The cost proposal is a critical component of your application for any USAID funding opportunity. USAID needs to know how you would plan to spend the award funds to ensure that the cost approach is reasonable and realistic to achieve the desired development outcome. Creating a cost proposal might sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be!

Once USAID has released its solicitation, it’s time to put pen to paper—at least in a digital sense! The previous article in our series helped you prepare and put your proposal team and schedule in place to be ready for an expected opportunity. Once the solicitation has been issued, the writing begins—and the clock starts ticking! Solicitations are typically open for just 30–45 days, so it is important to plan ahead and be ready to start your response on Day 1 when the funding opportunity is issued. 

You have an innovative development idea, and you want to secure USAID funding to implement it. You’re eager to jump in and begin writing USAID proposals and concept papers. But wait! Crafting a USAID proposal can be a time-intensive process, so before you spend precious resources on proposal writing, check out the tips we’ve gathered.