v2026.1CASRAI Dictionary 714 entries across 20 domains · CC-BY 4.0714 entries · CC-BY 4.0

Dictionary termTrack EStablev2026.2

Project plan

The structured document, typically created in the proposal or award-acceptance phase, describing the project's objectives, methods, work packages, tasks, milestones, deliverables, timeline, budget, team, and risks.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A consortium uses Annex 1 of its Grant Agreement as the operational project plan, with WPs, tasks, milestones, and deliverables tracked against the plan.
Is an instance
An NIH R01 grantee references the funded Specific Aims as the project plan throughout the 5-year award.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A single-paragraph project summary is not a comprehensive project plan.
Not an instance
A funder programme strategy document is not a project-level plan.

Editorial commentary

The project plan is the operational blueprint for the project. For Horizon Europe projects, Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement (the 'description of action') is the formal project plan; for NIH and other US federal projects, the Specific Aims and Research Strategy of the funded proposal serve a similar function. The project plan is the reference against which interim and final reporting compares actual progress. Updates to the plan during execution require formal change requests for substantive amendments. Project plans complement the data management plan and the climate impact statement (when required).

References

PMBOK Guide project plan; Horizon Europe Annex 1 Annotated Grant Agreement.

Also known as

Project description · Description of action (HE) · Work plan · Project workplan

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Project plan"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-plan" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

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  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "name": "Project plan",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-plan",
  "description": "The structured document, typically created in the proposal or award-acceptance phase, describing the project's objectives, methods, work packages, tasks, milestones, deliverables, timeline, budget, team, and risks.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-lifecycle-stages-and-project-metadata/",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-plan",
  "sameAs": [
    "Project description",
    "Description of action (HE)",
    "Work plan",
    "Project workplan"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}