Main Difference
The main difference between Initiative and Project is that the Initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote and Project is a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim
Initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular or citizens’ initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a government to choose to either enact a law or hold a public vote in parliament in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, the proposition is immediately put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum.
In an indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature. If the initiative (citizen-proposed law) is rejected by the parliament, the government may be forced to see the proposition put to a referendum. The initiative may then take the form of a direct initiative or an indirect initiative.
In a direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a referendum.
The vote may be on a proposed federal level, statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or local ordinance, or to simply oblige the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. It is a form of direct democracy.
Project
Contemporary business and science treat as a project (or program) any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned (usually by a project team) to achieve a particular aim.An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a “set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations”.A project may be a temporary (rather than permanent) social system (work system), possibly constituted by teams (within or across organizations) to accomplish particular tasks under time constraints.A project may be a part of wider programme management or an ad hoc structure.
Note that open-source software “projects” (for example) may lack defined team-membership, precise planning and time-limited durations.
Initiative (adjective)
Serving to initiate; inceptive; initiatory; introductory; preliminary.
Initiative (adjective)
In which initiatives can be brought to the ballot.
Initiative (noun)
A beginning; a first move.
Initiative (noun)
A new development; a fresh approach to something; a new way of dealing with a problem.
Initiative (noun)
The ability to act first or on one’s own.
Initiative (noun)
An issue to be voted on, brought to the ballot by a sufficient number of signatures from among the voting public.
Project (noun)
A planned endeavor, usually with a specific goal and accomplished in several steps or stages.
Project (noun)
An urban low-income housing building.
“Projects like Pruitt-Igoe were considered irreparably dangerous and demolished.”
Project (noun)
An idle scheme; an impracticable design.
“a man given to projects”
Project (noun)
A projectile.
Project (noun)
A projection.
Project (noun)
The place from which a thing projects.
Project (verb)
To extend beyond a surface.
“extend|jut|protrude”
Project (verb)
To cast (an image or shadow) upon a surface; to throw or cast forward; to shoot forth.
Project (verb)
To extend (a protrusion or appendage) outward.
Project (verb)
To make plans for; to forecast.
“The CEO is projecting the completion of the acquisition by April 2007.”
Project (verb)
To present (oneself), to convey a certain impression, usually in a good way.
Project (verb)
To qualities or mindsets in others based on one’s own personality.
Project (verb)
To change the projection (or coordinate system) of spatial data with another projection.