University of Nigeria Virtual Library

Serial No

Author 1 NGWU, P. N. C.

Author 2

Author 3

Title

Techniques for Developing Standard Community Development Project

Budges and Work Plans

Keywords

Description

Techniques for Developing Standard Community Development Project

Budges and Work Plans

Category Education

Publisher Journal of Adult Education and Development

Publication Date 2002

Signature

JOURNAL 0'5' ADULT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT (JAEI))

Editorial Board:

Editor- i n Chief I'rof. (Mrs) J. D. C. Osuala

Associate E d j p . ~ Prof. 'S. A. Um.2 Dr (Mrs) 13. L. Egonu Rev. C . A.. Onyechi Mr G. 0 . Obi Dr P. N. C. Ngwu Dr (Mrs) C. I greh

Consulting FhYitors Prof. B. Eheazu Director Nomadic Edncation Centre University of' Port Harcourt Rivers State

Prof. Okeninrkpe Dept, of Adult Education University of Lagos Akoka, Lagos State

I'rof. 0 . Anowor Dept. of Edi~cational Foundations Enugu State University of Science and Technology Enugu

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Prof. A. B. 13duaran Dept. of Adult Education

-University oi Botswana Botswana

"Knowledge is power" is an aphorism of special relevance to Adult Education in developing

countries. President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania put that principle into practice when he determined

to "tirst educatc: the adults" because with knowledge they can rapidly develop the country.

Whether through literacy education, women's education, continuing education, distance education

or conimunity dcyzlopment work, the adult educator or C D 0 is in the empowerment business. I-Ie 'I

or she is a humqn development specialist with one focus - "empowerment". With his brain rc-

charged with kllowledge, the newly educated adult is empowered to transform the family, thc

neighbourhood, the community, the society and the country. This is the 21st century and our

profession can aptly be re-mined EMPOWERMENT EDUCATION in place of Adult Eductti<:ii

with all of the latter's retrogressive connotations still clinging to it from the early ycars of tlic last

century.

This first issue of the Journal of Adult Education and Develo~lnent is focused on the typc or'

knowledge wl-.ich adults and professionals in the field require in order to effect cornmuniiy

developme&. 'The themes are broad, diverse and inter-disciplinary as they should be since adults

and their need.; are also multifarious.

Future issues will also be thematic, biit always linked to the empowering functions of adult

education and community development. Letters to editor section will appear in the next issi~e and

diverse points of view and criticisms.on our journal will be welcomed.

Prof. (Mrs) J D C Osuula Editor-in-Chief

Joirrrrrrl ofArlirlt Ed~rcrrtiorr rrrrrl Dcvekopttrent, VoI. I , No. 1, 2002

r . 1 cc!lliiques for Dewloping Sla1:dard Comm~ini1y Dcvelopmen1 Project B L I ~ ~ C L S and Workplans Dr !'. N. C. A% wu

'Thc licievance of Adult Education in the Developnient of Con~n~unit ies of Anglophone and Francophone West Africa 1 Dr I. S. Nzetieri und L)r E. I.:, OgiIi

Urnt~ada as Co~ljoint Marriage Counselors and Community Dcvelop~nent A p t s in Igboland 2 P. 14. Onwuusoanya

Sociu-Economic Determinants of-Nutritional Status in Rural Communities in Ig~d-Gtiti Area: h ~ l i c a t i o n s for com~nunity Development Policy 2 kid^ 0. Oji

f

1,

An Analysis of UNDP's Participatory Approach to Development in Nigeria 3 A h . Sllsnn N. Obmi

Empowering Women for Con~munity Development Through NFE Progrnmlncs 4 A. J. Okpoko

Role of Libraries in Community Development A4 0. Okoye

Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Initiatives for Communily Development in Nigeria DI: i7. N C. Ngwu

Arzli~elogy and Community Development in Africa L. 1. Itunyi

Vccational Education for Enhanced Involvement of Women In Community Development C,'. C'. Chukwuruh

Cc~l~muni ty Level Organisations and Land Conservation Projects In Selected LGAs in Enugu State E. ivf Igbokwe on19 A. E. J Ugwu

'Tlw Problems ~f Using Distance Education Media in Conscienlizi~ig lii~r-i~l Adults for Community Developnlent S (,'. Nwizu

Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Nutrient Intake in Rural Comnil;nities in Edo State Dr (Mrx) E. K. Ngrvu

Administration and Management of Distance Education Programmes in Nige~ ia: A Case of University of Abuja U. Ehirin~

The Social Action Model for Community Based Poverty Alleviation Projects In Nigeria N. B. Nnuclozie and Dr P N C Ngwu

Sustainabie Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Education: The Nexus Dr R. 0. hfarna

Health Hazards of Using Sewage Wastes for Crop Production Mrs. F. 0. Mbagwu and Prof: ( W s . ) J D C Osuala

Tccll~~iqucs for Developing Standard Community Development Project Budgcts and Workplans

BY Dr Y.N.C. Ngwu

Department of Adult Education University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Abstract 13ud~cts and workplans are critical in planned community development project proposals.

