Chapter 19
Preparing Proposals
Andrew Hebert, Heidi Knott
Introduction
A proposal is defined as the act of putting forward or stating something for consideration. This chapter goes through the process of developing and submitting proposals.
Information that should be included in a proposal:
- Situation- a definition of the problem or opportunity, including information that situates it in the organization
- Plan- present a plan for resolving the problem or addressing the opportunity
- Benefits- explain probable benefits that will result from adopting the plan
- Approach- outline methods for implementing the plan, including schedules, costs, and management plans
- Evaluation- Identify and evaluation strategy for determining whether the proposed plan works
- Qualifications- establish your qualifications for submitting the proposal and implementing the plan
Characterizing Proposals
Proposals are a form of persuasive writing that try to convince an audience that a proposed plan responds to a problem. Proposals have three main purposes, they are…
· Solve a Problem
o Some examples of problems would be like designing and manufacturing a mechanism to modify something.
· Investigate a Subject
o Many projects need to be investigated before they begin construction, so it is good to have a investigative proposal.
· Sell a Product or Service
o This kind of proposal provides information to a customer to help them make the right decision.
There are few different types of proposals, one being a solicited proposal which is written in response to a request for proposal (RFP). For example, when an organization asks an outside source to help with a problem they issue a RFP, which shows all of the specifications needed. You may also refer the solicited proposal as a bid request because the best proposal will get the job. Many places offer RFPs to people outside of the place, if they accept a proposal the person who they accepted would receive a contract or grant. Places like…
§ Research and nonprofit foundations
§ Educational institutions
§ Government agencies
§ Private businesses
Using Persuasion in Proposals
For your proposal to be effective it needs to use successful persuasive techniques. The proposal also needs to address any problems that may arise and discuss them before they are brought up.
Proposals need to discuss:
- Concerns of the audience- establish that the problem or opportunity exists and then clearly show how your plan is going to address it
- Credibility of the speaker or writer- If the readers believe that you are reasonable, honorable, and display goodwill, you will have credibility
- Logic of the message- your case should be reasonable and it should explain and relate the audiences needs to your proposed plan
Your argument can be either inductive or deductive:
- Inductive- reasoning from the particular to the general
- Deductive- reasoning from the general to the specific
Considering Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
How do you write a RFP, that is the next topic of discussion. Many people don’t realize the amount of time and effort that are needed to create this. If a person writees it carelessly it is likely that it will receive inadequate proposals. Here are a few steps to create an effective RFP…
- Identify the Problem or Opportunity
- Describe the problem that you are looking to have fixed and tell why it is so important.
- Provide Background Information
- This info is very critical for the consultants and researchers of the project
- Define the Desired Outcome
- Describe how you would like the outcome of the project. It is very important to think about what will happen, also you should draw on opinions and expertise of your colleagues.
- Specify the Product or Service You Need
- You should clearly show the product or service you need and should consider that once you dig deeper into the situation that it is possible your idea will change.
- Require Detailed Information about the Organization and Personnel
- Detailed information will be needed so a fair comparison can be made among the people that respond to the RFP.
- Here are some things you can consider…
1) Personnel
2) Available Equipment
3) Work History
- Provide Process Information
- Provide essential details about the proposal process to see which vendors would be able to fulfill everything
- Here are some things to include…
1) Dates
2) Project details to be considered
3) Proposal submitted for Consideration
4) Criteria for evaluating the proposals.
- Establish Criteria for Selection
- Now identify which vendor suits your needs the best.
Preparing Proposals
When preparing your proposal it is very important to know reasons why proposals may fail:
- Lack of new or original ideas
- Diffuse, superficial, or unfocused research plan
- Lack of knowledge or published relevant work
- Lack of experience in the essential methodology
- Uncertainty concerning the future direction
- Questionable reasoning in the experimental approach
- Absence of an acceptable scientific rationale
- Unrealistically large amount of work
- Insufficient experimental detail
- Uncritical approach
Steps in preparing a proposal:
- Planning- it is important to be aware of deadlines, establish an achievable schedule, know the review and evaluation procedures, analyze the background knowledge,
- Drafting- when drafting, go back to the RFP, follow the recommended structure or sequence of information
- Budgeting- identify the projected expenses, in a list or an elaborate spreadsheet
- Evaluating- do a document test, view it as the intended audience will see it
- Revising- this gives you another chance to check that the relationship between the problem and the plan is clearly established
Organizing and Submiting Proposals
There is not one single format that has to be used to write a proposal, they can range from a simple memo to a 300 page document.
