(Ch. 16) Writing Proposals

What kind of solicited proposal is used for more customized products or services?

a request for proposal (RFP)

For a proposal of more than a few pages, provide

a summary

What is a supporting letter

a testimonial to the supplier's skill and integrity

People who evaluate proposals agree that the most common weaness thsy see is

an inadequate or inaccurate understanding of the problem or opportunity

What kind of solicited proposal is used for standard products?

an information for bid (IFB)

Some proposals call for an evaluation by

an outside agent, such as a consultant, a testing laboratory, or a university

An evaulation technique refers to

any procedure used to determine whether the proposed program is both effective and efficient

Most proposals conclude with a detailed

budget, a statement of how much the project will cost

_________ is critical for large proposals because no one person has the time and expertise to do all the work

collaboration

When you receive an RFP, study it thoroughly. If you don't understand something in it,

contact the organization

When you submite an unsolicitied proposal, your task in many cases is to

convince readers that a need exists

Proposals are protected by

copyright law

The budget section of a proposal specifies how much a proposed program will

cost

For proposals, you must convince readers that the future benefits will outweigh the immediate and projected

costs

In your proposal, demonstrate your ability to carry out the project by providing four kinds of information

credentials and work history, work schedule, quality-control measures, budget

What does a supplier deliver at the end of a project?

deliverable

Once you have shown that you understand readers' needs and can offer a well-conceived plan,

demonstrate that you are the kind of person that is committed to delivering what you promise

Once you have shown that you understand what needs to be done and why

describe what you plan to do

What includes such expenses as salaries and fringe benefits of program personnel, travel costs, and costs of necessary equipment, materials and supplies?

direct costs

Many budgets are divided into two parts

direct costs and indirect costs

Copying from another company's proposal is a common

dishonest tactic

After you have described how you would carry out the project, show that you can

do it

What refers to any procedure used to determine whether the proposed program is both effective and efficient?

evaluation techniques

Proposal writers almost always reuse

existing information

What proposals are submitted to another organization?

external

(T/F) Writing proposals is not a way to get resources to carry out research

false

A request for a large amount is likely to be presented in a

formal report

When a project is tested while they are being carried out is referred to as

formative evaluations

Bar charts are also called

gantt charts

What covers expenses that are sometimes called overhead?

indirect costs

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

information for bid (IFB), request for proposal (RFP)

What proposals are submitted to the writer's own organization?

internal

Proposals can be classified as either

internal or external

What is an argument, submitted within an organization, for carrying out an activity that will benefit the organization?

internal proposal

The reuse of information amongst proposal writers are legal and ethical as long as the information

is the intellectual property of the company

An unsolicited proposal is like a solicited proposal except that

it does not refer to an RFP

Most readers will reject a proposal as soon as they realize that

it doesn't address their needs

The summary is crucial because

it might be the only item that readers study in their initial review of the proposal

The scope of a proposal determines

its format

Organizations often require that their professional employees carry out research and publish in appropriate

journals or books

The word "unsolicited" for unsolicited proposals is

only partially accurate

A request for a small amount of money might be conveyed

orally or by email or a brief memo

What are general secretarial and clerical expenses not devoted exclusively to any one project?

overhead

Indirect costs are usually expressed as a

percentage

In a research proposal, you are promising to

perform research and then provide a report about it

The resources you need fall into three basic categories

personnel, facilities, equipment

Even if you have reached an understanding with some of your potentional customerms representatives, your proposal will still have to

persuade other officials in the company

You won't persuade anyone by saying that you

plan to gather the data and analyze it

Considering your readers knowledge about and attitudes toward what you are proposing is considered what writing process?

planning

What is the writing process for writing proposals?

planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading

In describing what you plan to do,

present a complete picture of what you would do from the first day of the project to the last

The project leader is often called the

principal investigator

(T/F) Most organizations issue IFBs and RFPs in

print and online

Convincing readers that you have the pride, ingenuity, and perseverance to solve the problems that are likely to occur shows that you are a

professional

What tells the sponsor of the project how the work is proceeding?

progress reports

Reaearch proposals often lead to two other applications

progress reports and recommendation reports

What are tests of whether a proposed program is improving, say, the workmanship on a product

qualitative evaluations

What consists of technical evaluations carried out periodically by the project staff, on-site evaluations by recognized authorities or by the prospective customer, or progress reports?

