Proposers Guide

Overview
The purpose of the following instructions is to provide clear guidelines to proposers on how to create successful proposals on Ideascale.
Goals
1.Provide short, specific instructions for proposers on how to create proposals that would be deemed successful by CAs.
2.Combine information provided via different sources and provide it in a readable form.
3.Have this information be reviewed and improved upon by the community.
4.Have this information be available on "Master Landing Page" for participants to use.
Specifications
Currently, proposers need to manually search through multiple sources of information in order to gauge the requirement for a successful proposal. The following information outlined below should help them achieve this faster, allowing for more time spent on the proposal itself. As a result, higher quality proposals are expected in the following Funds. Community will be able to shift focus towards suggesting improvements of the actual project vs improvements of the written proposals.
For a more detailed example of proposal writing, visit this guide​
​General Project Catalyst FAQ​
Contents
Learn history
Before you decide to spend time on creating a business plan for your idea, consider reviewing winning proposals from previous Funds. You might learn something that is not mentioned in this guideline! Check out results.
Fund & fund challenge matters
The community decides a problem statement for every fund or fund category. Make sure that your proposal reflects this problem statement. Submitting your proposal under the wrong category might automatically disqualify you.
Size matters
Be aware that each Fund has a cap amount of capital available. Deciding to go for a larger piece of the pie is ambitious, so make sure your idea is worth it! Community values projects that reflect the mission statement of Cardano and its core values, decentralization being one of them. That means sharing!
Problem & Audience
Are you eager to solve a real world problem? That is great! Let everyone know about it...in 140 characters or less. Do not forget to mention the stakeholders that are impacted by this issue.
Solution
Given that you are writing a proposal, you must have a solution to a certain problem. Convey your thoughts to the Community in a direct manner, without spending too much on the details. There will be room for that later!
Ever heard of the elevator pitch?
Expertise
Are you a seasoned professional who gained recognition in your own field? Maybe a resourceful business manager with knowledge on how to get a project up on its feet? How about an eager individual who wants to provide a positive impact with some help? Let us know! Try a bullet point resume!
So what’s the plan?
The devil is in the details. Now is your chance to break it all down. You can supplement your strategy with video presentation and links. Anything that will help the reader to understand you better. Be ready for the Community to provide you with some constructive criticism and feedback. This will be done via comment section and later during the review phase. Good thing is you can always make adjustments up until the review phase kicks in!
[GitHub] [LinkedIn] [YouTube]
Let’s talk money
This is where a detailed budget breakdown will be welcome. If your project is a long-term commitment and requires further funding, please be upfront about it! Make sure to list your budget requirements in $USD with no decimals.
Prove your intent - “Self-Assessment”
There are a lot of requirements and specifications to follow for a proposer, and some people will lose interest. This self-assessment form helps determine which projects are here for the long run and are set on staying. Do not skip this step, it is crucial in order to determine if your proposal will enter the voting stage!
Ask for help!
Noone is all powerful and mighty, we are all just mere humans. But in numbers our strength lies. So reach out! Ask for help. Assemble your team and make sure to include them in the proposal :) Use the tags provided by Ideascale to help people find you!
Keep trying!
You might not get the desirable result on your first try, and that is okay. We hope you take some lessons from your initial experience and come back to try again.
Good Luck!
Source Document
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