreements
Already at the stage of drawing up a project proposal, we advise you to familiarize yourself with the prices of goods and services and pre-select suppliers who will be able to carry out the activities envisaged by the project in the proper quality, quantity and period.
However, even if you have previously selected such suppliers, they may, for example, change the prices of goods and services after you receive donor funding, may not be ready to support you in the implementation of the project within the specified timefrave. Therefore, we advise you at the preparatory stage to leave for yourself additional time for the selection of such suppliers. Moreover, the financing conditions specified by the donor or the terms of the legislation (in case of receiving a grant by a local self-government body) may provide for tenders or procurements.
Also, you can generally provide for the search for service providers as a separate stage of project activities. This situation often arises if your project provides for the search for a coach or expert on a particular topic. In this case, when describing the activities of the project, you need to outline by what criteria and in what form the selection will be carried out (by competition by analyzing resumes sent by experts and coaches, according to recommendations or otherwise)
2
Obtaining the necessary permissions to perform certain actions
For example, if a public organization submits a project proposal for certain mass events, it takes some time to obtain permits and organize the logistics of such events.
3
Preparing and approving an event program
This position is especially relevant if the project provides for the implementation of educational or other mass events. No one requires you to program a specific forum or training at the stage of the project application. However, you will definitely need time to conceptualize this program, perhaps for approval by a donor if it is provided for by a grant agreement. Similarly, you may need to produce certain handouts for your own events. Their design and printing is also an additional stage of the project's activity.
4
Dissemination of information about the project, invitations to target groups
Here we are talking about the initial stage of the promotional campaign of your project among its beneficiaries. Already at this stage, you should contact them through available channels and invite them to participate in your project. The media plan of the project is also closely connected with this activity.
We will turn to the possibilities of promoting the project further in this material
Project implementation phase
This stage should include direct activities of the project aimed at achieving its results. At the implementation stage, specific events that characterize your project should take place - educational events, expert activities, and other events.
It is desirable that already at the stage of description these events include their name, duration, number of participants and format.
We advise you to provide the most thorough illustration of your activities, especially in the part that provides for the purchase of certain materials for such events. For example, if you are designing and printing a manual, be sure to specify at what point in your activity this manual will be used. If you buy garbage dumps for your village or village , specify who and when will install them.
Final stage
You can call it a fiscal, summary, but its essence will not change from this. At this stage, you summarize your project, summarize its results.
First of all, it is at this stage that time and attention should be paid to reporting to the donor. Reporting to the donor is your potential to show the work of the project to the best extent and establish yourself on the positive side for future cooperation with it. Working with the donor's reporting is a separate direction in the field of project implementation. It is necessary to study in advance the reporting conditions and carefully collect information (especially accounting documents) so that at the final stage it is possible to simply summarize this information.
No less important component of project activities at this stage is monitoring and evaluation of project results. In your reporting, you must prove that your project has achieved its goal and had the necessary impact on society. So think beforehand about how you can do it. The example that most clearly demonstrates the form of monitoring and evaluation is the survey of project beneficiaries. For example, you can compare their knowledge before and after studying by conducting an incoming and outgoing survey. Similarly, if the project provides for infrastructure changes, you can use the observation method to estimate the number of beneficiaries who, after the implementation of the project, use such infrastructure improvements.
About important points
We also want to draw your attention to several important points related to the section that describes the activities of the project.
Moment one.
The section "Project Activities" should be clearly comparable to the project budget. Ideally, after compiling this section, you can already make a budget with costs for each stage of the project, and then simply adapt it to the required form of budget. Then it will be quite clear to the potential donor what goods and services and what you intend to buy.
For example, one of the stages of your project is a fair of public organizations in your city. Then the activity and budget can be roughly compared as follows:
Project activities
Fair of public organizations:
1) presentation of public initiatives of the city (villages, settlements) ... in tents installed on the square (squares, streets) ...
2) organization of open lectures for public activists;
3) festive concert
Administrative expenses:
1. Curator of the fair
2. Cleaning the territory
3. Bank expenses
4. Tent rental
5. Tent installation service
6. Equipping the location for open lectures: flip chart, microphone, rent of chairs for lecture participants
7. Rent of stage and sound equipment
8. Services of musicians
9. Rental of generators (in the absence of the possibility of connecting to a static power grid)
Moment two.
Also, the project activity section should be compared with the human resources of your team. Some project applications in this section even have a separate column "Responsible person". But even if there is no such section, you should understand what kind of people you can count on when implementing the project. These can be team managers, hired responsible persons or volunteers.
Pay special attention to this section when determining administrative expenses in the project budget. When you propose to take into the project certain persons who will receive remuneration at the expense of the project , make sure that this position is comparable to the activities within the project. Simply put, in the "Project activities" section, you have to prove that the person represented from the project team will have their responsibilities within the project. For example, if you enter a paid cost item for a volunteer coordinator into a team, show in the project activities section how these volunteers will be involved in the project.
Moment three.
Another important point that you should pay attention to when drawing up a project is the means of promoting the project. Be convinced that no donor has the desire to finance the project if only a narrow circle of people involved in the project are aware of the project. Project promotion is also an additional element of the sustainability of the project. If as many people as possible know about your project, they will be able to:
1) use its results;
2) repeat the positive experience of your project in its territories.
The means of promoting the project are information resources (including media) through which you will inform the public about your project. These information resources may be different. You can use them all, or part of them. In any case, the main thing is to convince the donor that it is with the help of these resources that you can attract the target audience of the project.
Among the most common means of promoting the project are the following:
1) The Internet, including social networks;
2) mass media (local and national);
3) outdoor advertising;
4) open meetings and promotional measures to promote the project.
Analyze which online publications, groups and public pages on social networks cover the largest number of people from among the target audience of your project. It will be nice if you can even give statistics on these resources. For example, you plan to publish an ad for your project in your local newspaper. Specify how many subscribers this local newspaper has and how it is distributed (paid or free of charge, in which public places you can buy).
When taking into account all these tips, first of all, you will show the donor that you have an understanding of how to implement the project you proposed. This will indicate your inner capacity and convince the donor that you will purposefully spend the funds that he intends to provide you. Moreover, such detailed elaboration of the project already at the stage of its formation into a project proposal will allow you to form a picture of the project for yourself, and therefore you will be able to analyze whether you have thought through everything in advance.
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