Chapter 19 Preparing Proposals

Chapter 19 Summary

A proposal is a document that is presented as a plan to do something new or change something in an organization or business. A proposal may be used in a variety of situations. A proposal generally includes some or all of the following information on it:

· Situation

· Plan

· Benefits

· Approach

· Evaluation

· Qualification

Proposals are different from reports, as the former is a document mentioning approaches to an answer while the latter are about information that have already happened, or they present an answer.

Proposals are a form of persuasive writing, that attempt to convince an audience that the proposed plan is a good solution to an existing problem. Proposals can have one of several purposes:

· Solve a problem

· Investigate a subject

· Sell a product or service

Types of Proposals

A solicited proposal is written in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP provides a problem, i.e. the specifications for a proposal; a successful proposal must adhere to those guidelines and provide a viable solution.

A proposal that is submitted without an RFP being issued is called a unsolicited proposal. This type of proposal is written not to an RFP but to a perceived need. Unsolicited proposals are often internal documents, responses perceived need by someone in an organization.

Sources of RFPs

· RFPs are regularly issued by several types of organizations:

· research and nonprofit foundations

· educational institutions

· government agencies

· private business and industry

Using Persuasion in Proposals

When writing a proposal, one should take into consideration all the potential arguments and concerns that could be raised when reading the proposal. Writing effective proposals requires persuasion, which should not be confused with manipulation. Persuasion means applying credible and logical arguments to convince readers that the writer's view is appropriate.

The following factors have been identified as critical aspects of persuasion since Aristotle described them in his Rhetoric in the fource century of BCE:

· Audience Concerns: The most important aspect of preparing a proposal is "Establish that the problem or opportunity exists and then clearly show how your plan addresses it." The proposal writer must clearly suggest why the changes will be beneficial to the readers and/or listeners to negate the effects of cognitive dissonance, a principle that believes that people reject or at least devalue information that conflicts with their existing beliefs.

· Persuaders' Credibility: Credibility is making the readers believe that you are reasonable, honorable and display goodwill. Credibility, even though a political issue, greatly affects the acceptance or rejection of your proposal. The more drastic changes your proposal suggests, the more credibility is required for your proposal to get accepted.

· Logic of Message: A proposal must be logical and also based on sound assumptions, providing with it valid and reliable evidence. Also the proposal must acknowledge and respond opposing views. There are two ways of reasoning your ideas

o Induction: Induction is reasoning from the particular to the general.

o Deduction: Deduction is reasoning from the general to the specific. Traditionally, this reasoning takes a three-part argument:

§ Major premise - general statement about an entire group

§ Minor premise - state about an individual within the group

§ Logical conclusion - conclusion about the individual

Considering Requests for Proposals

To write an effective proposal, the writer needs to understand the RFP writer's point of view. To understand that, the writer should be good in writing an RFP himself as well.

· Writing an RFP: The preparation of an effective RFP includes several steps:

o Identify the Problem or Opportunity

o Provide Background Information

o Define the Desired Outcome

o Specify the Product or Service You Need

o Require Detailed Information about the Organization or Personnel - information such as personnel, available equipment, and work history.

o Provide Process Information - information such as dates, project details, proposal submitted for consideration, criteria for evaluating the proposal

o Establish Criteria for Selection

· Managing the Proposal Process: Managing the proposal process involves responding to general questions from vendors, consultants, or researchers, coordinating the schedule for submission of proposal, evaluation of proposals and the responses about acceptance or rejection to those who submitted proposals.

Preparing Proposals

According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), the 10 top reasons proposals were rejected were as follows:

1. Lack of new or original idea
2. Diffuse, superficial, or unfocused research plan
3. Lack of knowledge of published relevant work
4. Lack of experience in the essential methodology
5. Uncertainty concerning the future direction
6. Questionable reasoning in the experimental approach
7. Absence of an acceptable scientific rationale
8. Unrealistically large amount of work
9. Insufficient experimental detail
10. Uncritical approach

Making sure that none of these criteria fit in your proposal will dramatically increase the chances of assisting the creation of your proposal. Also, being acquainted with the subject you are proposing will also help a lot as well! (Go figureJ)

Planning

When preparing proposals, the preparation should go smoothly if the project is planned well. This means by following the next guidelines, the proposal should go well:

1. Be aware of deadlines
2. Create a well structured schedule for completing the proposal
3. Understand the criteria grading your proposal
4. Understand what the background knowledge of the decision makers are

Being aware of the deadline is VERY crucial because by missing the deadline, your proposal will not even be considered most of the time!

When we are originally planning, these few things should be assumed in the creation of your plan:

1. Read and reread what is the purpose for the proposal
2. Identify and substantiate the problems or opportunities you are addressing
3. Meet with the key people involved to discuss the problem
4. Propose a plan that can solve the problem effectively
5. Organize the plan to an outline form
6. Understand the evaluation criteria
7. Analyze the competition’s views
8. Acquire others view points on the idea
9. Create a manageable budget for implementing the proposal

Drafting:

When drafting the proposal, it is important to turn back to the RFP. These next pointers should assist during the drafting stages:

1. If an RFP exists, follow it exactly. If there is no recommendation, use the one that is used in the book
2. Establish a solid link between the problem and the plan.
3. Provide as much information as possible. Even in the implementation stages.
4. Create arguments and counterarguments to address potential objections.
5. Use specific details and examples to show more strength in the idea you are presenting.
6. Use a “you” attitude when possible and appropriate

Budgeting:

Most proposals will require a budget narrative (or walk through) of your plan. Unless asked to be proposed in another way, a budget plan can be proposed in one of three ways:

1. Add a column to the budget summary and provide an explanatory sentence for each item line
2. Add a footnote reference to each line item and list the explanatory sentences in footnotes directly following the budget itself
3. Provide a separate subsection in which you explain the rationale for each category

Also, funders often begin reading proposals by turning to the budget and budget narrative. By doing this, they are attempting to understand the focus of your material.

Evaluating:

Once the draft is complete, it now must be evaluated. In this case, some general guidelines that should be followed while evaluating are:

1. Determine if the RFP directions have been followed
2. Make sure the draft meets or exceeds the criteria for the evaluation
3. Examine the accuracy of the technical document
4. Study the feasibility of the plan
5. Review the acceptability of cost
6. Solicit reviews of the draft from colleagues

Revising:

Once the evaluation of your proposal from yourself and your other reviewers are completed, you should have some general ideas for revising the proposal. On top of those issues that you find, these other issues should also be addressed:

1. Add, modify, or delete information to meet RFP evaluation criteria
2. Make sure the argument is coherent
3. Check to make sure the document design conforms to the design specifications

Organizing and Submitting Proposals

There are many different ways proposals can be arranged.

Sequencing Information:

If there is no specific sequence required for the proposal, this one should work well.

1. Introduction
2. Plan
3. Benefits
4. Approach
5. Evaluation
6. Qualifications

By submitting a proposal like shown above, this will make a solid, general proposal outline for the evaluators.

Submitting a Proposal:

In the past, it was typically known that a proposal would be done in written form. However, now people will do so online or in an oral presentation form. The main reason that the online form is becoming the norm is because:

1. Money
2. Time
3. Space
4. Flexibility
5. Data Protection

A strong oral presentation will also strengthen a proposal because not only can he say what is on the proposal, but he may also adjust his words towards his audience.