Project initiation checklist

Background

Briefly describe how the project came about

Details of consultations with community and or stakeholders

Their views about needs and usefulness of interventions proposed

Describe the local context in which the project will operate (draw on local data, evidence of tensions and divisions and other problems; stakeholder and community views/needs)

Project Scope

How will the proposed project address these needs?

Why is ICD the most effective tool in addressing the needs?

Who is ICD trying to change, why have they been chosen and how will they be targeted?

How will the project engage with those ‘seldom heard’?

Describe how the project will use its ‘space’ to host and effectively deliver ICD?

In what ways will equality and diversity issues be addressed in the project?

Has the project secured stakeholder buy-in?

Will the project simply focus on participants or will it try to engage wider support in the community to make it sustainable?

Project Outcomes

What are the outcomes the project is trying to achieve and how have they been identified?

Is there a current performance baseline to measure the outcomes against?

How does the project reflect the corporate ICD priorities?

How does the project reflect the concerns of the wider community?

How does the project reflect the national interests of the country?

How will the project measure long-term outcomes for individuals, family and friends, community and society as a whole?

Project Impact

How will the project evaluate its impact?

Describe the ways in which the project will influence an individual’s knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour in relation to difference?

How will the impact be measured?

Describe the way in which the project will influence a community’s / society’s knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour in relation to difference?

How will the impact be measured and what will be the change in the locality and country?

In what ways will the project share the learning from the project locally, nationally and corporately?

How will dialogue be sustained after the project has ended - how  will it be built into mainstream activities and broader civil society?

Constraints and Delivery

Do stakeholders have an opportunity to influence the delivery of the project as it progresses and if so how?

Is there a project steering group to maintain oversight?

Have staff had experience of ICD work previously - what training is required to effectively deliver this project?

Do stakeholders and community leaders also require training, and how will this be addressed?

What timescale is envisaged, and is there a project plan with key milestones established?

What external costs are involved, including in terms of time commitment of staff and partners?

How will evaluative processes be built into the project and evidence of success collected as it progresses?