How to write a Problem
Statement/Project Rationale in a Proposal
The
Problem Statement/Project Rationale gives an explanation about the issue that
is beingaddressed by the project. It also argues in favour of implementing the
project in the proposedarea in the existing conditions. It is very critical
that we give evidence to what we are writing inthis section of the proposal.
Evidence can be in form of other research, existing literature or datacollected
by the organization itself.
The following are some important points that need
to beremembered while developing the Problem Statement/Project Rationale:
- Problem Statement/Project Rationale is a brief analysis or summary of the
problems identified relating to the project or issue to be addressed by the
project.
- It has to be precise and point-to-point basis.
- Use of quotes, live
examples, references, research data and press articles would be very helpful.-
It has to be very specific to donor issues and priorities.
- Giving references
to other NGOs, Governmental work in the area working against the
same problem would be useful.
Some
common information we use in this section includes:
- Country,
region, area details (location in region, government, population etc);
- Poverty
information, including information on the state of the economy
- Employment/unemployment;
- Gender
issues;
- HIV/
AIDS situation;
- Health
and education;
Explaining the Problem Statement in the Proposal
Sometimes,
we may find difficulties in writing the exact problem we intend to address in
the proposed project. It happens this way that the problem we are
mentioning in the proposal is not a problem at all, but is actually an
effect of another problem. Suppose there is high child mortalityrate in our
project area and we wish to put up a proposal on it, we cannot mention this as
a problem because this is an effect of a problem, while the problem is
something else. For example, in this case, it could be the prevalence of
diarrhoea that is leading to high child mortality. So the problem here is “the
prevalence of diarrhoea.
It
is also necessary to mention the cause of the problem because it is an integral
part of the project implementation. In this scenario, the cause of the
problem for the prevalence of diarrhoeacould be the poor knowledge of the
community on hygiene and sanitation.
Effect -> Problem -> Cause
The
relationship between the three has to be outlined in the Problem Statement of
the proposal. If we have an issue, it will be a good exercise to go a step
back and forth to find out its cause and effect relationship. The best way to
understand the cause of an issue is to as “Why” continuously.
This
will help reveal the cause of the problem. A problem can have many causes and
effects.
“The
Why of Why”
- Projects
evolve out of identified problems
- It
is the problem that comes before a project
- The
secret of solving a problem is proper identification of the problem. This
requires a thorough investigation.
- A
problem does not happen in isolation. It goes hand in hand with cause and
effect.
- There
is a relationship between cause and effect. They are linked by the problem.
A
way to analyze a problem is through analyzing the root causes and its effects.
- State the problem as effectively and precisely as possible
- Refer to any
research data that is available, including publications, reports, newspapers
etc.
- Give a narration of community perception with quotes.
- Check back how
well it matches with the donor guidelines or issues.
- Give a thorough
background information about the region, community and resources available.
- Explain the organizational strength and capacity in countering this problem and
achieving long-term results.
What is a Project Goal?
A
project goal is a very general, high-level and long-term objective of the
project. It is different from project objectives because the latter are very
specific and have to be addressed alone by the project. But the goal
cannot be achieved by the project on its own since there will be other forces like
the Government, other agencies etc also working to achieve it. It is a major
benchmark to compare work between different projects. Usually there is one project
goal only and it can be reflected in the title of the project. It should
ideally support the overall policy of the government or the donor agency.
Example:
“Providing
housing facilities to earthquake affected victims”
This
cannot be a project goal, but can be a general objective
“Reducing
the impact of natural disaster over communities belonging to the hilly region”
This
can be a project goal, as you are contributing to the problem in addition to
other efforts