'I'hc workplan translates the objective of the project into specific activities which are carrictl out by community melnbers and the project personnel while the budget is the mechanisni that 3110~1s them to tran!;l;rte these projects into financial terms. These is need for a participatory approilch to thc tlevclopwmt of tlie workplan, the budget and the entire project proposal, through the involvc~ncnt of the community members in their formulation. Effective participation in these activities can only be assured through community education and targeted training activities liw tlcveloptncnt workers, commiiriity groups and their leaders.

I latroducticm i Current trends in Community Developnlent studies require the preparation of well-wri~ten \ proposals. In Nigeria, many international development agencies including the United Nations I agencies liku the UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, FA0 and i~iternational do~ror agencics

like the Ford Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation as well as Soreign I

i government development organizations like the USAID, The British Council, the British Overscas I I)evelopmcr~t A&ncy (ODA), the German DVV and GTZ, the Japanese Overseas Dzvelopme~~t

I:und, the Canadian CIDA and IRDC, the African Development Bank (ADB) etc lrave been active I in the last (%w years working with both governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

to bring about planned change in the standard of living of the people along the lines ofcoin~nunity dcvcloprnc:~rt priiiciples, theory and practice. At the same time, some current psogr-anlnics ol'botl~ the I:eder.ll a i d the State governments require the preparation of proposals for communily dcvelopmznt projects.

! Pvcposal writing demands the development of skills in not only project formulation but also the dcmonstration of capacity to visualise the actual project implementation processes 111rougIi the preparation of workplans and budgets. Workplans and budgets are tlie centrepiece ol' pvooosals and are organically linked to the other components of a proposal, which must also be orr~lir~cd ill a logical franlework or format. I n actual project implementation, the logical or+- ill 111c ou11il:c of the proposals becomes the benchmark for guiding the achievement of project goals i111tl ol)jcitives tl~rough the workplan and budget. Some conceptual ~nodels and formats exist for

! ~levclopi~~:: workplans and preparing budgets, but tlie indications are that, funding agencies both ~r;ilio~lall) and internationally sometimes provide their own guidelines. For instance, M;irguli11(1983:22 1) outlined seven components of a grant proposal. Janovsky (1987: 15) prcp;~~.cd ;I I I ~ ~ I I ~ I I ; ~ ~ 1i)r project formulation and proposal writing for tlie World Health Organisation a 1 ~ 1 intlicarc~l diglit components.

'flit: Internati~ ml Women's Tribune Centre (I W'TC, 1989: 14- 15) presented a gc~~eralll acccptecl design for a p r o p o d fol- women in development projects with nine components. 'l'h In~c~~nittional Foundation for Education and Self-I-lelp (IFESI-I) 113s a literacy model proposai for~~iat fbr Nigeria w1:ich has cight elements. Rhasin (1985:27-28) outlined 12 componcnls i n t l ~ i formal for writing LIP il project proposal for people-centred participalory community cievelopmen\ projects. Ezirim(l999j presentid a 14-item.guidelinc forproposals that are reader-friendly. 1 . For the purpcw of this arliclc, the guidelines presented by Ezirim (1999) and I3l1asin (1985) are presented below for easy reference. According to Ezirim, the proposal s l io~~ld bc pruuited in the following sections:

Situu~ion analysis Justil'ica~ion 01. riccd analysis Goals or geneixl objectives Spccilic objec~ivcs Activities (workplan) Especkd oulcomes or benefits 'l'arget a i t d i end beneficiaries/par~icipants Me~liodologies/stl-ategies ' Tin~ing/d~~ratio:i I,ucation/venus I'roposed budgc!t/resou~~ce requirements Issucs of suslai~lability Monitorin~ev:il~~ntion I<eport(s).

