Many projects that go wrong were in trouble from the first week, because nobody wrote down what success meant, who the project was for, or how anyone would know it had worked. Starting well is cheap. Fixing a badly started project later is expensive and tiring.
Why this matters for your job
In NGO work, the start of a project often involves a concept note, an inception meeting with partners, and a results framework agreed with the donor. In a business, it might be a short proposal to the owner. Assistants are often asked to take notes at these meetings, gather information about communities, and draft parts of the documents. If you understand what the start of a project is trying to achieve, your notes and drafts will be far more useful.
What this section covers
- Goals, scope and a project charter. Writing down, on one page, why the project exists, what it will and will not deliver, the budget, the dates and who is in charge.
- Stakeholders and community engagement. Finding everyone who affects or is affected by the project, and planning how to involve each of them respectfully.
- Logical frameworks. The table many donor funded projects use to link activities to results, with indicators that show whether change happened.
Three questions every start must answer
Before any money is spent, a good team can answer these clearly: