Key Actions by:

S1
S2
S3
S4
S5

S6
S7
S8
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S10

Standard 1: Effective planning for quality project design.

Establish a robust proposal development team and a realistic timeline that follows standard CRS guidance for project design and ensures partner collaboration and support in the design process.

Phase:

Category:

Operations and program planning and management

Key Action 1	Form a qualified and experienced team to design the project and develop the proposal.
Who	Country representative; head of programming; head of operations; country program business development staff (as applicable); regional business development staff; deputy regional directors
When	For external funding opportunities: Before or as part of making the "go" decision For discretionary-funded projects: When the decision is made to develop a new project

Key Action 2	Make partnering decisions based on partner capacity and performance, what each can contribute, the proposal guidelines, and the operational and competitive environment.
Who	Proposal decision-maker; country representative, if not the proposal decision-maker; proposal coordinator or capture planning manager; other proposal development team members; senior management team; senior program and operations staff; IDEA staff
When	Well before developing a new project.

Key Action 3	Develop and implement a bridge staffing plan to ensure current activities are properly managed while the new proposal is being developed.
Who	Senior management team members and any other supervisors of proposal development team members; proposal coordinator; proposal development team members; proposal decision-maker; TDY staff or other program and operations staff providing coverage
When	For external funding opportunities: Ideally during capture planning for opportunities CRS is tracking. For unexpected opportunities, within 1 week of the "go" decision For discretionary-funded projects: As needed

Key Action 4	Plan a participatory process: Working backward from the submission deadline, develop a realistic timeline for designing a quality project and writing a responsive proposal.
Who	Proposal coordinator; proposal development team members; partners
When	For external funding opportunities: Develop the timeline and proposal checklist as soon as possible and no more than 3 days after the “go” decision. For discretionary-funded projects: Develop the timeline as a first step after deciding to develop a new project.

Key Action 5	Confirm that funding is available to cover the project design and proposal development costs.
Who	Proposal decision-maker; proposal coordinator and other proposal development team members; finance manager; proposal decision-maker; country representative
When	In parallel with preparing the proposal development timeline detailing project design and proposal development steps Ideally, before the funding opportunity is released; otherwise within 3 days of the “go” decision