Project Proposal Design

Course objectives

The course aims to:

• Build awareness of how participants’ organisations can make use of international funding systems to contribute to regional and national activities.
• Strengthen participants with skills to navigate these funding systems to plan how their organisations’ development strategies can align with them.
• Equip professionals with consultancy-level skills to design, develop, plan, and budget successful project proposals.
• Guide participants in creating their Final assignment, in which they select an actual relevant tender and use their acquired skills to draft an actual project proposal.  

Programme structure

Modules
The course consists of four modules, delivered over a seven-week training period, starting mid-October. This is followed by a 2-week period for individual coaching meetings leading to hand-in of the final assignment.

Module 1: Understanding the funding landscape and the funder

• Map the EU, bilateral, and multilateral funding landscape, identifying thematic priorities and donor expectations.
• Study real-world examples of how organisations align their strategies with funding opportunities.
• Use the example proposal format and real-life case studies to create an in-depth understanding of donor logic, project evaluation, and alignment with goals.

Module 2: Funding proposal development skills

• Learn and apply key project design tools such as needs analysis, theory of change, and logical frameworks to structure effective proposals in relevant context.
• Develop and refine project ideas by aligning them with the example proposal format, strengthening proposal-writing skills in clarity, evidence, and strategic fit.
• Engage in hands-on exercises and peer review sessions to design, test, and improve proposal sections and project partnership building for competitive submission.

Module 3: Budget design, assignment preparation, and institutional transformation

• Explore practical approaches to designing transparent, results-oriented budgets that are aligned with donor requirements.
• Prepare key components of the Final assignment, transforming key course takeaways into the participant’s sample proposal and organisation’s actionable roadmap for fund mobilisation.
• Include elements of institutional transformation, in which the organisation’s systematic fundraising capacities are embedded in its strategic development objectives.

Module 4: Use of AI in project design

• Explore how the use of AI can enhance the entire project proposal lifecycle, from creating the project idea and design, to partnership selection and proposal development.
• Learn how to apply AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Grantboost, Grantable, and Proposify to generate project concepts, structure proposals, and align with donor expectations.
• Practice AI-assisted stakeholder mapping and analysis to identify key interests, manage tensions, and strengthen evidence-based, creative, and high-quality project design.

Sessions

• Delivery: self-paced online components and Microsoft Teams-based interactive sessions.
• Modules 1, 2, and 3 each run for two weeks, and Module 4 lasts for one week. The programme concludes with individual coaching sessions before the submission of the Final assignment.
• Time commitment: 6/8 hours per week (asynchronous learning) + 2 hours live per module
• Final assignment: the individual, practical, organisation-specific project proposal, integrating all learned skills.

Learning Outcomes
Participants will:

• Understand funding systems and their alignment with their organisation’s mission.
• Design project proposals suited for complex donor requirements.
• Internalize consultancy-level skills to manage funding initiatives.
• Strengthen their organisation’s role in contributing to socio-economic development.

Programme delivery and interaction

• The course structures a blended online model combining flexibility with interactive learning:
• Flexible, self-paced online learning with weekly engagement through targeted readings, applied assignments, and recorded lectures..
• Microsoft Teams-based sessions: facilitated discussions, peer exchanges, and applied analysis.
• Case studies: concrete project examples of successful funding projects.
• Dedicated programme support team. Benefit from ongoing support throughout the programme, with a dedicated team available to assist you with any questions or challenges.
• Peer collaboration: co-creation of a solid basis for the Final assignment.
• Project proposal draft: participants will work on a real call for proposal.

Programme outcome

Upon completion, participants will:

• Have practical consultancy-level skills in project design and funding proposal development.
• Be equipped to guide their organisations’ fundraising strategies.
• Understand how to position their organisation as a driver for socio-economic development.
• Use the acquired knowledge and tools to mentor colleagues and enhance their organisation’s project design and fundraising capacity.
• Join an active network of peers through the MSM alumni community, gaining access to future collaboration, project opportunities, and research.

Your profile

• This programme is designed for professionals from Europe and the Global South, including:
• Private sector: consultants, industry and sector clusters, and business councils.
• Public sector institutions: ministries, universities, local development agencies.
• Semi-private bodies: sector associations, chambers, business development platforms.
• Development partners: NGOs, CSOs, and other organisations supporting interventions such as entrepreneurship, innovation, health and education.

Participants engage in mutual learning that connects European and Southern perspectives, focused on institutional strengthening and contributing to wider economic development.

Certificate

Each participant receives a certificate of participation.
This certificate is being awarded as evidence of participation in a post-graduate training at indicative level 7 of the EQF. The minimum study load is 14 hours and an attendance level of 80% is required. This certificate is being awarded in the form of a soft copy when the training is online or a hard copy during a face-to-face training. The certificate will mention your full name, training title, training date and comprising core topics. Click here for more information about the MSM certification policy.