Project Identification

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chapter four

What’s the Problem?

What Is the Problem, Condition, orOpportunity

ThatInspired This Proposal?

Please do not skip this chapter! Failing to help people understand the

problem you want to address is the biggest mistake I’ve found in propos-

als. The authors are in such a hurry to talk about their idea and how they

plan to address it (we talk about that in the next chapter) that they skip

right over the most important part of the Initiative Proposal.

4.1 Explain the Problem

Here is the bottom line. If you cannot explain to your readers what prob-

lem you are trying to solve, they will not have the proper context for the

balance of y ...