exhaustive proposal outline

ENGL 379: introduction to professional writing
fall 2007
exhaustive proposal outline

Front Matter

The title page includes the report title, contracting agent and/or representatives, author or authors, division or subcontractor the author(s) represent, and the date of submission.

The cover letter is a standard letter of transmittal, the subject of which is the report itself. It abbreviates the entire proposal to about a page.

Large contracting agents may require a documentation page. Although it is included primarily to facilitate processing, it also offers managers an accessible overview of the report.

The table of contents lists and numbers each of the report's major sections. Formats for headings and subheadings in the table of contents should match those in the text. If, for instance, section headings are numbered, capitalized and indented five spaces in the text, they should be numbered, capitalized and indented five spaces in the table of contents.

Body

The body of proposals vary greatly in length and form. Some agencies require a particular and precise format. The most comprehensive has seven sections: statement of the problem, statement of request, description of proposed work, description of available facilities, qualifications of personnel, budget, and summary. Each may be subdivided according to needs of audience and author. Which sections you include and which sections you subdivide are contingent upon the requirements of your employer, the proposal's context, and/or the demands of the agency which solicited the proposal.

1. Statement of the Problem

1.1 definition of problem

A corporation defines (and advertises) its problem in a Request for Proposals -- commonly called an RFP. A government agency may use an RFP or a set of guidelines. A foundation publishes and makes available a description of its interests and a list of successful proposals from recent years.
Unsuccessful proposals may fail because they simply do not answer the request. At some point between reading the organization's RFP or announcement and writing the proposal itself, the authors lose sight of their audience. Do all you can to maintain focus. Study the problem as the agency defined it, refer to it throughout the writing process, and if necessary (and if allowed), contact the agency which solicited the proposal to be certain you understand it. Many proposals summarize the problem exactly as the agency soliciting the proposal defined it. This practice assures the organization which solicited the proposal that you perceive its problem correctly; it also helps you to focus on that problem.

1.2 evaluation of state-of-the-art equipment or techniques for solving the problem

The reader will look here for evidence of your expertise. Research relevant literature, and make the research evident.

2. Statement of Request

This section, also called the "executive summary," outlines the project and summarizes its strengths. It is likely to be brief -- at most two or three pages. It is the first part many readers will read and it is the only part others will read; accordingly, you should be especially careful here to use a professional tone and to make certain your information is correct and complete. You should also make certain your statement is persuasive. One effective means is through a unique selling point -- that is, a single, specific and supportable reason your proposal is superior to the others.
This section may also offer an overview of the project budget. As with reporting all figures, you should double-check their accuracy with superiors. In short proposals this section may be a paragraph; in longer proposals it may run to one or two pages.

3. Description of Proposed Work

The contracting agent will read your proposal asking whether you can perform the work you promise to perform. He is more likely to be persuaded if you can provide detail.

3.1 objectives of project
This section expands upon objectives mentioned above in "outline of plan." Again, be certain to maintain your focus on the audience's problem.

3.2 methods to be used in achieving those objectives

Although the author of the "artificial recharge" proposal faces a unique combination of problems in topography, water tables and climate, his proposed methods are standard in his field, and he does not think it necessary to explain them. Authors writing other proposals may have limited knowledge in certain areas, and so can discuss methods only in general terms. Still other projects have no precedent whatsoever, in which case the author must make educated guesses. Firms bidding for the contract to manufacture pressure suits for NASA's Mercury astronauts, for instance, had no real design models; one such firm visited The Tower of London to examine the elbow and knee joints of suits of armor. Although your reader will expect that you know enough of your proposed methods to justify their use, he will understand that certain particulars of those methods cannot be known until the project is underway.

3.3 schedule

Offer dates for beginning and ending the project, and a schedule for the completion of various stages of the project. Consider including a timeline. Because the audience will want evidence that you can complete the project in due course, the schedule must not only be realistic; it must be demonstrably realistic. Cite previous projects completed on similar schedules. Explain and justify any peculiarities in the schedule -- an aspect of the project which might seem excessively slow or fast, for instance.

3.4 discussion of alternatives

You may present those alternatives in any way, so long as it is systematic. You may wish to discuss them, for instance, chronologically -- that is, to offer a history of what has been tried in the order it was tried. Or, you may move from the alternative which presents the most problems to the alternative which presents the fewest -- and so prepare the way to present your alternative -- which has fewer faults than any, or no faults at all. Whichever presentation you use, be certain to explain the inadequacy of each alternative not your own. Your audience will be reading to be certain you understand them.

