Project recommendation report

Markel, M. (2015). Technical communication (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's.

CHAPTER 16

A PROPOSAL IS an offer to carry out research or to provide a product or service. For instance, a physical therapist might write a proposal to her supervisor for funding to attend a convention to learn about current rehabilitation practices. A defense contractor might submit a proposal to design and build a fleet of drones for the Air Force. A homeless shelter might submit a proposal to a philanthropic organization for funding to provide more services to the homeless community. Whether a project is small or big, within your own company or outside it, it is likely to call for a proposal.

Understanding the Process of Writing Proposals

Writing a proposal calls for the same process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading that you use for other kinds of documents. The Focus on Process box on the next page presents an overview of this process.

the logistics of Proposals

Proposals can be classified as either internal or external; external proposals are either solicited or unsolicited. Figure 16.1 shows the relationships among these four terms.

InTernaL anD exTernaL ProPoSaLS

Internal proposals are submitted to the writer’s own organization; external proposals are submitted to another organization.

FOcuS On PROceSS

When writing a proposal, pay special attention to these steps in the writing process.

PlannInG

draftInG

revIsInG edItInG ProofreadInG

consider your readers’ knowledge about and attitudes toward what you are proposing. use the techniques discussed in chapters 5 and 6 to learn as much as you can about your readers’ needs and about the subject. Also consider whether you have the personnel, facilities, and equipment to do what you propose to do.

collaboration is critical in large proposals because no one person has the time and expertise to do all the work. see chapter 4 for more about collaboration. in writing the proposal, follow the instructions in any request for proposal (RFP) or information for bid (iFB) from the prospective customer. if there are no instructions, follow the structure for proposals outlined in this chapter.

external proposals usually have a firm deadline. Build in time to revise, edit, and proofread the proposal thoroughly and still get it to readers on time. see the Writer’s checklist on page 443.

Internal Proposals An internal proposal is an argument, submitted within an organization, for carrying out an activity that will benefit the organization. An internal proposal might recommend that the organization conduct research, purchase a product, or change some aspect of its policies or procedures.

For example, while working on a project in the laboratory, you realize that if you had a fiber-curl measurement system, you could do your job better and faster. The increased productivity would save your company the cost of the system in a few months. Your supervisor asks you to write a memo describ- ing what you want, why you want it, what you’re going to do with it, and what it costs; if your request seems reasonable and the money is available, you’ll likely get the new system.

Often, the scope of a proposal determines its format. A request for a small amount of money might be conveyed orally or by email or a brief memo. A request for a large amount, however, is likely to be presented in a formal report.

external Proposals No organization produces all the products or pro- vides all the services it needs. Websites need to be designed, written, and maintained; inventory databases need to be created; facilities need to be constructed. Sometimes projects require unusual expertise, such as sophisti- cated market analyses. Because many companies supply these products and services, most organizations require that a prospective supplier compete for the business by submitting a proposal, a document arguing that it deserves the business.

SoLICITeD anD UnSoLICITeD ProPoSaLS

External proposals are either solicited or unsolicited. A solicited proposal is submitted in response to a request from the prospective customer. An unso- licited proposal is submitted by a supplier who believes that the prospective customer has a need for goods or services.

Solicited Proposals When an organization wants to purchase a product or service, it publishes one of two basic kinds of statements:

• An information for bid (IFB) is used for standard products. When a state agency needs desktop computers, for instance, it informs computer manufacturers of the configuration it needs. All other things being equal, the supplier that offers the lowest bid for a product with that configuration wins the contract. When an agency solicits bids for a specific brand and model, the solicitation is sometimes called a request for quotation (RFQ).

• A request for proposal (RFP) is used for more-customized products or services. For example, if the Air Force needs an “identification, friend or foe” system, the RFP it publishes might be a long and detailed set of technical specifications. The supplier that can design, produce, and deliver the device most closely resembling the specifications—at a reasonable price—will probably win the contract.

Most organizations issue IFBs and RFPs in print and online. Government solicitations are published on the FedBizOpps website. Figure 16.2 shows a portion of an RFQ.

