Craft

Years ago, I started a new job. One of my first tasks: Read through our organization's old proposals to understand how we positioned our work.

I sat down with a stack of paper (Yes, I printed them out).

And I found myself writing the same question in the margins. 'How?'

'We will train community health workers.' How?

Proposal writing is a lot like crafting. Only you’re less likely to burn yourself with hot glue.

'We will strengthen health systems.' How?

'We will build local capacity.' How?

The proposals were full of great ideas. Good capabilities, good examples, impact. But when it came to implementation? Handwaving.

This is where most proposals fail. At HOW.

Most proposals read like activity lists. Train 50 CHWs. Conduct 200 home visits. Serve 1,000 families. Improve health outcomes.

That tells a funder WHAT you'll do. It doesn't tell them HOW you'll actually do it.

I get it. It's hard. It's so much easier to write 'we will train community health workers' than to dig into the specifics. What training format? (One week intensive workshop? Monthly sessions? Self-paced?) Who delivers the training? (Clinical officer? External consultant? Peer trainers?) What's covered? (Specific topics, tools, job aids?) How do you ensure quality? (Mentoring visits? Competency assessments? Refresher courses?)

Getting specific is hard work. But it's the difference between proposals that win and proposals that don't.

Here's an example of the HOW that funders need. 'We will train 50 CHWs to provide emergency care and hospital referrals in an experiential one-week course, using mannequins and models to practice skills, led by our Clinical Officer who has 15 years of field experience. Topics include bleeding control, stabilization, safe transport using locally available materials, and proper use of emergency first aid kits. Our Clinical Officer will conduct quarterly mentoring visits with each CHW to observe quality of care, troubleshoot challenges, and provide refresher training.'

See what that does?

Training format: One-week intensive, experiential with mannequins. Who delivers it: Clinical Officer with 15 years experience. What's covered: Specific topics (bleeding control, stabilization, transport, equipment). Quality mechanisms: Quarterly mentoring visits, observation, troubleshooting, refresher training.

When you explain HOW in detail, you demonstrate that you've done this before. You know the implementation challenges. You've thought through solutions. You have the expertise to execute.

Funders aren't looking for good ideas.

They're looking for organizations that know HOW to turn ideas into impact. Confidence is what they're buying. And confidence comes from specificity.

For every major activity in your proposal, answer:

How is the work structured? (Intensive training vs. ongoing workshops vs. one-on-one mentoring)

Who? Who executes this? What qualifications do they have?

What? specifically is covered? What tools or curricula are used?

Results? How do you ensure it's done well? What metrics and oversight exists? How do you adjust when challenges arise?

If you can't answer these questions, you're not ready to write the proposal. If you can answer them, your proposal just became stronger than 80% of your competition.

I still do this when I write proposals.

I read through my own writing and put 'How?' next to every vague statement. 'We will provide comprehensive support.' How? 'We will use evidence-based approaches.' How? 'We will collaborate with community partners.' How?

Winning proposals don't make the reviewer ask.

CRAFT is the third step of ARCH.

It's where you take everything you've learned from ANALYZE (your differentiation) and REVEAL (funder alignment) and show HOW you'll execute. In confidence-building detail.

Because funders pay for ability to execute, not vague promises.