Free Microsoft Word Project Proposal Templates: Simple to Advanced

Project proposal templates help teams organize and detail their project proposals. We’ve collected the most useful project proposal templates for Microsoft Word, from basic to advanced, to help you gain the approval you need for your project.

Project Proposal Template for Microsoft Word

Use this advanced template to outline and present your project proposal with essential details for stakeholder buy-in and approval. This project proposal template includes a timeline table complete with an overview, as well as start and end date columns for each project milestone. It also provides space to address your project's cost structure in the overview section.

Present your proposal to secure stakeholder buy-in and approval with this collection of free project proposal templates for PowerPoint. Check out this collection of free project proposal templates for Google Docs to organize and draft your proposal.

Simple Project Proposal Template for Microsoft Word

Use this template to organize and detail your project proposal in a simplified format that stakeholders can easily access. This template lists the project name, location, start and end date estimates, and contact information. It also features sections to include the executive summary and background information, as well as project resources and budget details, to provide a simple yet complete proposal.

Pitch your IT project and its value to your organization with any of these free IT project proposal templates. To create a proposal for construction projects, check out this collection of free construction project proposal templates. Use this collection of project proposal examples as a guide to writing a successful project proposal.

One-Page Project Proposal Template for Microsoft Word

Use this one-page template to organize and communicate your project proposal. The template layout helps you summarize the background, objectives, resources, budget, and other relevant project information on a single page. This template also includes a section that breaks down your project timeline into phases, tasks, milestones, and start and end dates. Download the sample template for an example of how to complete each section, or download the blank version to create your project proposal from scratch.

Check out this collection of free project proposal templates for various project types and template formats.

What Does a Project Proposal Template Include?

A project proposal describes what you hope to achieve with your project and how. The goal is to secure buy-in and approval on your project from stakeholders, clients, sponsors, and decision-makers. Though project types vary, all project proposals follow a similar structure.

A project proposal template typically includes the following sections:

• Executive Summary: Provide an overview of your project that aims to persuade stakeholders and sponsors to provide project approval. Present key points that the rest of your proposal will cover in detail. Ideally, an executive summary will be concise but effective enough that a sponsor might approve the proposal based on this section alone.
• Background: In this section, outline your organization's history and the specific value and opportunities your project brings to the table. This section provides the necessary context for your project.
• Objectives: Identify and list your project’s measurable goals, and articulate how they project support your organization's vision.
• Methodology: This section should clearly define your approach, tasks, and deliverables, which are intended to achieve project objectives. Consider including a schedule with a timeline detailing project milestones and task deadlines.
• Resources: In this section, specify the personnel, equipment, software, and dedicated task time needed to successfully complete the project.
• Budget: Provide an itemized breakdown of the project's estimated costs. Where necessary, offer brief explanations to justify certain costs.
• Measurement and Reporting: Define how you will report progress and measure success for your project. Create a reliable schedule for project status updates.
• Risks: List any potential risks involved with your project. Document risk probability, impact, and mitigation strategies should they occur.

Why Should You Use a Project Proposal Template?

A project proposal template presents your proposal in a structured and professional manner. By offering a ready-to-use format, it streamlines the proposal writing process, saving time and enabling you to concentrate on the finer details.

Reusable across multiple projects, project proposal templates not only ensure consistent communication with your team and stakeholders, they also effectively persuade decision-makers and potential clients of the value of new projects.

How to Write a Project Proposal

The first step in writing a project proposal is identifying the problem your project addresses. Next, document the project background and present your solution. List your project deliverables and the resources needed to produce them.
Follow these steps to write a persuasive project proposal:

1. Identify the problem: Define the problem your project will solve.
2. Present the project background: Present data to show the value of solving the problem. Explain how it impacts your organization.
3. Offer the solution: Explain why your project is the best option to solve the problem. Detail how it solves the problem and aligns with your organization's goals.
4. List the project deliverables: Define what your project will produce and when.
5. Identify the project resources: List the personnel, technology, and equipment your team needs to complete the project successfully.
6. Complete a project proposal template: Fill out a well-structured project proposal template to clearly articulate and organize all essential aspects of your project.

Tips for Using a Project Proposal Template

A project proposal template helps you define your project's value and document why it is needed. Use a template to present your proposal and encourage stakeholder buy-in and decision-maker approval.

These tips will help you use a Microsoft Word project proposal template:

1. Conduct detailed research: Gather data to support your project's objectives and value. Analyze previous projects to apply what you learned.
2. Address the problem your project solves: Detail why your project is necessary by describing the problem that it addresses. Your proposal must show a solution in measurable deliverables.
3. Write a first-rate executive summary: The executive summary is the first thing clients and decision-makers will read. Sometimes, it is the only thing they read, so it is important to write clearly and concisely to persuade them.

The Advantages of Using Smartsheet for a Project Proposal

Smartsheet makes it easier than ever to create a project proposal that will impress your stakeholders. With Smartsheet, you can effectively lay out proposal information, include links to additional research, and upload project documentation directly to the sheet.

• Customizable Layout: Use Smartsheet to lay out your project proposal in whichever order works best for you, then create a personalized template to use over and over again.
• Attach Documentation: Attach outside documents to any row of your sheet to provide more information about your proposal as needed or link to other websites and documents as needed.
• Include Data: Easily configure cells to show additional data from documents or reports within Smartsheet to contextualize your proposal and add more detailed information without increasing visual noise.
• Real-Time Updates: Any updates you make to your proposal can be viewed in real time from anywhere by anyone who has access, ensuring that they will always have the most up-to-date information available.

From simple task management and project planning to complex resource and portfolio management, Smartsheet helps you improve collaboration and increase work velocity -- empowering you to get more done.

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.