Bl~asin's (1985) Sol-ma1 for wri~ing a Communily Developmcnl project propo\al is a\ I'ol lows:

Nanic 01' he project InSormalion aboul tlie implementation organisation: its' bacl,ground, objectives, nrca ol' work, co~iirnu~lilies with wli~ch it is working, activities of the organisation, succebs and failures so far, 'it~wctl~re of the organisation, staffing, financial situation, sources of li~nds, elc. I low and by whom the projccl was formulated Proposed projxt : its nature, its objectives, the area in whicli i t will bc orgnnisctl, the people, groups or communities which will benefit from it, tlie number of people who u 111 benefit, the prcsent situation of the proposed beneficiaries/participants, the prescnt situation of work which is to be undertaken. Plan of action (workplan): which activities will be undertaken, when and how? I low will the local people participate in these activities? Number and nature of workers required to implement the projcct Expected resdts Economic arid social feasibility of the project Estimated expenditure (budget) Evaluation: hoa , by whom and when will evaluation be done? Follow-up: ho\b will the work be carried on after the project comes to an and?

-. I 11ex I M U guidelines presented abovc will help one to have a composite view ol'projcct proposals and appreciate the contest within which the budget and workplan sl~ould bc dcvuIop~iI. With p:~rticular rcferencc to the budget and workplan, some gcncral patterns are discernible i n all the 1)roposal g.:iclclincs rel'crrccl to above. In a workpli~n, tlic sequences ol' activilics its well ;IS

spw"il?c metlioilologies or strategies1 techniques1 approaches that will lead LO thc q x c t d outco~nc o f a ploject are described. l'hc workplan also indicates who will take respo~tsibilit). fill. eacli 01' tlie acriv.ities and tlic projected time frame in which thc activity will bc carricd out. A:; sirch. a realisti-; workplan is needed in every proposal both as a planning and n monitol-il~g tool l i ~ conimunity development projects implen~cntation. The budget follows naturally l i o ~ l ~ t l ~ c workplan. E x l i activity involves costs and the budget clearly outlines tlie estimtcd costs ol'both reso~~rces/inputs and the services or activities provided.

In the Ior~nulation and implementation of community developn~ent projects, tlic workplnl~ and the budget are critical. 'The workplan outlines the activities that should be carried out i n ordcl. to scliieve the project objectives, and tlie budget indicates the cost estimate of all inputs arid xtivities in the workplan.

'i'lrc Wa~-dri)lsm. . . I his :s a core cornpollen1 of a pro.ject proposal. which describes what actually is going lo

bc done. 111 cc~lnmunity development, the workplan evolved from the social action process n u k l development by the Co-operative Extension Service of the Iowa State Univcrsity of Science i t ~ ~ t l

' I 'ccl~~~ology, 5.S.A. Tlic model describes tlie project activities in the form of action sleps, whiclt arc latcr pre.;::nted in a schedule indicating location of the activity, start-up cli~tc, prcy)osccl tluration, gr.o..~p(s) responsible and the sequence of action steps.

l ' l~us, :I simple workplsn is made up essentially of an outline of activities, ti~nc-targc~s a~id scltctlulcs. I r r a large project. tlie workplan sliould be divided into sevural specific pwjcc~ cmponents. 'I'liese project components can also be regarded as responsibility cc~:trcs whc11 tlil'li.rcnt staii memberslproject participants are in charge of these components. Ja~tovsl,!; ( l987:3 1 -3zj presents a sample format i n tabular form for a workplan as shown bclow:

r--.--- - Sample Workplan Format ---

I I'~oiccr . . . - - namc - - 1 I ,\ctivity by Timing I ObjectiveslTnryets I Critical I Indicators ul'

-. I wo typcs 01 ' c11i11-t~ used as nianagement tools arc' LISCI~II for developing \vorhplans. I'Iwc are milesto~~e charts and Gantt charts (Erickson, 198 1 : 32 -.38).

Milestone charts According to Erickson, a niilestone chart displays tlie plannedsignificnnt evellts in ri

pro.ject. Approval points and target-conipletion dates for major taskslactivities are indicated in thc char^. Dates for the completion of significant activities are established in advance. In this way, a11 pi~rties (project staff and project participants) have a visual plan of what must be accomplished and when ~t must be (lone.

A milestone chart has two components. A time-scale appears across the top ol'tlic chart and the activities and events arc listed in a coli~nin to the left, in a downward, cIiro~iologic;~i wquuncr. l'liis causes the milestones, which are represented by a triangle or arrow, lo Ii111 111 ;I

gencral pattern of uppcr left to lower right as in the figure below: (Project Title)

Calendar in days, weeks or ~nontlis +- ______t.

Figure 2: General form of a milestorle chart Source: Erickson (I 98 1 ).

