Project Proposal Template
Get buy-in from stakeholders and organize your ideas before a project.
Trusted by 65M+ users and leading companies
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.
Stakeholder Analysis Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Strategic Planning, Project Planning
Managing stakeholders is integral to completing a project on time and meeting expectations, so here’s how to use a stakeholder analysis to help. A stakeholder analysis empowers you to meet expectations and complete projects on time by identifying individuals, groups, and organizations with a vested interest in a program or process. In a typical stakeholder analysis, you’ll prioritize stakeholders based on their influence on a project and seek to understand how best to interface with them throughout the course of the project.
Event Planning Template
Works best for:
Planning, Workshops
Whether you’re planning a product launch, fully remote conference, or milestone event, the Event Planning Template will act as a visual checklist and map for all the details you need to consider before the big day. The Event Planning Template is an adaptable way to make sure the creative and strategic vision of your event doesn’t get lost in the details. By mapping out different sections - from the marketing plan, to the agenda, to snacks and swag for guests — you and your team can focus on the details most important to your functions, and collaborate as needed when overlaps occur.
DevOps Roadmap Template
Works best for:
Documentation, Product Management, Software Development
DevOps teams are constantly creating code, iterating, and pushing it live. Against this backdrop of continuous development, it can be hard to stay abreast of your projects. Use this DevOps Roadmap template to get a granular view of the product development process and how it fits into your organization's product strategy. The DevOps Roadmap lays out the development and operations initiatives you have planned in the short term, including milestones and dependencies. This easy-to-use format is easily digestible for audiences such as product, development, and IT ops.
Sailboat Template
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Meetings, Retrospectives
The Sailboat Retrospective is a low-pressure way for teams to reflect on how they handled a project. By defining your risks (the rocks), delaying issues (anchors), helping teams (wind), and the goal (land), you’ll be able to work out what you’re doing well and what you need to improve on for the next sprint. Approaching team dynamics with a sailboat metaphor helps everyone describe where they want to go together by figuring out what slows them down and what helps them reach their future goals.
Design Brief Template
Works best for:
Design, Marketing, UX Design
For a design to be successful, let alone to be great, design agencies and teams have to know the project’s goals, timelines, budget, and scope. In other words, design takes a strategic process—and that starts with a design brief. This helpful template will empower you to create a brief that builds alignment and clear communication between your business and your design agency. It’s the foundation of any creative project, and a single source of truth that teams can refer to all along the way.
Strategic Technology Roadmap Worksheets
Works best for:
Roadmap, Planning, Mapping
We all know that technology commercialization success starts with the end in mind, a product with market viability.