If a person is not required to put the proposal in a certain way the best way would be to put it in this sequence…
· Introduction
o This would simply describe the situation or the problem that you are trying to solve, this is very important because if you do a bad job, the proposal will have no context.
· Plan
o Tells the audience how the problem will be addressed
· Benefits
o Explain to the audience about how your plan would benefit them and why they should adopt your plan instead of others.
· Approach
o Explains how the plan will be implemented, also the budget of the plan, and also the time frame in which the project will be completed.
· Evaluation
o This identifies ways to determine the proposed plan accomplishes all of the objectives that were required.
· Qualifications
o This is also very important because this will describe all of your capabilities and the structure of the proposer’s organization.
o This will also include resumes of all of the key personnel that will implement the plan
All of these would definitely be included in a formal proposal, but if the proposal is informal many of the categories would be eliminated. The opposite would go for a formal one; some very formal ones would include much more information in each category.
24 comments:
Proposals are very important in life. One example is proposals in cities. Many times people will have proposals to fix problems or to build new buildings or what not. One important thing about proposals is that you have to persuade people to look at the problem the same way you do. The purpose of the proposal is very crucial. If the purpose is unclear and does not relate well to the audience or the topic, the proposal will never go through. Overall, proposals are a good thing, and will help our communities as well as our people.
Proposals aren't something that I have really come across in any aspect of my academic or work life. However, the sports proposal that has been a topic on campus is something that I'm tied to. I know that they revised the original proposal to include some reevaluated issues. Once that was completed, the proposal was accepted. I think that they should have created the proposal more in a way that appealed to the student body as most of the people who voted didn't know anything about the project. I also think I will have to write a proposal in the future pertaining to undergraduate research projects that I need to get funded.
Up to what I know proposals are very important in the political and business life. Chapter 19 does a good job explaining every step and detail that a proposal has to have to be succesful. Proposols takes plenty of time and effort of many people, there are not easy to make,specially in the convinzing part. I personally never done a proposal and I'm not informed if my career has something to do with some type of proposal down the road, but is sure helpful to learn how to develop them.I think a good example of proposals are the ones that each candidate here in school has to persue students to vote for them.
For this chapter I haven’t has to do any proposals but I think coming up with new ways to deal with problems and proposing them to a committee will be something I will need to do in the future. This information is very helpful in that you learn how to make your proposal convincing. You work hard to research what you think is better or finds a new product completely. I know in my field of study it might be finding a new way to help somebody cope with a problem and finding a new ways to improve their status health wise. Business settings are a little more challenging I am sure because proposals get shot down every day.
Knowing how to properly form a proposal is good to know. Whether it be for something at work or something in your community. As a construction Management major I will have to make proposals in my job. I will have to form proposals to change something on a house or a job site and I will have to form propoals on work orders. For me to properly learn how to do a proposal is very beneficial so that I will be able to do them without any problems.
Although I doubt I will be needing this knowledge on proposals in the future for my career, it is always helpful to be knowledgable in many areas of technical communication. This information would be helpful however if I would like to propose perhaps class field trips or changes in classes when I am an educator.
I believe that this chapter will be pretty important to me in the future. I will have to make proposals in the future. I think that these skills in this chapter are good skills to use in the future. Proposals can be just about anything. It is trying to pursuade someone to do something that they might not think has to be done. Proposals are not always going to be excepted, but they are a good way to take a certain issue into concern and make people thing about it.
Proposals are becoming a huge part in todays life because to get something done we can't just do it anymore with our government so we propose an idea and go from there. This chapter does a great job because it really taught and refreshed my mind about this topic. In this class, I have to do a proposal to the city of mankato and the university to become more of a "green city." It taught me a few things that I think will help me complete this project.
This chapter was important because as students, we do not get many opportunities to prepare proposals. They will be an important part of many of our lives after graduation. I for one, never knew exactly how to write a proposal. I know that I will have to write proposals in my career as a dietician to both my employers and my clients. These are the people who are going to want to know why I am doing the things that I am doing. After reading this chapter, I now have a better understanding of the appropriate steps involved in writing a good proposal.
