Concept Note: What It Is and What to Include

What Is a Concept Note?

A concept note is a short document, typically two to five pages, that an organization writes to present a program, evaluation or research idea before committing to a full design. It is usually sent to a funder as the first stage of a two-stage application, or shared internally so a manager or board can decide whether the idea is worth developing. Its job is to show that the problem is real, the approach is sound and the organization can deliver, in enough detail to earn the next step and no more.

In a two-stage funding call, only applicants whose concept notes are shortlisted are invited to submit a full application. Inside an organization, an approved concept note releases staff time and budget for detailed design. For an evaluation, study or event, it is the short case for what will be done and why, written before a terms of reference or full plan.

Why It Matters

A concept note protects time on both sides. Full proposals can take weeks to prepare, and many are not funded. A short note lets a funder screen many ideas cheaply and lets an applicant test fit before investing in budgets, logframes and annexes.

It also forces the hard thinking to happen first. If the approach and expected results cannot be stated clearly in three pages, a longer document will only hide the gap.

Funders that shortlist on a concept note commonly limit how far the full application may depart from it, so what you commit to here carries forward.

What Does a Concept Note Include?

Most concept notes cover these sections, in roughly this order. Funder forms often fix the length of each, so check the form first.

1. Problem and need. The issue being addressed, who is affected, and the evidence that it matters now. A few facts from a needs assessment or recent data are enough.

2. Objectives. One overall objective and a small number of specific objectives, each stated as a change or result rather than an activity. Three or four is plenty at this length.

3. Proposed approach and activities. What will be done, in what sequence, and why this approach suits the problem. Name the main activity groups, not every task.

4. Expected results. The outputs and outcomes the work should produce, often as a short theory of change paragraph or a simple results chain. A full logframe is usually left for the full proposal, though some forms ask for a summary version.

5. Target groups and geography. Who will be reached, how many, where, and how they will be selected. Give numbers and place names.

6. Partners and capacity. Who will implement, who the partners are, and why this team can deliver. Add relevant past experience in a few lines.

7. Indicative budget. A total and a rough split by main cost category, or only the amount requested and the duration when the form says so. It is labeled indicative because it will be refined. See M&E budget for the monitoring and evaluation share.

8. Monitoring and evaluation. How progress and results will be tracked: the main indicators, who collects data, and whether an evaluation is planned. A paragraph is enough. Point to the MEL plan that will follow if the idea is funded.

9. Sustainability. What will continue after funding ends and who will carry it. Funders often score this, so be concrete.

Length limits are the part applicants most often miss. Calls usually fix a total page or word count, and many fix the allowance for each section or the number of characters per answer.

Example Outline

A concept note for a three-year community health program, sent in response to a funder's call, might run 4 pages:

1. Title block and summary: applicant, partners, total cost, duration, countries (half a page)
2. Problem and need (half a page)
3. Objectives and expected results, with a short theory of change (1 page)
4. Approach and main activities (1 page)
5. Target groups and geography (a few lines)
6. Partners and capacity (a few lines)
7. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (a few lines)
8. Sustainability (a few lines)
9. Indicative budget table by main category (half a page)

Attachments: only those the call asks for. Many funders ask for none at this stage.

Concept Note vs. Full Proposal vs. Letter of Inquiry

The three are often confused because each comes before a funding decision. They differ in who asks for them and how much they must prove.

A letter of inquiry is closest to a concept note but usually shorter and sent without an open call. Candid describes letters of inquiry as short, no more than three pages, and notes they generally do not carry attachments unless the funder requests them.

Two further uses are worth separating. The World Bank's project cycle includes a Project Concept Note, which the Bank's own project team writes during project identification to set out proposed objectives, risks, alternative scenarios and a likely timetable for preparation. It is an internal step in the Bank's process rather than something an applicant submits. And a concept note for an evaluation, study or event is not part of a funding competition at all: it is a short internal paper that explains purpose, questions, approach, audience and cost so that a decision-maker can approve the work before a scope of work or terms of reference is drafted.

Common Mistakes

Writing a mini proposal. Cramming in every detail of a full proposal produces unreadable text. Leave the workplan, risk table and logframe for the full application.

Ignoring the form's limits. Exceeding page, word or character limits can fail a note on a formal check before it is assessed. Work to the limits from the first draft, not by cutting at the end.

Activities with no results. A list of workshops and trainings says what you will do, not what will change. Link every activity group to a stated output or outcome.

A budget that cannot survive the full proposal. Funders that shortlist on concept notes expect the full application to stay close to the note. In the EU's two-step calls, for example, the requested contribution in the full application may not differ from the concept note estimate by more than 20%.

Leaving M&E until later. Reviewers read a missing M&E paragraph as a missing plan. Name the main indicators and who collects data, even in three sentences.

Variation by Funder and Purpose

Two-stage funding calls. Under the European Commission's Practical Guide for external actions (PRAG), calls for proposals are by default restricted: all applicants may take part, but only those shortlisted on the basis of a concept note are invited to submit a full application. In exceptional open calls, applicants submit both together, and the concept note is still assessed first as a shortlisting step. The concept note follows the call's own form, so the guidelines for applicants are the template.

Foundations and private funders. The first contact is often a letter of inquiry, or a short concept paper, sent without an open call. The funder's website says which it wants and often states page limits and whether a budget is expected.

Multilateral banks. The World Bank's Project Concept Note belongs to the Bank's own project cycle and is written by its project team. Check each institution's own process.

Internal approval. Within an organization a concept note gets an idea through a gate, usually a program director or board. It leans on strategic fit, cost range and risk.

Evaluations, studies and events. The note covers purpose, the questions to be answered, the proposed approach, who will use the results, timing and indicative cost. It is often the document that leads to a formal terms of reference.

In every case the test is the same: could a reviewer who reads only these pages decide whether to invite the next stage?