How to execute an Eagle Project

First Section

Eagle Scout Service Project Proposal.

Timeline for developing your proposal

1:  Determine what you want to do for a project
Work with the Beneficiary and Project Coach to get Beneficiary acceptance of your proposal
Write up the proposal (discussed later in this section)
Get signature approval of your proposal from a. your beneficiary b. your unit leader c. your unit committee and d. the district review board(given after the successful review of your project by the review board)

The proposal is a high-level overview of your project plan/vision, but must contain enough detail to demonstrate to the district review board a thorough understanding of what your project will entail and how you plan on completing the project.
Sections of the proposal

2:  Contact Information
Contact information.  Fill this page out completely.  Your unit advancement person can assist you with this information.  Please do not skip any portions of this section, as almost 50% of all projects requiring additional review have missing parts of this section.
Project Description.  This is a one paragraph description of what you are planning for your project.
Pictures.  This section is to attach pictures of the “before” condition of your worksite (if relevant) and helps with the overall visualization of what you are planning to accomplish.  This section can be omitted if not relevant to your project (i.e. a service instead of a building project).  Sketches of what you want the “after” condition of the worksite is helpful to include as an appendix to this section.  If you have any preliminary drawings of what you are proposing, they should be included in this section, and should include dimensions of the sizes of the materials.
Description of how your project will be helpful to the beneficiary.  A one paragraph statement on why the beneficiary needs this project to be done and how it will help the beneficiary carry out their goals.
Giving Leadership.  This section describes how you plan on showing leadership by completing this project.  It will include an estimate of how many people will be needed to complete the project, how you will recruit the people and your ideas on how you will direct them in the completion of the project.  It is also very helpful to include the number of adults required to provide oversight (but not supervision) of your workforce.  At least 4 adults will be needed with at least 2 of them being registered scout leaders.  This is necessary to provide “2 deep leadership” which is described in the “Guide to safe scouting”.  You will be asked by the district review board how you plan on supervising your workforce and how you will plan on handling any disputes or in-project changes to your project.  This is one of the most important parts of the district review process (along with an understanding of how the project will be carried out).

3:  Materials/Supplies/Tools
Materials/supplies/tools.  These sections deal with a list of the materials needed to build your project, the consumable supplies needed and the tools needed to build your project.  Of importance to the review board will be the safe handling of the relevant tools and what age requirements will be required of various tools (i.e. power saws can only be used by a person over the age of 18).  There is a chart if the back part of the Guide to Safe Scouting that can provide this information and if you wish, you can provide copies of these pages as an appendix to your proposal.
Other needs.  Any other items required to help you complete your project such as postage or getting a concrete truck to come on site for a large pour.
Permits and Permissions.  This section contains a list of regulatory approvals (if needed) to complete your project.  An example is a city building permit if required.  The beneficiary and your project coach can assist with determining this.
Costs.  A preliminary list of the cost to complete your project.  This will have unit costs for the materials/supplies/tools and how many needed with an estimate of total cost.  These costs are a “good faith” estimate and will be further refined in the Project Plan section of the workbook.  You will be asked where the funds will be coming from by the district reviewer as they don’t want the project to fail due to a lack of planning on sources of funds.
Project Phases.  One sentence descriptions of the various steps needed to complete your project.  The district review board will want to make sure that you have considered all of the steps necessary to complete your project and will be expanded upon in the Project Plan section of your workbook.
Logistics.  This section deals with how you plan on transporting people and your various items to the worksite.  Please remember that an Eagle project is a troop activity and the same requirements are in force as those for a camping activity as is per the custom of your troop.  You will be asked on how long your project will take, proper facilities for care of your workforce (water and restroom availability, etc.)Your Project coach is helpful in filling out this section.

4:  Safety Issues
Safety issues.  This section deals with your plans for keeping a safe work environment and what you will do in case of an accident.  Appointing a first aid person and having hours and directions to the nearest minor care facility are good steps to include here.
Project Planning.  This section describes how you will plan complete your project plan and any other items of note that will need to be completed as part of your detailed plan.  It does not have to be more than a couple of sentances long.
Candidates Promise.  This section will be signed and dated by the scout before presenting himself to the district review board.  It is his promise that he has read and understood all of the material contained in the workbook to this point, especially page 5 of the introductory section.
Unit Leader approval.  This signature by your unit leader is required before going to your district review board and his signature means that he has read and approved your project proposal as written.  The unit leader will typically consult with your project coach before signing.
Unit committee approval.  This signature by your unit committee chair (or his designee) is required before going to your review board and their signature means that the unit has read and approved your project proposal as written.  The committee will typically consult with the unit leader before signing.

