Planning your Project
Our basic guide to planning your project in steps 1-10.
Go straight to the information you need by clicking on the subject below.
Step 1 - Identify the need you want to address.
Step 2 - Identify the difference (outcomes) you want to make for the children and young people.
Step 3 - Decide what your project will do
Step 4 - Ask difficult questions - is this the right project?
Step 6 - Involve children and young people
Step 7 - Plan what skills and resources you need
Step 9 - Write Your Project Budget
Step 10 - Don't forget about monitoring your project
Finally - Start Applying for Funding!
Remember: strong applications start with good planning.
This section represents a basic guide to what we expect in terms of project planning. We have written it because our experience is that good planning is one of the most effective factors in being able to make a strong and convincing application. However, our experience also tells us that a common weakness in applications is caused by people writing their applications before fully planning their project, so we included this overview in order to outline what thinking we expect to have happened before an application is made.
We recognise that these pages will not be relevant to everyone as many of you will have done this work already or already use your own planning tools If this applies to you, skip on to the next section (the Question by Question Guide to the application form).
Others of you might want to explore these issues more fully and we have included some links to organisations that can help you do this at the end of the section.
Tips
You don't have to do it all yourself. It is a very good idea to involve more than one person in planning your project. Different members of your committee or board and members of staff will have different skills and experience that they can bring to the process.
It is also important that before you start, you make sure that everyone involved in your project is in agreement about what you are trying to achieve and how you are going to do it.
Step 1 - Identify the need you want to address
Who are the young people you will be working with and in what ways are they disadvantaged? How does this disadvantage affect their lives? A good understanding of the young people and their needs will help you decide what differences you want to achieve for them.
Tip
We know that new projects cannot always be precise as they may not yet know the individual children who will attend. What we are looking for from new projects is a good understanding of the children and young people the project is aimed at and how they are going to get these children there.
You may know what the need is from experience if you are an existing organisation already working in the area. You can also research the need you want to address by doing things like:
- Having consultations with children and young people, the local community, partner organisations etc
- Running a pilot project
- Using research from your own or other organisations etc.
We have provided some guidance to help tell us about the disadvantage you have identified - see our Question by Question Guide to the application form.
Step 2 - Identify the differences (outcomes) you want to make for the children and young people
What do you want the 'after picture' to look like for the children and young people who have attended your project. How will their lives have improved? Making these differences will be the reason you are running your project. As we've said before - this is the aspect of your application that interests us most.
Note: many funders talk about "outcomes" - this is another way of saying the differences that will happen as a result of your work.
It is important to make a distinction between the differences (outcomes) that a project is aiming to make for children and young people and the activities and services it is providing.
For Example
- A project is set up for young people who are having difficulties at school, due to a range of factors
- The people who set up the project want to increase the young people's self esteem and show them that there are opportunities in training and further education which could be open to them
- To do this they set up a project to provide training for 12 volunteer mentors to work with the young people
The difference or outcome in this example is not the training for volunteer mentors, but the changes that will happen in the lives of the young people as a result of the mentoring i.e. increased self esteem etc.
Other examples of differences (outcomes) projects we have previously funded have achieved for children and young people are: improved self esteem/self confidence; improved school performance; improved sociability; better communication skills; more positive family relationships; ability to take responsibility etc.
Remember - these are just examples and not a comprehensive list - every project is different. It is important the differences you want to achieve are right for the children and young people you are going to be working with.
Step 3 - Decide what your project will do
Once you are clear what differences you are trying to make, then you will be able to plan what your project actually needs to do to achieve them.
- Think about the specific activities, services or facilities etc, that you can provide for the children and young people that will lead to the differences you identified in step 2. These could be things like: running a drop-in youth cafe or an outdoor activities course; providing a trained counsellor; building a new playground and so on. In the example above, the organisation decided that in order to increase the young people's self esteem and expectations, they would set up a mentoring service
- You should be able to relate each activity or service back to the differences that you want to make (the service you are running is the 'tool' you will use to make the differences you want to achieve)
Step 4 - Ask difficult questions: is this the right project?
You need to be as sure as you can be that your project is the best way to address the need that you've identified and make the differences that you want to achieve.
If you don't already know what's on offer around your area, do the research so that you know that your project fills a gap that is not currently being addressed and complements existing services rather than duplicating them.
BBC Children in Need will not fund projects that should be paid for by statutory bodies. For example, if you are applying as a pre-school, your request will only be eligible if it clearly falls outside the free entitlement for three and four year olds. If you are applying as a school, it needs to be for work outside of statutory requirements, so applications for school buildings, playgrounds, equipments, or staff etc. would not be suitable.
You need to ensure that those children and young people who need the project the most are attending it. It might help you to think about the following questions:
- How will you advertise or promote your project to reach your target group: where can you best place information so that it gets to them? Will you use other organisations or agencies such as schools or health visitors to distribute information?
- Will you look for referrals from other voluntary organisations, such as schools, community groups or youth clubs?
- Are you planning to use a venue which your target group can easily get to?
- Are you planning to run the project at the best and most suitable time for the children and young people you want to reach?
- If you are charging fees, are they affordable?
- Have you done all that's possible to ensure that disabled children can access your project?
- How will you ensure that the children and young people who could benefit from your project have the opportunity to attend?