4. Description of Available Facilities

A proposal author whose organization is modestly equipped is obviously at some disadvantage in this section, and should be warned against inflating or misrepresenting the equipment available. If your laboratory consists of a kitchen sink and a Bunsen burner, better to say so than be contracted for work requiring more sophisticated equipment -- and/or be charged by the contracting agent with fraud.

4.1 detailed description of equipment

Identifying equipment by brand name is common and accepted practice; praising equipment is unprofessional.

4.2 list of materials

As with instructions materials are separated from equipment in that materials may be used up. Again, you may use brand names.

5. Personnel

5.1 names, positions and relevant backgrounds of payrolled employees

Many proposals offer here paragraph-long descriptions of most important personnel -- i.e., managers, chief scientists, etc. Descriptions should be relevant to the subject of the proposal. In other words, if the proposal concerns testing disease-resistant barley strains, the reader does not care that your chief scientist happens to have recently published an article on a problem in fluid mechanics; the reader does care, however, that he has five years experience managing a greenhouse.

5.2 names and positions of remaining staff

Some reports include this section in an appendix.

5.3 relevant publications of payrolled employees
This section appears as a standard "works cited" page. Smaller firms, and firms competing for a certain type of project for the first time may have no relevant publications. In such a case, simply omit this section.

6. Budget

Although the proposal whose budget is lowest does not necessarily win, the proposal which promises the most savings over the long run has a better chance. This section appears as a table or series of tables, with any unusual figure explained in an accompanying narrative. Many organizations require separate budget tables for the entire project and for each year of the project.
Proposals for larger projects are likely to devote several pages to their budget, and may separate it into subsections.

6.1 salaries of payrolled employees

Salaries should be determined by dividing the employee's normal salary by the percentage of time at work on the project. For instance, if an employee earns $40,000 per year and is expected to spend 33% of her time on the project during its first year, she will be listed as earning $13,200 from the project.

6.2 cost of reusable equipment purchased to service the proposed work

Estimates for costs should use current market prices. If the project is expected to last more than one calendar year, estimates should make adjustment for inflation: most proposals assume five or six percent. When (and if) the contract is signed, the attorneys for both parties include a section detailing what equipment becomes property of which party at the project's completion. As in the "artificial recharge" proposal, costs may be expressed in local currency.

6.3 costs of expendable equipment

As with reusable equipment costs, estimates should use current market prices and make adjustments for inflation. How detailed is an author expected to get? Do you count reams of paper? boxes of paper clips? a printer cartridge? In general, such materials are included in specialized sub-sections like "stationary" and "copying costs." If you have specific questions about details, examine previous reports.

6.4 remaining expenses, e.g., clerical salaries, travel, distributing reports

First-time authors of proposals are likely to underestimate these costs -- and likely to omit certain of them. It is prudent to use another proposal on a similar project as a model, and to consult with superiors.

7. Summary

In discussing résumés, we invoked the standard counsel of writing teachers: "Don't tell -- show." The same advice applies here. Your reader will not be persuaded when you tell him that your work is superior to the competition. He will be persuaded only if you can demonstrate that such is the case. Accordingly, the proposal summary is divided into sections that demand specificity.

7.1 benefits to contracting agent

What may be obvious to you may be less than obvious to the reader of your proposal. Delineate every advantage -- those which are obvious as well as those which are indirect or "hidden."

7.2 comparison of your proposal to likely competition

Demonstrate a knowledge of the competition and present your candid evaluation of it. Your readers are likely to be reading the competition's proposals shortly before or after they read yours: they will have a working knowledge of your competition, and they will evaluate your proposal against it. Do not deprecate the competition. Such practice is unprofessional and unethical; and it may open you to charges of libel -- a defamatory statement that injures a reputation.

7.3 reassertion of seriousness of problem

The reader may not fully appreciate the import of the problem before him. Recount the problem, and if your work will prevent subsequent or related problems, describe them as well.

7.4 reassertion of selling points, and urge to action

Consider the order in which you present these points. You may want to re-order them, moving from least persuasive to most persuasive and so building to a kind of rhetorical crescendo. Most proposals, repeat them in the order they appeared earlier in the text, thus reinforcing mental tracks already laid.

End Matter

End matter may be appendices of lists of figures, tables and visuals too long to place within the report body, and not immediately relevant to a reader's understanding of the proposal. It may also include descriptions of related projects, and letters of testimony from former clients. Some readers will look to a bibliography to be certain your research was complete; others, requiring specific information, will appreciate an index through which they may find a reference in the report body which occupies too little space to be listed in the table of contents.