Grant-funded project Gantt chart template: work packages and deliverables
An editable Gantt chart for a grant-funded project: set-up and recruitment, three work packages gated by deliverables, an interim report with the funder's review, and the final report, with dependencies and milestones.
What the grant-funded project gantt chart template: work packages and deliverables process is
A grant-funded project is different from an ordinary project plan in one way that shapes the whole timeline: the work is divided into work packages, and the output of each is a deliverable that the next package depends on and that the funder expects to see. That makes the sequence stricter than it looks. A team cannot start building the second package on findings it has not yet written up, and it cannot treat a deliverable as done just because the fieldwork has ended. A timeline shows which package, and which part of the set-up, is actually deciding the finish.
This template has five groups: Set-up and recruitment, Work package 1, Work package 2, Work package 3 and Reporting and close. It has 22 tasks and five milestones. "Sign the grant agreement" (3 working days) is the only starting task. Three things then run side by side: "Set up governance and project reporting" (4), "Agree partner subcontracts" (8) and "Recruit and hire project staff" (15). Only "Onboard staff and hold kick-off" (3) waits for the hire, so recruitment is the slowest set-up task, with 10 working days to spare on the subcontracts and 14 on the governance work. "Project set-up complete" gathers all three and gates every work package.
The work packages are chained through their deliverables. "Design the WP1 methods and protocols" (6) and "Prepare data sharing agreements" (7) both have to be finished before "Carry out WP1 fieldwork" (15), and the agreements take one day longer than the design, so they set the start. Analysis does not wait for the fieldwork to end: "Analyse WP1 results and write the report" (8) starts 10 working days after the fieldwork starts, with a start-to-start link, because the first sites' data is already in. "WP1 deliverable accepted" is the gate for work package 2, since "Build the WP2 tool on WP1 findings" (7) really does use those findings. The same pattern repeats: "Evaluate the WP2 pilot" (6) starts 8 days into "Run the WP2 pilot" (12), and "Write WP3 guidance and outputs" (8) starts 7 days into "Deliver WP3 with partners" (14).
The interim report sits beside work package 2 rather than in front of it. "Draft the interim report" (5) starts as soon as the first deliverable is accepted, and "Funder review of the interim report" (10) is a plain wait that you replace with the time you are told. In these illustrative numbers it ends 6 working days before "Deliver WP3 with partners" can start, so it has a cushion, but WP3 does wait for it: feedback on the interim report can change what the third package should do, and that is the kind of late change that is expensive once the work is under way. In the illustrative numbers the whole plan is 88 working days, and the date is set by the recruitment chain, the work packages in turn and the final report, not by the reporting. "Final report submitted" ends the plan, after "Draft the final report" (6) starts from the last deliverable. Every duration is an illustration: replace them with your own estimates and with what the funder tells you about its review.
A timeline schedules the work. It does not make a project eligible, compliant or approved, and it does not replace the funder's rules on reporting, amendments or deliverables, so keep those as tasks with their own owners. For related plans, see /templates/grant-application-gantt-chart for the proposal that comes before the award, /templates/grant-reporting-gantt-chart for one reporting period in detail and /templates/research-project-gantt-chart for a research plan without the funder's gates. For how work packages and deliverables are drawn, see /guides/work-packages-and-deliverables-gantt-chart, and for the report cycle see /guides/reporting-periods-gantt-chart.
What this flowchart covers
In this template
- Five groups, Set-up and recruitment, Work package 1, Work package 2, Work package 3 and Reporting and close, with 22 tasks and five milestones: "Project set-up complete", "WP1 deliverable accepted", "WP2 deliverable accepted", "WP3 deliverable accepted" and "Final report submitted".
- A set-up gate: "Recruit and hire project staff" (15 working days) runs beside "Agree partner subcontracts" and "Set up governance and project reporting", and all three must be done before "Project set-up complete".
- Deliverables as gates: "WP1 deliverable accepted" leads to "Build the WP2 tool on WP1 findings", and "WP2 deliverable accepted" leads to "Deliver WP3 with partners".
- Overlap inside each package: "Analyse WP1 results and write the report" starts 10 days into "Carry out WP1 fieldwork", and "Evaluate the WP2 pilot" starts 8 days into "Run the WP2 pilot", using start-to-start links.
- An interim report with a wait: "Draft the interim report" and "Funder review of the interim report" run beside work package 2 and must finish before "Deliver WP3 with partners".
When to use this template
- You have been awarded a grant and need to turn the work packages in the agreement into a schedule with owners.
- You want to see whether recruitment, the longest work package or the reporting decides the end date.
