A vague problem, objectives that cannot be tested, or no evaluation plan

Reviewers often reject a proposal not because the idea is bad but because they cannot tell what will be delivered. Warning signs:

• The problem statement talks about a whole industry or country with no specific users.
• Objectives start with "to explore", "to learn" or "to make easier".
• There is no section on how results will be measured.

Read your proposal as a stranger would and ask: after reading this, could I say at the final evaluation whether the team succeeded? If the answer is no, return to the problem and objectives chapter of this guide and rewrite.