Costing And Timetabling
Once you have decided what you want to do it's time to find out how much it will cost. The cost of your project is important because it will determine how much funding you will need and which is the most appropriate funding scheme for you.
There are two main things to consider when costing your project:
- Materials - this includes things like equipment, building material, fencing, materials, paving, soil and plant.
- Labour - the equipment and people to do the job; how many people will you need and for how long.
Once you have your design clearly drawn on a plan, either by your group or from a landscape architect/consultant, you will need to work out what materials and labour you will need to get the job done. Again if it is a simple design you can do this yourself (see below) but where the project is more complicated you can employ the landscape architect to produce a schedule of work and specification - together these are called a Bill of Quantities.
If you decide to do this work yourself, you will need to make a list of all the items you will need and then a list of all the jobs you need to do. Once you have got this together your group can decide which you will need to pay for and which you may be able to get for free. Make sure you keep a list of who will be doing what. This may be through volunteer labour or donated goods, equipment and labour. These are known as 'in kind' contributions.
It is important to keep a record of 'in kind' contributions and volunteer time as many funding organisations like to see the level of activity from within the group. They can also count as part of your matched funding contribution for many grant schemes. Each grant scheme will have information available on how much 'in kind' contributions you can use as your match funding. They will also tell you how to calculate how much your volunteer time is worth.
Timetable
You've probably already talked about how long the project will take to turn into reality. Now is the time to work out a timetable for your project. This can be done by making a list of the work that needs to be carried out in order for the project to succeed and then write how long you think each job will take. Try to divide the project up into specific chunks; some jobs will divide up naturally while others may take a bit of effort. Try not to make the chunks too small. Now discuss how long you think each chunk will take to do. Don't be afraid to ask people for advice and remember you may have some specialist knowledge in your group or local community you can draw on. Some jobs will depend on other work being finished first and it is important that your timetable shows this. Don't forget, work may be dependent on outside factors such as time of year or weather. Try to build in a bit of slack time to account for delays and possible problems.
Your timetable can also remind you how much you've achieved as you tick off each job done - don't forget to celebrate when you complete large sections or difficult pieces of work.
Getting quotes
At this stage you should have a detailed design for your project. Once you have your design and bill of quantities, or have made your list of materials and labour that you need to pay for, you can begin to get quotes. At this stage you're just trying to find out how much the work will cost to help with your funding bid. Ideally you should try to get three quotes. Getting a quote does not mean you have to use that contractor, nor do you have to use the cheapest.
You should send a copy of the design and list of materials and labour (or bill of quantities with items that you want a price for clearly marked) to each contractor. Ask them to visit, view and
measure the site and to provide, in writing, a detailed quote. Check each quote and ensure that everything you want done has been covered. Ensure that all the contractors are quoting on the same list of work or they won't be comparable.
You may also find it useful to ask for references from each contractor, or a list of similar jobs they have done. You can then contact their previous clients or visit a couple of these jobs so you have some reassurance that if you decide to eventually employ that contractor that they will do a good job.
Once you have received your quotes check them carefully to ensure that everything you want done has been covered. Compare the quotes; they will probably be quite similar, but if one is a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive you should consider discarding it as this may be an indication that they haven't understood the brief or that they may be over or under charging for materials or labour, which could cause problems later in the project. The rest of the quotes along with the in kind contribution should give you a realistic idea of the total cost of your project.
Once you have a design, and a costed list of materials and labour you are now ready to think about making funding applications
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