Dear Students,
Welcome to Concept Note, an advanced course on project proposal writing!
A Concept Note is a concise summary of a project, a short version of a full project proposal that is submitted to a donor who is likely to fund your project. Based on the quality of your Concept Note, the donor will assess the project’s viability and goals in relation to their own funding priorities. A Concept Note is usually written after the planning and design process of the project, and is usually submitted to a donor as the first step in the grant application process.
Given this background, your main task in this course will be to draw up your own project (real or imaginary) andwrite a full Concept Note paper.
The process of writing a Concept Note paper not only helps you answer important questions about your project and thereby bring it to perfection, but also teaches you how to write for specific audiences (different types of donors). Thanks to this, the course will help you acquire the essentials of the writing process.
The course is based on a discussion of your texts, parts of your Concept Note, which you’ll be asked to submit at the end of every Lesson, and on the individualised feedback provided by your course supervisor. This is perhaps the most important part of the course. As you can see, the course is divided into 12 Lessons of support material detailing the content of each Concept Note sections and explaining important vocabulary and phrases (the "Key to In-class Materials" excercises is available in the "Appendixes" section).
Individual lesson are supported by additional short test-exercises which focus on expanding related vocabulary, appropriate writing style, and checking comprehension.
Before the course begins, please check all the important documents, namely: “Introductory Notes”, "Definitions of Icons", and course syllabus. In addition to this, the Appendix section contains important materials which should help you on your journey towards a perfect Concept Note:
Appendix No. 1: “General Tips and Common Mistakes” provides you with advice on the writing process, language and formal style of writing. Please, pay close attention to it!
Appendix No. 2: “Sample (Student) Case Studies” offers a number of examples of final Concept Note papers with useful comments and tips.
Appendix No. 3: “The Right Way to Present Your Business Case” is an article by one of the authors of the course, Carolyne Peer, which reveals some of the secrets of presenting your business cases.
Finally, Appendix No. 4: “Building a Sustainable Future for the Hesquiaht Peoples” offers a complex picture of a full Concept Note paper which was used as an example throughout the course materials.
As always, feel free to contact your course supervisors with any questions and/or comments.
We are looking forward to working together on developing your projects and ideas.
Your Concept Note Instructors
- Učitel: Štefl Martin