Project Preparation
Preparing a Project for Evaluation
Before a partner or funder can say yes, they need to understand the project. How to organize the narrative, the numbers and the responsibilities.
By Darrell W. Levi Sr. · Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Levi Global Strategies LLC
Published October 13, 2026 · 7 min read
Capital, partners and public bodies evaluate many proposals. The ones that advance are rarely the loudest. They are the ones that are easiest to understand and easiest to check.
Start with a two-page narrative
A reader should be able to learn what the project is, who it serves, why it is viable and what is being requested from a short summary. Writing it forces decisions that longer documents let you postpone.
Name the stakeholders and what each one owns
List every party involved, from sponsors and operators to regulators and lenders, and state plainly what each is responsible for. Overlaps and gaps in responsibility are among the most common causes of delay and are easily found on paper.
Understand how institutions look at projects
Development finance institutions and export credit agencies publish guidance about the kinds of projects they support and the information they expect. The International Finance Corporation sets out its infrastructure focus, while EXIM and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation describe their financing programs. Reading these before you write helps you present the project in terms an evaluator already uses.
Show the risks and the milestones
Evaluators trust projects that name their own risks. Pair each risk with an owner and a response, and set milestones that make progress visible. The next article in this series covers a risk register designed to be used.