5:  Beneficiary Approval
Beneficiary approval.  This signature is by a responsible party of the beneficiary group (i.e. a school principal or administrator instead of a teacher), and is required before going to your district review board.  Of importance is that you have given the beneficiary a copy of the last two pages of the workbook titled “Navigating the Eagle Scout Service Project” which outlines what a project entails.
Council or District approval.  This signature is given upon your successful completion of a district review board.  The review board will be making sure that you have put sufficient thought and effort into the planning of the project and that you have a good plan on how to execute the project.  They will also be paying special attention to meeting the requirements in the Guide to Safe Scouting. 

Please note that not all projects are given this signature at the initial review board.  This does not mean that you have failed in your proposal, it simply means that the review board needs some additional information before they approve the project to proceed to the nest phase.  You may not start the execution of your project until this signature has been obtained.  These reviews typically take about 45 minutes and consist of a question and answer session with the district reviewers along with a short verbal description of your plan.

Note: when taking your project to the district review board, make a few copies for their review while meeting with them, but keep the copy containing the original signatures with you until they are ready to sign.
Once all signatures have been obtained, this section of the workbook cannot be changed.  Any amendments from this time forward will be in the next sections.

 
Second Section
Eagle Scout Service Project Plan. 

This section takes the proposal and expands the project details to a level that another person can be given the plan and carry out the project to your specifications by only consulting the written material.It should be very detailed, and completed before you “take the field” to construct your project.

Comments from your proposal review.  This section will contain any helpful suggestions made by your district reviewer.
Project description and Benefit-Changes from the Proposal.  This section should detail out any alterations to your plan made since the review board. And will contain a section on why the changes were made and how they will make a better project for the beneficiary.
Project Phases.  This is where you will take the one sentence Project Phases from your proposal and expand them to illustrate how the project will be completed.
Work Processes.  This is a step by step description of what will be done and how  the steps will be completed and must be a very detailed plan of action for each step of the execution of your project.  This seems arduous, but will help in problem solving during the execution of your project.
Attachments.  This is where any detailed drawings of your completed project along with any construction documents needed to complete your project.  It is an expansion of the drawings completed for the proposal and should contain detailed dimensions and sizes of the materials to be used as well as the overall dimensions of he project.
Permits and Permissions.  Copies of any city permits, etc. should be included here.
Materials/Supplies/Tools.  Number of material/supply/tool items to be used should be listed here as well as cost of the items and where the will be obtained.
Other needs.  List of other needs, as mentioned in the proposal section should be listed here as well as their cost.
Expenses.  This should be the totals of the previous four items mentioned above and the total cost of the project.  In addition, the sources of where you will get the funds to complete the project will be listed here.  Be sure to include the cost of any donated items or contributions by the beneficiary.
Giving Leadership.  This section will contain a list of the jobs required to complete the project, the skill set required to complete the jobs and the age appropriateness of the plan on who will complete each job.
Logistics.  This section will expand on the same section in the project proposal.
Contingency Plans. Your description of what you have for backup plans, such as rain on the day of your outside project work.
Eagle Scout Service Project Fundraising Application.  This section is only relevant if you plan on having a fundraiser to fund your project.  It only applies if you plan on going outside your family, troop, chartered organization or beneficiary group for funding.  If relevant, it must be approved by the council office before holding the fundraiser.

 
Third Section
Eagle Scout Service Project Report. 

This section will be completed after your project is done.The purpose is to provide details on how the project went and if any in-project changes had to be made to compete the project.Please remember that all of the planning in the world will not mitigate the need for changes during the actual execution of the project and that almost all projects do not go 100% to plan.Your Eagle Review board will spend considerable time in reviewing this section and asking you what changes were made, what your thought process was when making the changes and why this helped to make a better project or helped the project be completed successfully.Their intent is to evaluate how you showed leadership of the project by making the hard decisions necessary to complete the project successfully and is a major step in the growing process that Scouting has tried to instill in the youth in the program.

Note:  this section will also include a list of the hours worked on the project, both by you and others.  Do not wait until this time to try and remember the number of hours worked.  Start now keeping records of the hours you spend developing and completing the project and do not forget that when meeting with others, count both your hours and the hours of the people that you are meeting with (along with parents time spent transporting you to the various places you need to go to gather the information needed to complete the project).
The final section is a final sign off by both the project beneficiary and your unit leader.  These signatures show that they have approved the final project and should be obtained as the last step of the project.