University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

LINCLearning in Community

Project Proposal
Objectives The primary way that you serve your Community Partner in LINC is by doing a project. The objective is to create a
project that results in meaningful learning for you and your team, while delivering important results for your partner and the
community. After investigating the strengths and needs of your partner and developing an understanding of the issues, create a
Project Proposal that addresses those needs in a way that will positively impact the community. The Project Proposal should
elaborate on your Pre-Proposal and present a strong case for how and why your project will produce your desired results.
The objectives of the assignment are for you to 1) demonstrate a depth of understanding of the partner and needs or
opportunity in order to articulate a problem statement for the project, 2) identify the scope of the project and specific project
objectives which align logically to intended outcomes , 3) practice skills in persuasion to pursue specific project(s)
over others based on needs and evidence, 4) plan appropriate activities and specific tasks needed to produce outputs or
deliverables which effectively meet the needs, 5) analyze relevant issues concerning safety, ethics, maintenance, and
sustainability of the project, and 6) practice skills in professional writing.
Assignment Submit a Project Proposal, the purpose of which is to come to a refined agreement about what the semester
project will entail, including a more specific action plan and consideration of issues related to safety, ethics, maintenance, and
sustainability of the project. The Proposal is an important step in the project and will be subjected to a Project Review with
another LINC section in order to receive feedback on the progress and direction of the project after addressing feedback from
the Pre-Proposal Presentation. The Project Proposal is a living document that expands on the Pre-Proposal and ultimately
must address revisions as needed after the Project Review to later develop the Project Charter and Scope Statement.
The Project Proposal should be no longer than 15 pages (single-spaced, not including references/appendices) and be wellwritten in a thoughtful, cohesive, and organized manner with logical flow of ideas and examples. Use conventional tools as
needed to organize the document and provide credible evidence (e.g., headings, tables, references). The Project Proposal
should be a professionally-written and unified document that stands on its own when read by a layperson not affiliated with the
partner organization. That is, although your partner may already know some of the content that is included in your Project
Proposal, it should be written formally as a complete document to an outside reviewer. Include the following components:
1. Executive summarya one-page synopsis of key elements of the proposal, placed at the beginning;
2. Introduction to the partner and issuesa brief introduction of the community partner which demonstrates an
understanding of the partners mission/work, the social/environmental issues that are critical to the partner, and an
opportunities assessment (select a synopsis from the Partner Profile and Issues Analysis assignment, which focuses
on the most relevant information to logically lead up to the project justification);
3. Problem statement and project justificationthe problem or opportunity to be addressed and why it is important;
specific goals, what you aim to accomplish, and why it is important and worthy of approval; list and describe the
alternatives you considered and the evidence-based choices and decisions you made;
4. Project scope, objectives, and proposed work (activities)the range and constraints of what you will and will not do;
well-defined project objectives; processes, methods, and action of planned work [or alternatives, if relevant];
5. Work breakdown structurea decomposition of the project into smaller parts with the specific tasks that will need to be
accomplished, including research tasks that will be conducted to determine future project tasks;
6. Outputs/deliverables and intended outcomes/community impactdirect results of project activities and intended
outcomes (e.g., specific changes in attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, skills, status, or level of functioning expected to
result from project activities and/or organizational, community, environmental, or system level changes expected to
result from project activities); evaluation plan for outputs/outcomes;
7. Analysis of safety, environmental, and ethical issuesmost relevant safety, environmental, and ethical considerations
and approach to managing risks associated with the project; maintenance, succession, and sustainability
considerations, and wider implications for the partner or community.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

LINCLearning in Community

The Project Proposal is due on Mon 10/06 by 8:00 a.m. and is worth up to 50 points. Consult the grading rubric below for more
description on the components. Keep in mind that you have earned points for many of the components already in the PreProposal and Partner Profile and Issues Analysis assignments. You should revise/expand on the previous components as
needed and include a few new components to develop the Project Proposal.

Grading Rubric:
Objective/Criteria

Performance Indicators

Executive Summary

Thorough, focused, and succinct summary of all of the major components of the proposal.

Introduction to the
Partner and Issues

Brief introduction of the community partner which demonstrates an understanding of the partners
mission/work, the social/environmental issues that are critical to the partner, and an opportunities
assessment (select a synopsis from the Partner Profile and Issues Analysis assignment, which
focuses on the most relevant information to lead to the project justification);

Problem Statement
and Project
Justification

Well-documented description of the problem or opportunity to be addressed and why it is important.

