STOP Analysis an indispensable Tool!

In order to move ahead even the well prepared project proposal must not be submitted in hurry. Most of the donors and sponsors have deadlines and generally the work on any proposal by applicants is left till the last moments. In case where an applicant gets information about a certain deadline too late it is better not to go ahead with application rather than presenting a badly prepared project proposal.

Such a proposal poses much bigger threat of failure during implementation phase even if it gets the approval. The author has developed a tool that is simple to apply and remember. It can be known as STOP analysis.

STOP – Shared, Thought, Owned & Paid

Shared: It must be noted that a project prepared by experts might be good enough to get the financial sup- port or achieve its targets. However unless it is shared by the people affected by that project i.e. stakeholders, it won’t be sustainable. The project idea must be supported by majority if not all the stakeholders affected directly or indirectly by the proposed project. Earlier the proposal or project concept is shared, better it is, as modifications at later stages might be very difficult leading to preparation of a new proposal altogether.

Thought: There are two types of assessments required under this heading, first is to see if the proposal carries common sense and second if all necessary activities have been planned or not. All possible activities should be included and written in measurable form. Activities should be described well in the proposal leaving less room for guesses and ambiguities due to disagreements and discussions in the later stages. On the other hand there is no sense in implementing a project that has well planned activities but does not carry any common sense i.e. the benefits or losses should be understood by the affected.

Owned: Whether it is a state funded, foreign funded or privately funded project the ownership of the project must be defined clearly. Who will own the benefits or bear the damages of the project. Ownership issue becomes more important once the project is finished and there is no financial or technical support from external sources or experts is available. The owners must prepare themselves for takeover during the project implementation phase if required. In case where a project is expected to bring some financial gains it is much more important to have clearly defined owner of those gains. Therefore a project’s post closure phase must also be planned well in advance even during the proposal preparation stage for the successful implementation of the project.

Paid: No matter how beautifully a project is planned and how successfully it is implemented, it needs the finances for sustainability. One should get the answers to following questions in this regard. Who will pay for project preparation, project implementation and its continuity once the external funding is seized? Especially in community projects the sustainability of a project depends upon financial assistance of the community made available to maintain the project. A clear, agreed and acceptable format should be developed for this purpose. The common bottle neck in such cases is when a certain part of community which is required for project’s sustainability disagrees or fails to contribute for the project’s sustainability. This may create inter-community clashes as well as threats the sustainability of the project fruits. Any such issue should be resolved to maximum possible extent during project planning phase. 

Details about STOP Analysis and other tools is available at https://www.createspace.com/3492429