Step 6 - Involvement of children and young people
Have you consulted with the children and young people themselves?
It is a very good idea to get them involved in the planning - ask them what they need, what kind of services they want to see, when they would like them to run, which kinds of equipment would be most used and valued etc.
Wherever possible, you should also involve children in the running / management of projects. In this way you will be able to plan a project that children and young people want and will be likely to feel ownership of. This will increase its effectiveness.
Step 7 - Plan what skills and resources you need
You also need to be sure that your organisation has the necessary skills and resources to carry out the project.
Tip
Applicants have told us that one of the most common reasons that projects fail is poorly planned resources. Don't let that happen to your project.
Once you have planned the activities and services that you want to provide, you need to work out what resources you are going to need to be able to make them happen. These are things like:
- Staffing (voluntary or paid)
- Equipment
- Premises
- Support costs e.g. management and administration
Think about the staff you need to manage or supervise the project as well as deliver it. If you're a small organisation this may be the same person.
You may already be providing similar services, in which case you can use your experience to work out what you will need.
If this is a new service or activity, you might need to do some background research and draw on the experience of others about what resources you will need. You may have existing resources that you can use, or be able to source 'in kind' help from other organisations, your local authority etc.
Tip
Remember BBC Children in Need wants to fund your project to succeed and so is looking for a realistic budget that has been properly costed. We understand that something that is value for money is not always the same thing as the cheapest.
BBC Children in Need will fund support costs when they relate directly to the delivery of the project. Call our Helpdesk on 020 8576 7788 if you have any queries.
Consider how much time will be needed to prepare and run the activity or service that you are going to provide and think about the issues below.
- It is unusual to be able to launch straight into a project - there will usually need to be some preparation time first
- As well as running the project and working directly with children and young people, you will probably need to build in enough time for things like administration and evaluation, etc.
- How often an activity should run and how long each session might last depends on what you are trying to achieve. Some projects will only need to meet for an hour each fortnight, others might want to provide their service much more frequently/for longer periods of time. Some projects will run for weeks, others for months or years
- For capital projects, think realistically about the time that construction and building projects can take - you will probably need to get professional advice about this as delays are very common in these types of projects
Step 9 - Write Your Project Budget
One of the last stages of planning is to work out your budget. It is only once you have decided all the resources you require and for how long you need them, that you'll be able to write down an accurate budget. We've provided some tips below
- Be as accurate as you can with your costings
- If you're going to need equipment, research the costs and look around for the best deals
- For salary costs, remember to include related costs such as National Insurance. For more information about applying to BBC Children in Need for staffing costs, see the Applying for a salary or any staff costs section in our A-Z Guide and our Question by Question Guide to the application form.
- For capital projects such as buildings, refurbishments, playgrounds etc, get estimates and quotes from several different companies. See our A-Z Guide for more advice on applying for building or capital costs
Tip
Involve your treasurer or finance officer in the financial planning. They can also be present at the BBC Children in Need assessment call to help you answer budget and finance questions, if you think that would be helpful.
Step 10 - Don't forget about monitoring your project
Monitoring and evaluating is about measuring what you have achieved, and comparing this with what you hoped to achieve. You began this process when you decided on clear and realistic differences (outcomes) for your project and identified what activities or services you would provide to achieve them. Now you need to think about how you will understand whether you are succeeding in achieving these differences. Monitoring will help you do this
- Monitoring is about collecting information and keeping track of your project so that you know, for example, how many people are attending your youth club or if the confidence or self esteem of the children and young people has increased due to your project. It is essential for you to monitor your project as you go along and not leave it till near the end of your project. There are lots of ways for you to collect this information including questionnaires and feedback sessions, etc. For further information please see our Reporting section.
- Evaluation is about using the information you collect to make judgements about your activities and whether they have met your aims
You may also find it useful to download our user-friendly Guide to Self Evaluation or visit Charities Evaluation Services and Evaluation Support Scotland.
Tip
Remember, if your project is already running, whether funded by us previously or by another funder, then you should have been able to measure its success so far and be able to tell us what difference it has made to the children and young people using the project. We have a question on our form which gives you the chance to provide this information.
Finally - Start Applying for Funding!
Once you have fully thought through and planned your project you will be in a good position to start sourcing funding.
When making funding applications it's always a good idea to read the guidelines that each funder produces. Before you start writing your application to us, we strongly recommend you fully read all our guidance including our Question by Question Guide to the application form.
- Remember always to keep your focus on children and young people - think about the differences you want to make in their lives
- Identify how you will do this: what activities and services etc will you provide to best help you achieve these differences?
- Involve children and young people in the planning - they are the best people to tell you what they need
- Think about how your project fits with and complements any services that are already running in your area that might be addressing the same need
- Think about the resources you will need - such as staff time, materials, admin and management costs etc.
- Plan the timing of the project - how much time will it take to plan, prepare for and carry out what you need to do?
- Think about who will be responsible for the running of the project and the individual activities within it. This is the basis of your plan
- Think about how you will know whether you are achieving the difference you want to (see the section on Monitoring and Evaluation) in the A-Z guide
- Carefully cost your budget
- Read funders' guidelines before applying for funding
Further help and advice is available from your local Council of Voluntary Service:
In England
In Scotland
In Wales
In Northern Ireland
Also - see our:
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