Planning your project

You are now ready to describe your project. Quite simply, this is the activity or event you propose to undertake. Most projects which attract support from public funders have elements of production, process and progression.

Production

This is the public presentation of the work of your project. Describe the form it will take (exhibition, seminar or performance etc.); when and where it is scheduled to take place; how many people you hope to attract as audience and participants, performers, speakers, etc.; everything that will happen during the event.

Process

How will you get to the production stage? How will you involve your community in ‘workshops’ to generate material, ideas for your production? If you have defined yourself as a community group you will be expected to involve the community. You can do this by throwing the project open to the community at large or working with a target group in a particular school, college, youth club etc. You may organise community events around the issues you are exploring. A project which aims to debate attitudes to crime and young people could, for example, employ an arts worker to engage with young people at a local youth club. The young people could produce a short play or film or photographic exhibition. A project debating issues round transport could employ a writer and/or photographer to explore people’s attitudes to public transport, or their relationship to the family car. Be imaginative. Make sure your overall direction is tight and if you’re employing arts or youth workers, get the right people who can deliver what you want.

Progression

This is simply a recognition that your project is part of a bigger ongoing programme; that you expect, having "raised awareness" or "fostered public concern", to continue developing more projects or will capitalise on the outcomes in some way.

Outcomes and Targets

Most public funding bodies expect you to identify potential outcomes and targets. Outcomes tend to be broader than targets and are generally related to the Aims you have defined for your group. "Raising public awareness of", "providing a platform for…" etc. Targets are quantitative. They can be measured, for example:

Target	How will you measure the targets?
To deliver a public performance
To promote the performance at local level	Press and media coverage at local level; ticket sales; attendance at workshops
To attract an audience of 100	Ticket sales
To engage six speakers for the seminar
To employ an arts worker to design and deliver 8 workshops
To involve eight young people in the design and delivery of a dance-drama performance	Keeping records of attendance at workshops

The greater the number of targets and the more imaginative your methods of measuring these targets, the better.

Budgets

Most funding bodies will issue application forms, which include a section on budgets. You simply work out both the expenditure and income for your project.

Expenditure includes:

• Professional fees (arts and youth workers, for example, or people delivering training);
• Hiring space for meetings and workshops;
• Production costs (hiring venues, expenses for speakers, transport costs, materials and hire of equipment);
• Marketing costs: posters, leaflets, advertising in the press, photography, press launch;
  Administration costs: stationery, postage and telephone calls, hiring office space and equipment, photocopying etc.;
• Childcare costs for management, participants and audience;
• Travel and transport costs.

Income includes:

• Income from sponsors and funding bodies (designate these as "applied for" or "confirmed");
• Membership fees or subscriptions;
• Ticket sales (projected);
• Fundraising activities.

Income and expenditure should be equal. Obviously, most of your income will be "projected income" and it may be necessary to show how you will deal with any shortfall. Membership fees, ticket sales and fundraising activities not only demonstrate "sustainability" but local support for the project. Don’t appear to be too heavily dependent on funding. Show initiative and commitment to raising funds in other ways.

Demonstrate an understanding of monitoring and evaluation of projects - measuring outcomes through attendance, ticket sales, media coverage, questionnaires, critical feedback etc.