Before submitting a final proposal, donor agencies at times ask to submit a concept note to organisations who are interested to take up activities on the basis of the donor agencies criteria.
Concept Note Definition: Concept Note A concept note is a BRIEF summary of a project. A concept note (or a concept paper, as some people call it) is a short version of a project proposal. A concept note for submission to a donor is ideally between 3 to 7 pages long.
Definition: Project A project is a combination of inputs managed in a certain way to achieve one or more desired outputs, and ultimately one or more desired impact. Here is a nice metaphor to illustrate the definition of a project and its components as described in a concept note:Cooks are constantly designing and implementing projects. Ingredients (inputs) are cooked (managed) according to a recipe (work plan) to achieve a warm, balanced meal (output), and a happy feeling or fullness and wellbeing (impact).
How to Prepare a Concept Note: A concept note has a specific format. The final version of the concept note has the following headings:
1. Title
2. Background
3. Objectives
4. Outputs
5. Activities and duration
6. Beneficiaries and impacts
7. Project management (includes monitoring and evaluation)
8. Budget However, the concept note should be prepared in the final format order. Instead prepare the concept note in the following order:
i. Objectives
ii. Inputs
iii. Activities and duration
iv. Outputs
v. Beneficiaries and impacts
vi. Project management
vii. Draft budget
viii. Background
ix. The problem and why it is urgent (for the background section)
x. What has already been done (for the background section)
xi. Title