Demonstrate a thorough (but succinct) understanding of the issues that the project is attempting to
explore or resolve and the theory of change or rationale for the project. You should establish
significance, timeliness, and contribution to existing knowledge or work in progress in the related
field/sector. The problem statement should also address who will benefit from the project and/or the
importance of these issues to the community or larger society. Include project goal(s) and evidencebased justification for the project (specific goals, what you aim to accomplish, and why it is important
and worthy of approval).
[Note: Project goals provide overall conceptual framework for the ultimate purpose of the project.
Compared to project objectives, they are more abstract in content, broader in scope, more difficult to
measure directly, and focused on long-term outcomes.]

Project Scope,
Objectives and
Proposed Work
(Activities)

Description of the project scope (the range and constraints of what you will and will not do), including
description of alternatives that were considered and evidence-based reasons for eliminating those
alternatives. Well-defined, measureable, specific objectives, which articulate what you aim to
accomplish, and why it is important and worthy of approval (remember that objectives should be
based in logic, evidence, and the criteria of meeting genuine community needs, adding significant
value to the partner, and providing meaningful, substantive learning opportunities for students).
[Note: Project objectives are specific and concrete. They are easier to measure than overall project
goals and more likely to address short-term or intermediate accomplishments toward a goal.]
Description of the proposed work (activities) you will do in the projectthe processes, techniques,
methods, and actions of the planned project that will meet the needs and objectives. These may
include developing products (e.g., promotional materials, prototypes, instructional resources);
services (e.g., training, technical consulting, or health screening); and infrastructure (e.g., structure,
relationships, and capacity used to bring about the desired results).

Work breakdown
Structure

Decomposition of the project into smaller parts with the specific tasks that will need to be
accomplished, including research tasks that will be conducted to determine future project tasks;

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Outputs (Deliverables)
and Intended
Outcomes/Community
Impact

LINCLearning in Community

Description of the direct results of project activities (i.e., outputs or deliverables). Outputs are usually
described in terms of the size and/or scope of the services and products delivered or produced by
the project. For example, project deliverables might be the number of community workshops taught
or materials produced and distributed (e.g., research briefs, video modules, design drawings,
prototypes); project participation rates and demography; or hours of each type of service provided.
Overview of intended outcomes (i.e., specific changes in attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, skills,
status, or level of functioning expected to result from project activities and which are most often
expressed at an individual level). Short-term outcomes might include immediate results of outputs,
such as increased knowledge, convenience, or motivation. Intermediate outcomes include results of
increased skill or knowledge, such as changes in behavior or specific actions taken. Long-term
outcomes or impact might include organizational, community, environmental, and/or system level
changes expected to result from project activities, which might include improved conditions,
increased capacity, and/or changes in the policy arena. [Note: this impact is beyond the scope of the
semesters project per se, but is important to identify for framing and orienting the purpose of the
project.]
Description of an evaluation plan for outputs/outcomes (i.e., how will you determine criteria for
success?).

Analysis of safety,
environmental, and
ethical issues

Careful consideration and articulation of most relevant safety, environmental, and ethical
considerations and approach to managing risks associated with the project; maintenance,
succession, and sustainability considerations, and wider implications for the partner or community
(e.g., technical or sustainability issues, liability, academic integrity, plagiarism, faulty research,
environmental impact, client confidentiality, opportunity costs, underperformance, cultural
competency, etc.)

Writing Quality
Organization, Clarity,
Style, Cohesiveness,
References,
Appendices

Well-written in a thoughtful, cohesive, and organized manner with logical flow of ideas and examples;
main ideas stand out from supporting details; Consistently clear and precise use of language; Few, if
any, errors in syntax, grammar, or spelling, but they do not impede meaning. Effective use of tools
(e.g., headings, tables, references, appendices) to organize the document and improve clarity and
credibility of the project justification and proposed plan. Properly used and documented sources
and/or works cited.

Grading Scale (Out of 50 points)

48-50

46-47

45

43-44

41-42

40

38-39

36-37

35

33-34

31-32

30

0-29

A+

A-

B+

B-

C+

C-

D+

D-