Chapter 20 gave me a better understanding of what I should do if I were to write a proposal lets so for Manufacturing Engineering Technology. I know in Engineering project proposals to the customers is an anual process to let them know were you are at and what you have come up with as a solution to the problem that they presented to you to fix. Proposals are usually the first thing that is presented of in Manufacturing its defining the problem statment.
Chapter 19 on preparing proposals is a new concept to think about when thinking of my future career. I was thinking that maybe proposals on new workout and nutrition plans for the company I work for might be helpful, but it is not going to be my main job. I think it is still helpful to read about persuasive presentation techniques. Making proposals is helpful in trying to get a new idea across.
This chapter was all about proposals. Proposals are something that I have never worked with very much. Because I did not know anything about this topic, I learned a lot from reading this chapter. After reading this chapter I realized that proposals are something that I will have to do in the future at some point. I may have to use them in a few different ways. I am glad to have read this chapter so if I ever have to write one I will be able to do it.
One year ago, the senior design group I am in had to write a design proposal to be approved before we could start on our project. We had to show all the skills we would be using to complete our project. We also had to show all the tools and space we would be using to complete our project. The proposal was in sense a contract for us students to complete the project by a certain date to gain full credit for the class it is tied to.
This chapter relates a lot to what we are doing in class as well as what I have done in my major. It is important to look at deadlines and how you are going to deal with them or updating your schedules to make them current with what is going on in the current project. Updating our gantt chart in class is one of the ways that we have been doing this in class so that everything is on time.
I have not been in a situation where I needed to come up with a proposal. I have been to a city council meeting in my home town and I have seen people read proposals from different organizations asking for city funding. The people that wrote the proposal needed to access their audience to make sure they could get what they wanted.
In personal experience I haven't done too many proposals, I had to do one for my 8th grade science fair experiment, but that is all that I can recall having a proposal on. I can see in my future work that I'll be writing proposals all the time to try to get grants or funds. Knowing how to create good proposals can make or break the deal.
Proposals are a very professional way to pass along your ideas. The proposal I am currently working on is for work because I am trying to move from part time to full time. I am going to write a proposal outlining my past accomplishments and progress as an employee. Then I will outline why I will be a good candidate for full time.
I think this chapter is going to benefit me greatly in my field of work. Many times I will be bidding for a certain job with my proposals. I think that the most important part of a proposal is the plan and benefits portion. If you submit a proposal that isn't very clear and too vague, it looses its potential. I haven't had to do any proposals professionally, but I see how important the structure could be. This chapter will really help me plan and organize my first proposal. I don't want to start out with a bad one.
For as long as I can remembered, I haven't wrote a proposal yet. I have not been in any situation where a proposal is needed. I guess as a student and not doing intensive research there is really no need to write a proposal. Before this class, I heard about Request For Proposal from a teacher in the engineering department. That was the first time I was exposed to RFP. The professor talked about writing a RFP for getting a grant to research a product. I think that proposal is important to business and engineering since these days one can't work on a project alone. You need outside source and that is where proposal comes in.
It is very important to make proposals very clear and to the point. Including the benifits and the basic issue at hand needs to fully alert the audience of the problem. Solving the problem in the form of a proposal need to address every angle of viewpoints. For instance in school boards several issues come up each school year. Proposals are introduced in meetings to address the problem and the basic solution that could be made. Discussion is usally done after the proposal is added and usally many concerns are addressed. An updated/revised proposal is then added to fullfill everyones concerns.
After reading chapter 19, I know a little bit more about proposals. Still, I can't imagine that I will have the oppotunity to write many proposals. I will write other things like sports stories and articles for papers. I won't be proposing too much as a reporter.
This chapter was really helpful because my group project is a proposal for campus and the apartments around campus to become a more green friendly environment. before I read this chapter I wasn't sure how to format the actual proposal it's self and now that I've read this I have a better idea how to write up the proposal so that it is actually taken seriously.
This chapter gave me a better understanding of what I should do if I were to write a proposal for AET. I know in Engineering project proposals to the customers is an monthly process to let them know were you are at and what you have come up with as a solution to the problem that they presented to you to fix. Proposals are usually the first thing that is presented in Engineering.
Proposala are part of persuassive techiques business, organization and government use. i haven't had the chance to prepare a proposals in my academic life but in the future i know i will encounter them in my workplace. This chapter has been very helful in describing how one should prepare proposal. The one thing one should question him or herself is if the information in adeqaute and convising to the readers or listerners
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