- The funder expects an interim report at a fixed point and you want to check that the project reaches it with a deliverable in hand.
- You manage several funded projects and want one standard plan to resize for each.
The plan, task by task
Every task in the chart with its length in working days and what it waits for. A dependency is a step number; SS is start-to-start, FF is finish-to-finish, and +n is a lag in working days.
| # | Task | Group | Working days | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sign the grant agreement | Set-up and recruitment | 3 | |
| 2 | Set up governance and project reporting | Set-up and recruitment | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | Recruit and hire project staff | Set-up and recruitment | 15 | 1 |
| 4 | Agree partner subcontracts | Set-up and recruitment | 8 | 1 |
| 5 | Onboard staff and hold kick-off | Set-up and recruitment | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Project set-up complete | Set-up and recruitment | Milestone | 2, 4, 5 |
| 7 | Design the WP1 methods and protocols | Work package 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Prepare data sharing agreements | Work package 1 | 7 | 6 |
| 9 | Carry out WP1 fieldwork | Work package 1 | 15 | 7, 8 |
| 10 | Analyse WP1 results and write the report | Work package 1 | 8 | 9SS+10 |
| 11 | WP1 deliverable accepted | Work package 1 | Milestone | 10 |
| 12 | Build the WP2 tool on WP1 findings | Work package 2 | 7 | 11 |
| 13 | Run the WP2 pilot | Work package 2 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Evaluate the WP2 pilot | Work package 2 | 6 | 13SS+8 |
| 15 | WP2 deliverable accepted | Work package 2 | Milestone | 14 |
| 16 | Deliver WP3 with partners | Work package 3 | 14 | 15, 20 |
| 17 | Write WP3 guidance and outputs | Work package 3 | 8 | 16SS+7 |
| 18 | WP3 deliverable accepted | Work package 3 | Milestone | 17 |
| 19 | Draft the interim report | Reporting and close | 5 | 11 |
| 20 | Funder review of the interim report | Reporting and close | 10 | 19 |
| 21 | Draft the final report | Reporting and close | 6 | 18 |
| 22 | Final report submitted | Reporting and close | Milestone | 21 |
How it works
Rename the work packages
Replace the group names Work package 1 to Work package 3 and the WP1, WP2 and WP3 task names with the packages in your agreement, keeping one acceptance milestone for each deliverable.
Size the set-up
Set "Recruit and hire project staff", "Agree partner subcontracts" and "Set up governance and project reporting" from your own experience. The longest of them sets the day "Project set-up complete" is reached, so shorten or lengthen that one first.
Replace the waits
Set "Funder review of the interim report" to what the funder tells you about its review. If your agreement sets a notice period for anything, add it as a task with that duration instead of the one in the template.
Check the overlaps
Keep the start-to-start links only where later work can really begin on partial results. If analysis has to wait for all the fieldwork, change the link to finish-to-start and read the new end date.
Fix the dates that are fixed
Give "Sign the grant agreement" a fixed Start on the day the project begins and give "Final report submitted" a fixed Start on the date you are required to deliver. Then read the conflict flag.
Add owners, share and export
Put the person responsible for each task in People, share the chart as a link with partners and your research office, and export a PDF or PNG for the project board.
Frequently asked questions
Does the chart know the funder's deadlines or rules?
No. It schedules the tasks you enter. Take the dates, notice periods and review times from your agreement and the funder's guidance, and enter them as durations or fixed Starts. The chart does not check anything against a funder's rules.
My final report has a fixed submission date. How do I check it?
Give "Sign the grant agreement" a fixed Start on the day work begins, then give "Final report submitted" a fixed Start on the date it is due. The plan starts on the earliest fixed Start and is scheduled forward, so if the work cannot finish in time, "Final report submitted" is flagged with a conflict naming the earliest date its dependencies allow. Compare that with the date you need.
Why does work package 2 wait for the first deliverable?
Because "Build the WP2 tool on WP1 findings" uses the findings, and those are written in "Analyse WP1 results and write the report". If your packages are independent, remove the link from "WP1 deliverable accepted" so they can run in parallel. See /guides/gantt-chart-dependencies for how a link is written.
Can I track how far each work package has got?
Yes. Each task has a Progress value, drawn inside its bar, which you can update as work is done. Progress does not move any dates, so change a duration if a task will really take longer.
Can I use it for a project with only one work package?
Yes. Delete the groups and tasks you do not need and rename the rest. The set-up gate and the reporting tasks still apply. For milestones that mark each handover, see /guides/gantt-chart-milestones.