Unsolicited Proposals An unsolicited proposal is like a solicited proposal except that it does not refer to an RFP. In most cases, even though the poten- tial customer did not formally request the proposal, the supplier was invited to submit the proposal after people from the two organizations met and discussed the project. Because proposals are expensive to write, suppliers are reluctant to submit them without assurances that they will be considered carefully. Thus, the word unsolicited is only partially accurate.

the “deliverables” of Proposals

A deliverable is what a supplier will deliver at the end of a project. Deliverables can be classified into two major categories: research or goods and services.

reSearCh ProPoSaLS

In a research proposal, you are promising to perform research and then provide a report about it. For example, a biologist for a state bureau of land management writes a proposal to the National Science Foundation request- ing resources to build a window-lined tunnel in the forest to study tree and plant roots and the growth of fungi. The biologist also wishes to investigate the relationship between plant growth and the activity of insects and worms. The deliverable will be a report submitted to the National Science Foundation and, perhaps, an article published in a professional journal.

Research proposals often lead to two other applications: progress reports and recommendation reports.

After a proposal has been approved and the researchers have begun work, they often submit one or more progress reports, which tell the sponsor of the project how the work is proceeding. Is it following the plan of work outlined in the proposal? Is it going according to schedule? Is it staying within budget?

At the end of the project, researchers prepare a recommendation report, often called a final report, a project report, a completion report, or simply a report. A recommendation report tells the whole story of a research project, begin- ning with the problem or opportunity that motivated it and continuing with the methods used in carrying it out, the results, and the researchers’ conclu- sions and recommendations.

People carry out research projects to satisfy their curiosity and to advance professionally. Organizations often require that their professional employees carry out research and publish in appropriate journals or books. Government researchers and university professors, for instance, are expected to remain active in their fields. Writing proposals is one way to get the resources—time and money for travel, equipment, and assistants—to carry out research.

GooDS anD SerVICeS ProPoSaLS

A goods and services proposal is an offer to supply a tangible product (a fleet of automobiles), a service (building maintenance), or some combination of the two (the construction of a building).

A vast network of goods and services contracts spans the working world. The U.S. government, the world’s biggest customer, spent $327 billion in 2009 buying military equipment from organizations that submitted proposals (U.S. Department of Defense, 2013). But goods and services contracts are by no means limited to government contractors. An auto manufacturer might buy its engines from another manufacturer; a company that makes spark plugs might buy its steel and other raw materials from another company.

Another kind of goods and services proposal requests funding to support a local organization. For example, a women’s shelter might receive some of its funding from a city or county but might rely on grants from private philan- thropies. Typically, an organization such as a shelter would apply for a grant to fund increased demand for its services due to a natural disaster or an eco- nomic slowdown in the community. Or it might apply for a grant to fund a pilot program to offer job training at the shelter. Most large corporations have philanthropic programs offering grants to help local colleges and universi- ties, arts organizations, and social-service agencies.

Persuasion and Proposals

A proposal is an argument. You must convince readers that the future ben- efits will outweigh the immediate and projected costs. Basically, you must persuade your readers of three things:

that you understand their needs

that you have already determined what you plan to do and that you are able to do it

that you are a professional and are committed to fulfilling your promises

UnDerSTanDInG reaDerS’ neeDS

The most crucial element of the proposal is the definition of the problem or opportunity to which the proposed project responds. Although this point seems obvious, people who evaluate proposals agree that the most common weakness they see is an inadequate or inaccurate understanding of the prob- lem or opportunity.

readers’needsinanInternalProposal Writinganinternalproposalis both simpler and more complicated than writing an external one. It is simpler because you have greater access to internal readers than you do to external readers and you can get information more easily. However, it is more compli- cated because you might find it hard to understand the situation in your orga- nization. Some colleagues will not tell you that your proposal is a long shot or that your ideas might threaten someone in the organization. Before you write an internal proposal, discuss your ideas with as many potential readers as you can to learn what those in the organization really think of them.

readers’ needs in an external Proposal When you receive an RFP, study it thoroughly. If you don’t understand something in it, contact the orga- nization. They will be happy to clarify it: a proposal based on misunderstood needs wastes everyone’s time.