A soft project is a project focused on activities and services rather than the acquisition of assets – education, advisory services, social services, research activities, awareness-raising or capacity building. Its advantage over investment projects is a substantially shorter preparation period, since no permits or project documentation are required, and a lower entry investment. However, the risk shifts elsewhere. The bulk of the budget consists of wage costs and services, which are more demanding to document than an invoice for a machine – timesheets with a specific description of activities, attendance sheets, syllabuses and evidence of outputs are needed. Outputs are less tangible, so greater emphasis is placed on measurable indicators and demonstrating them. Prepare the documentation on an ongoing basis, therefore, not retrospectively.
See also: Investment project, Wage costs and timesheets, Measurable project indicators.
