Project Proposal Template
Get buy-in from stakeholders and organize your ideas before a project.
About the Project Proposal template
What is a project proposal?
A project proposal outlines what you want to accomplish, your goals, and how you plan to achieve them. Generally, a project proposal gives the reader some context on the project, explains why it is important, and lists the actions that you will take to complete it.
Project proposals have myriad uses. Often, businesses use project proposals to get external buy-in from a donor or outside stakeholder. But many companies draw up project proposals for internal buy-in too.
What should I include in a project proposal?
A project proposal needs to be holistic in order to be effective. Not only is it important to include what you will be doing, designing, or executing on, but it is also important to show why a project is important. This means including background information on a project, the implications of the project, and what has already been done. A proposal should answer what the project is, why it matters, how the project will get done, and who would be involved.
What is the purpose of a project proposal?
Project proposals are vital. They are the scaffolding of any professional endeavor. Before investing resources in a project, a project proposal can be effective in assessing the value of a potential project. This type of document is especially helpful in communicating ideas to clients and outside stakeholders that need to better understand the concept and scope of a project.
How to create a project proposal:
Step 1: Write an executive summary.
An executive summary is like an abstract before a paper. Use the executive summary to explain the project -- but also to get buy-in. Think of it as an elevator pitch. Tell your reader why you’re undertaking this project, what you’re doing to succeed, and what success will look like.
Step 2: Contextualize the project.
Give your reader a brief history. Tell them about similar projects you’ve undertaken. If you’ve never undertaken this kind of project before, tell them why now is the time to do so. Show the reader how you’ve learned from prior projects to optimize for success on this one.
Step 3: Outline your needs.
Remember, the goal of a project proposal is to get buy-in. Tell your reader what you need to be successful. That could include resources, money, materials, and personnel.
Step 4: Showcase the problem you’re solving.
Start by telling the reader exactly what problem you aim to solve. Explain why you think it’s important to solve that particular problem. Frame the problem as an opportunity. It’s not just a hurdle -- it’s a potential market. Then make a case for your business. To win over your reader, persuade them that your project is uniquely suited to solving this problem. Highlight any project management techniques, skillsets, and resources your company is bringing to the table. Don’t be modest!
Step 5: Create a budget and timeline.
Sketch out an estimate of how long this project should take. Include some milestones that, once achieved, will let you know that the project is on track. And let your reader know how much it will cost to undertake this project. Be sure to explain how and why you plan to spend that money.
Step 6: Define the decision-makers.
Clarify the internal stakeholders who will be managing the project. That way, the reader will know who to contact if they want to partner with your business or learn more. You can also clarify external stakeholders who must sign off on the project.
Step 7: Lay out a communication plan.
When you finish the project, how do you plan to tell the world? Tell your reader how your audience will be impacted by your project and how you plan to communicate that impact. If you have a marketing team, collaborate with them on this section. They should include any documentation, press releases, emails, ads, and social media campaigns they plan to run when the project is finished.
Step 8: Add any additional information.
Many people include an appendix that does a deep-dive into the information from the proposal. You can use the appendix for technical documentation or statistics that would bug down the proposal itself, but that might interest your reader.
Get started with this template right now.
Monthly Budget Template
Works best for:
Project management, Planning
Miro's Monthly Budget Template is more than a budgeting tool; it's a step towards more strategic and efficient financial planning. Start today, and take control of your financial future, achieving your projects and goals.
Multiple-Product Roadmap
Works best for:
Planning, Mapping
The Multiple Product Roadmap template empowers product managers to visualize and manage multiple product initiatives effectively. By providing a centralized view of project timelines, dependencies, and milestones, this template fosters alignment and transparency across teams. With sections for prioritizing initiatives, tracking progress, and communicating updates, it enables teams to coordinate efforts and drive collective success. This template serves as a strategic tool for planning and executing product roadmaps that align with organizational goals and drive business growth.
Lesson Plan Template
Works best for:
Education
Use the Lesson Plan to inform everyone about assignments, get clarity when planning lessons, and align your student’s expectations. Many educators use the Lesson Plan template to organize their teaching material and assess learning experiences and insights into students’ progress and interests. The Lesson Plan is an excellent tool for giving students an overview of the learning plan and connecting deeper with the topics and the study sessions.
How Now Wow Matrix Template
Works best for:
Ideation, Product Management, Prioritization
There are no bad ideas in a brainstorm — but some are more original and easier to implement. The How Now Wow matrix is a tool that helps you identify and organize those great ideas, as well as reinvigorates your team to think creatively and take risks (a taller order as you scale). Grab this template to create your own matrix, then rank the ideas you generated in a brainstorm as “How” (difficult to implement), “Now” (easy to implement), or “Wow” (both original and easy to implement).
Status Report Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Documentation, Strategic Planning
A status report provides a snapshot of how something is going at a given time. You can provide a status report for a project, a team, or a situation, as long as it emphasizes and maps out a project’s chain of events. If you’re a project manager, you can use this report to keep historical records of project timelines. Ideally, any project stakeholder should be able to look at a status report and answer the question, “Where are we, and how did we get here?” Use this template as a starting point to summarize how something is progressing against a projected plan or outcome.
Product Voice Design toolkit
Works best for:
Product Management, Planning
The Product Voice Design toolkit facilitates the development of consistent and impactful product messaging. By defining brand voice attributes, tone guidelines, and messaging principles, this toolkit ensures that product communication resonates with target audiences. With sections for crafting messaging frameworks, storytelling templates, and content guidelines, it empowers product teams to create compelling and cohesive product narratives. This toolkit serves as a valuable resource for enhancing product communication strategies and building strong brand identities.