How to write a project charter

What is a project charter?

A project charter is a short document that says: this project is approved, this person leads it, and this is what it will do. The Project Management Institute (PMI) describes it as a document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorises the project and gives the project manager authority to apply organisational resources.

For an NGO, a charter is useful after a grant is signed or an internal project is agreed. It turns a loose request, such as "please run this project", into work that leaders, finance and partners all recognise.

Why does a charter matter?

PMI says a charter should answer four questions. Does the sponsor agree the project should exist? Do they know who is leading it? Have they defined what authority the project manager has? Is the authorisation recorded somewhere you can point to?

Without those answers, common problems appear. The project manager cannot approve small spending. Finance does not know who signs. Two senior staff give different instructions. A charter prevents this by writing down who decides what.

What should a project charter include?

PMI lists the elements a useful charter includes or clearly references. Use this table as a starting template.

Add the budget total, the main milestones and a short risk list if your organisation expects them. Keep the document to one or two pages.

How do you write a charter, step by step?

1. Ask the sponsor the starting questions. What is the need? What does success look like? What resources can I direct, and where do my decisions stop?
2. Draft the need and objectives. Copy them from the approved proposal or project document, so the charter does not contradict what you promised the donor.
3. Define scope in and out. Write what is excluded as clearly as what is included. This helps later when someone asks for an extra activity. See how to stop scope creep in grant-funded projects.
4. Write your authority. PMI advises that if the sponsor will not give a straight answer on where your authority ends, you should write down the authority you assume, including the calls you make alone and the ones you escalate, and ask the sponsor to confirm or correct it.
5. List assumptions and constraints. For example: "Road access to Township A stays open from November to March" is an assumption the sponsor can challenge.
6. Get written approval. PMI notes that verbal approval may happen in practice, but the authorisation should be recorded in writing whenever possible. A signed page, or an email reply from the sponsor that is saved in the project file, works.

How do you keep the charter useful?

• Share it with the whole team at the start of the project, not just the manager.
• Use it in decisions. When a request arrives, check it against the scope and authority in the charter.
• Revisit it when the context changes. If the project changes in a major way, update the charter and record the new approval.
• File it with your agreement and work plan. Auditors and donors may ask who approved what.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Writing 15 pages. A long charter is not read. Reference the proposal and logframe instead of copying them.
• Vague success criteria. "Better community resilience" cannot be checked. Use measures you can count.
• No named sponsor. If nobody senior signs, the document is only a draft.
• Hiding disagreement. If two leaders disagree about scope, resolve it now. It will not go away.
• Forgetting partners. If an implementing partner is involved, include their role and decision rights.

How EMPO can help

EMPO is a reliable training and consultancy provider and one of Myanmar's leading names in practical NGO training, with 1,200+ people trained and 15 partner organisations. From Yangon, we offer Project Management training and organisational development support, online or in person across Myanmar, in English and Burmese. See our services or contact us to arrange a session for your project team.

Sources

• The Project Charter: How to Authorize the Work and Align It to Strategy — Project Management Institute, 2026