Developing Plans and Proposals for New Initiatives

Developing Plans and Proposals for New Initiatives

Governments and donor organizations are eager to support program initiatives that create new family planning services, or expand existing services to reach underserved populations. Funders are interested in a wide variety of new initiatives, such as adolescent services, mobile clinics in rural areas, in-school information, education, and communication (IEC) programs, and many others. Family planning managers who develop well-thought-out and detailed project plans will have a powerful tool for implementing their programs, and for finding funding for their new program initiatives.

A good plan describes how an organization intends to improve or expand its services, and helps an organization clarify its goals and objectives and implement strategies to meet those objectives. It also helps potential funders to understand the funding needs of the organization and to see the potential value of their support.

This issue of The Family Planning Manager provides a framework for developing a plan for a new program initiative. It then suggests how to turn this plan into a proposal for funding. In addition to providing basic guidelines on writing each section of a plan, this issue gives advice on how to create proposals that will improve an organization’s chances of securing funding for their new program activities.