Activities

- .-

In order for the milestone chart to help in project workplan develop~nent, the signilkant i~c~ivities necessary tor project completion and tlie time requircd lor the complelion ol' sac11 activity are tlie necessary inputs. The example in figure 3 adopted this visualized presentalion. Thc scliedule was propared for a project that was planned to last for 24 mon~hs and four 111i!j01

prc>jcct activities were iteniised. This workplan was irsed for ;I project proposal for a women'> licallli rind incornc ge~~eral ion project (Ngwu, 1990). -. I he Gant chart is an inipravement on the milcstonc chart by indicating the starling 1in)t.s of activities and the activity duration. In this way, the latest time at which each activity should bcgin helps to avoid delaying its conlpletion.

A third step in the development of the workplan following from tlie use of the t\vo charts uould be to add a colunin on tlie person/group assigned the responsibility for carrying out the activity. A working format that results from this exercise would be like the one in figure 4.

6' (Milestone: activity

6' complelion date)

Workieg Fora~at for A Project Workplan --- I- Otxanisurio~i

I -- . - Figure 4: Working Format for a Project Workplan

1'1.0-ject 'Title - -- -- , I'rojcct Dates - ( 3 to ( 1 ,

For developing a detailed workplan, Janovsky ( 1 987:35) outlined the following questions which should be answered in the process: @ What arc the activities to be carried out? Q Who will be in charge of each activity'? Q What is *.lie timing of the activity? Q What are the major targets and nlilestones undertaken? @ How can 11le implementation of activities and achievement of targets be vesiriccl?

Assigned Responsibility

Project Budget The p ro j c t budget systematically enitmerates the anlicipated costs of planned inputs a d

activities. The b d g e t is also a key project management tool. According to Vincent ( 1989: I S ) , budgeting tncan! forecasting, planning and rnost importantly, analysing the cost of tlic ;~ctivi~ies ol'a pruject or the implementing organisation, For Vincent (1989:35), tlie budget can L)c brolic~~ donn into several components, e.g.

Investment (in production activities) Eq t~ipnient Various operations Adrnit~istr:~tive and overhead costs. Jmovsk) ( l987:39) breaks down the budget into capital and recurrent costs. Capital costs

occur only oncc during the life of a pro-ject and operating or recurrent costs recur regularly. ltecusrcnt costs have this important characteristic of continuing beyond tlic project pcriocl anti nfler external fi~ncling must have expired. I n preparing a budget, i t is important to ilclcl ~iotes staring the assu~i~ptions ~~nderlying the calculations because i n some budget i te~ns s ~ ~ c h as ~ Y O ~ ~ S I I O I I S or ~ ~ i ~ l ~ i l t i o t l ~ , the costs are composed of several different types of cxpenditu~~es. sucll as ~l-avcl, stationery, per diet11 allowances, entertainment elc. -.

7 . Ihe butlyct is an indispensable tool in project planning and implemet~t:ltio~~. I t lins sevc.l.i~l ii~nctions, according to Vincent (1989:35):

One of the primary functions of a budget is to give indications to the nlob~l~si~l ion of scsources for realisatio:~ ol'the project objectives, plans and activities

Scheduled Conlpletion Date

Remarks

I

i i

['lie budget is also the means through which the available resources arc apportioned. I1

cnablcs the group organisation or community to decide on the alnounls requircd for ~llc project; to reduce some espenses and lor increase others rhe budget is a protective instrument. It determines both the limits of expc.nhc\ ~ I L I I should hot be exceeded and the minilnum amounts of income.

I'he expectations are that every local governmen1 and evcry cummunily group or organi~ation should work out its annual budget and include in it each and every nctivi~y i l l ~111.

worhpian and make them public. Vincent (1989:35) recomn~ends that the budgetary income and C ~ ~ C ' I I ~ ~ L L I I ~ C A I I Ix

eb~inla~ed accurately using the following "headings" and "sub-hcadings7'.

I ncolnc - Tht groi~p's or association's income - levies, dues, etc. - Incuine from donors, launchings, donations, etc.

: . , ,

Administrative Costs - SalL~r-ics, allowance and social expenses of the leader and group aniniatorslproject workers - ' l ' r a~~ l ing expenses and support costs of project, communication costs.

I'rojcc~ Costs - IncnmelExpenditure

.laiiu\.sky (1987:42) outlines a budget checklist under the following headings:

Capitai Expenditure I . Construction .- buildings, officcs, l~alls, etc. 2 . Co~nmodities - equiptnent, fi~rniture, vehicles.

