Needs statement for an accessible transport project
Who wrote it
Masar, a network of disabled people’s groups in Irbid, surveyed wheelchair users about transport. It wants to fund an accessible minibus service for medical appointments.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- Community and place
- Wheelchair users in Irbid city, Jordan
- The need, with data and sources
- Our survey of 214 wheelchair users in Irbid (March 2026): 71% missed at least one medical appointment in the past three months because of transport; 58% had been refused by a taxi driver at least once; average return taxi fare to the main public hospital: 9 JOD
- Causes
- None of the 40 city buses we checked has a ramp or a lowered floor (our audit, 2026); few taxis can take a wheelchair; broken pavements near many bus stops
- What is missing now
- The municipality’s bus plan includes 10 low-floor buses, but not before 2028; two charities lend wheelchairs; nobody offers accessible transport to appointments
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Needs statement: Grant proposal
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
For wheelchair users in Irbid, getting to a doctor is often harder than the treatment itself1. In March 2026 we surveyed 214 wheelchair users in the city2. Seventy-one per cent had missed at least one medical appointment in the previous three months because they could not get there, and 58% had been refused by a taxi driver at least once.
Who and how much
Note 1: One sentence frames the problem before the numbers, without pity and without exaggeration.
Note 2: The source, the date and the sample size come with the data. Reviewers can judge it.
The reasons are practical. None of the 40 city buses we checked in 20263 has a ramp or a lowered floor. Few taxis can carry a wheelchair, and a return taxi fare to the main public hospital costs 9 JOD on average. Broken pavements near many bus stops make even the walk to a stop difficult.
Why it happens
Note 3: A cause stated as an observed fact, not as blame. It also sets up the solution.
The need is recognised, but it is not yet met. The municipality’s plan for public buses includes ten low-floor buses, which are not expected before 20284. Two charities in the city lend wheelchairs, but no organisation offers accessible transport to medical appointments5. For the next two years at least, the people who most need regular care will continue to miss it unless someone fills that gap.
The gap, and why now
Note 4: Acknowledging what others plan shows the project fills a gap rather than competing.
Note 5: The gap in one clause. This is the sentence the whole proposal rests on.
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
Disabled people in Irbid are suffering and nobody cares about them.
Seventy-one per cent had missed at least one medical appointment in the previous three months because they could not get there.
Most of the handicapped cannot use the transportation.
None of the 40 city buses we checked in 2026 has a ramp or a lowered floor.
There is no any service for them.
Two charities in the city lend wheelchairs, but no organisation offers accessible transport to medical appointments.
Questions people ask
What is a needs statement in a grant proposal?
The section that proves the problem exists and matters: who is affected, how many, why it happens, what already exists and what is missing. It comes before the project, which then answers it.
Can I use my own survey as evidence?
Yes, if you say when it was done, how many people took part and how they were reached. Combine it with official figures where they exist.
How do I write about people with dignity?
Use the words people use for themselves, such as “wheelchair users”, describe barriers rather than personal tragedy, and never add a detail just to move the reader.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.