Writing a good campaign proposal can be daunting. There is no one size fits all approach to drafting such proposals. I've put together some useful tips that can guide you in submitting an excellent campaign proposal. These tips will help you bring your idea of how to improve student life at Coventry University to life.  

A campaign proposal is not just a formality, it is a roadmap to turning your campaign vision into reality. There are different tools that can be used to ensure that you develop a good campaign proposal; I've decided to look into how to use the SMART tool. The idea of this is that all campaign proposals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. This tool is recommended for my Make a Change: Campaign competition, and they are explained below:  

Specific

Your campaign proposal should clearly explain the problems faced by students. The group of students facing these problems should be identified, and you should look at solutions, with clear steps and timelines as to how to reach these solutions! 

Measurable

A good campaign proposal should be measurable. It should be clear how you are going to define how the success of the campaign will be measured (for example, increased student engagement). Numbers and data should be able to demonstrate the success of the campaign. There should be measures to track the progress of the campaign to allow for adjustments when needed. 

Attainable

It's great to dream, but your campaign proposal should contain goals and objectives that are realistic and achievable. You should avoid setting overly ambitious targets that are unlikely to be met with the available resources and time. Your campaign’s proposed solutions should be practical and should contain a clear plan for overcoming potential challenges.

To create a good campaign proposal, you will need to set realistic timelines too. It would be great to see how the campaign will be broken down into smaller, manageable tasks with clear deadlines. Identifying where you can collaborate with other teams within the SU/wider university is also another good way to ensure that your campaign proposal is attainable. These collaborators such as other students, SU staff or university departments, could help to support your campaign. Also, you will need to think about the budget and other resources needed for the campaign.  

Relevant

Your campaign proposal needs to understand the challenges, priorities, and interests of the students that you are trying to support. Whilst doing this, it will need to align with the overall goals, objectives and values of Your SU, and it would be good to address challenges faced by students; for example, mental health issues, financial insecurity, etc. 

Timely

A good campaign proposal should contain timelines, featuring when the campaign will be launched, when specific activities will take place, when the overall campaign will be considered complete, and when specific goals will be achieved. This will help to manage expectations, and will show exactly how this campaign will make a positive impact.  

If you follow some of the steps in this guide, you will be on your way to producing a good campaign proposal. Remember, most importantly, it must be student-centric and should clearly explain how students will benefit from the campaign. You can read more information about campaign training by visiting the Campaigns section of our website. Good luck!