I<ccur~ ent Expenditure 3

J. Personnel - technical staff, support staff, consultants, field workers, casual labour. 4 .

, , I raining - workshops, extension services, advocacy, awareness creariol~ activities. . Travel cost - transportation expenses 6. Supplies - office and project materials 7. Maintenance - equipment, furniture, buildings, vehicles, etc. 8 . Other costs - utilities, postage, licenses, permits, telephone. 9. Contingencies.

The International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESI-I) has a budge1 SOI.IIW Ii)r -. i ~ ~ . . ; . : ; ~ ~ a l literacy in Nigeria, which is presented below as a guide:

PROJECT FORMAT (Local Currency)

I'roject Budget I'roject year: (From - to - ) Year I Year 2 Ci~.~~ol-al ljudget Categories

Equipment

Instructio~ml matcrials & supplies

Facilities

Developn~ent inputs

Consultants

Year 3 Year 4

i 0 . ' I 1xinin2 cost

' 1 ' 0 ;11 Project Costs - -

111 w ~ n c cases, a budget may include items for two or more organisations. I:or csmlplc, bc.Io\v ;\ :\ s111tplc budget for a project proposal showing IJNICEF and coun~crp:l~-t co~r t~- i i~a t io~ls I;!: c\ l!c~~tl i~t~re items in figure 5.

: SIN Expenditure Itenis Esti~nated _I.- Cost

1 i Accommodation for 80 out-of-town

1 participants @ 811,500 per nigh1 for two nights . -- 240,000

1 Dinner/lYfast allowance for 80 @

1 ;-- 1000 ex11 for yay~. - 1 160,OO Ciroup Lunch for 100 participants (4 N500 for 1 da 40,000 DSA for 80 @, 81500 for two nights -

80,000 IT-( rans sport allowallce (+ah,,, f o r ] 00 I (deoendin~ on distance) 1 40.000

10,000 Total 596,000

I:,igure 5: Budget , showing . UNICEF and counterpart contributions.

Explanatory w tes are usually attached to a budget to clarify some of the clailns 01. swenlents made in i t . For instance, in preparing a budget for a co~nmunity clevelopment projcct, the cost of accomnlodation for in-town participants should not be in thc budget. That is why. Ibr instance, one ne,eds to specify as in the example above that accomnlodation is for our-of-town participants. Acrony~ns such as DSA (Daily Subsistence Allowance) sliould also be

explained and justified. Such cost estimates should bc in line with the accepted currant price indicators. Presently, most United Nations agencies in Nigeria require counterpart contributions l iw community dcvelcpment projects.

Conclusion ,,

A c o ~ n h i u n i t ~ development project needs to be planned properly and this requircs tlie worLplau and the budget. Both the workplan and the budget derive their relevance from \ha project objectives. TIM workplan is a guide for the activities that will lead to a successhl completion of the projcct while the budget is a tool for assuring that the available resources and expected income are adequate for putting into effect the activities outlined in the workplan.

A participativr: approach to developing project workplans and preparing project budgets is tile ins~~rance t'o'oy a s~~cces s f i~ l community developnient project since cach community has its own peculiaritip and needs. The participative approach involves both project sponsors and beneticiarics in consultative sessions to decide on both the activities in the workplan and the financial and material xsources available or needed fos the budget.

Kefercnces Bhasin, Ka~nla (1985). .Formulatinn P~oiects with People. Rome: FAO.

C'hlchowska, Krystna ( 1990). Literacy for Rural Women in the Third World. Paris: UNESCO.

t:sicksc)n, S. M. ( 198 1 ). Management Tools for Everyone. New York: Petrocelli Rooks.

E~i r im, M. U. "Guideliues for Proposal Writing". Paper presented at the ICC ~ t d . / ~ n & n b r a State Bureau of Public Utilities Workshop on "Navigating the Future of Community Development ir, Anambra State in the 21" Century at Ikenga Hotel, Awka; October, 1999. (mimeo).

Inttxnntional Women's Tribune Centre, IWTC (1989). Ideas on I'roposnl Writing and Fi~~ancial/'l't.cIi~~ical Assistance. New York: IWTC. -

.Ial;ovsky, Katja ( 1987). eroiect Formulation and Proposal Writing. Rome: World Health Organisat ion.

b/lii~golin. Judith B. (1953). The Individual's Guide to Grants. New York. ~ h e n l i m Press.

3g\vu, P.N.C. (1990). Proposal for A Nonformal Education and ~ticoux+~eneratinyg Project tbr I<nral Women in Anambra State, Nigeria. (mimeo).

Vinceni. Fernand (1989). Manual of I'ractical Mananement for Third World Rural ~>~velovmc~~t~ss~~ciatio~~s vol. I I Financial Management Geneva: IRED.