Key Actions by:

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S5

S6
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S10

Standard 3: Accurate and cost-efficient proposal budgeting.

Develop an accurate and cost-efficient proposal budget including a budget narrative based on project activities and timeline, and in accordance with CRS policies and donor requirements.

Phase:

Category:

Financial management

Key Action 1	Establish amounts for indirect and allocated direct costs, and identify potential high-level budget constraints and decisions so the proposal development team can begin budgeting for direct-direct costs ("back of the envelope" calculation).
Who	Proposal budget lead and country representative; finance manager (FM); proposal coordinator; other proposal development team members
When	For proposals for external funding: Initial "back-of-the-envelope calculation" within 2-3 days of a final "go" decision for initial planning purposes, followed by more detailed budget determinations and planning as the design process moves forward. For discretionary funded projects: As soon as CRS has identified a general project funding amount.

Key Action 2	Develop a detailed budget and budget narrative in line with the project activities schedule and staffing plan, and adjust as needed.
Who	Proposal budget lead; proposal coordinator; other proposal development team members (e.g., technical, MEAL, and human resources leads); finance manager, if not the budget lead; head of operations; country representative and senior management team; partner budget lead(s); proposal decision-maker; regional finance officer; IDEA staff.
When	According to the proposal development timeline; finalize by deadline in the timeline.

Key Action 3	Decide on partner sub-awards, including the award type, based on the donor’s regulations and the partners’ capacity and proposed project responsibilities.
Who	Proposal decision maker; country representative, if not the proposal decision-maker; proposal coordinator; senior management team especially the head of operations and head of programming; subject-matter experts from IDEA, as applicable; partner leadership.
When	As early as possible in the proposal development process.

Key Action 4	Work with partners to develop detailed budgets and budget narratives in line with the project activities schedule and staffing plan, and adjust as needed.
Who	CRS proposal budget lead; CRS proposal technical lead; CRS proposal coordinator; CRS finance manager; partner’s budget lead and other partner proposal development team members; CRS head of operations; CRS proposal MEAL lead and any sector leads; CRS proposal decision-maker or country representative
When	According to the proposal timeline; finalize by deadline in plan.