quality-control measures

What are tests of measurable quantities, such as production increases?

quantitative evaluations

What is the profess of reading a draft of a proposal to look for any misunderstandings due to language or cultural differences?

read-through

What tells the whole store of the research project, beginning with the problem or opportunity that motivated it and continuing with the methods used in carrying it out, the results, and the researchers' conclusions and recommendations?

recommendation report

At the end of a project, researchers prepare a

recommendation report (final report, project report, completion report, report)

Because proposals are expensive to write, suppliers are

reluctant to submit them without assurance that they will be considered carefully

When an agency solicits bids for a specific brand and model, the solicitation is sometimes called a

request for quotation (RFQ)

Deliverables can be classified into two major categories:

research or goods and services

A proposal can be so large that twocaspects of the writing process ___________ __________ and _______________ are even more important than they are for smaller documetnd

resource planning, collaboration

People carry out reaearch projects to

satisfy their curiosity and to advance professionally

Although displaying information in a table is better than writing it out in sentences, readers still cannot

see the information

External proposals can be either

solicited or unsolicited

What kind of proposals are submitted in response to a request from a prospective customer?

solicited proposals

In most cases, even though the potential 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

When a project is tested after they have been completed is referred to as

summative evaluations

An unsolicited proposal is submitted by a

supplier who believes that the prospective costumer has a need for goods or services

A goods and services proposal is an offer to

supply a tangible product, a service, or some combination of the two

The simplest but least informative way to present a schedule is in a

table

What is a graph or chart that shows when the carious phases of the project will be carried out?

task schedule

What is almost always presented in one of the three graphical formats: table, bar chart, network diagram

task schedule

As far as qualifications and experience, for a small project, include a few paragraphs describing your

technical credentials and those of your co-workers

For proposals, you must persuade your readers of three things:

that you understand the context (what your readers need); that you have already determined what you plan to do and that you were able to do it; that you are professional and are committed to fulfilling your promises

Government solicitations are published on

the FedBizOpps website

The most crucial element of the proposal is

the definition of the problem or opportunity to which the proposed project responds

A solicited proposal is submitted in response to a request from

the prospective customer

As far as qualifications and experiences, for larger projects, include

the resumes of the project leader

Two sections commonly found in proposals can be positioned either in the appendix or in the main body of the document:

the task schedule and the description of evaluation techniques

What are three reasons to be honest in writing a proposal?

to avoid serious legal trouble stemming from breach-of-contracts suits; to avoid acquiring a bad reputation, thus ruining your business; to do the right thing

(T/F) A proposal is an argument

true

(T/F) An employee may not copy from a proposal he or she wrote while working for a different company

true

(T/F) Collaboration is critical in preparing large documents because no one has the time and expertise to do all the work

true

(T/F) Gantt charts are more informative than tables

true

(T/F) Like tables, bar charts do not indicate the interdependence of tasks

true

(T/F) One kind of goods and services proposal requests funding to support a local organization

true

(T/F) Proposal structures vary greatly from one organization to another

true

(T/F) Writing an internal proposal is both simpler and more complicated than writing an external one

true

(T/F) Writing major proposals requires the expertise of technical personnel, writers, editors, graphic artists, managers, lawyers, and document-production specialists

true

When you are preparing a proposal to be submitted to an organization in another culture, keep in mind the following six suggestions

understand that what makes an argument persuasive can differ from one culture to another; budget enough time for translating; use simple graphics, write short sentences (using common vocabulary); use local conventions regarding punctuation, spelling and mechanics; ask if the prospective customer will do a read-through

The purpose of the introduction is to help readers

understand the context, scope and organization of the proposal

What kind of proposals are submitted by a supplier who believes that the prospective customer has a need for goods or services?

unsolicited proposals

The introduction to a proposal should answer the following seven questions

what is the problem or opportunity; what is the purpose of the proposal; what is the background if the problem; what are the sources of information; what is the scope of the proposal; what is the organization of the proposal; what are the key terms that you will use in the proposal

In the section on the proposed program (plan of work), explain

what you want to do

In a request for proposal (RFP), the supplier that can design, produce, and deliver the device most closely resembling the specifications (at a reasonable price) will probably

win the contract

In an information for bid (IFB), all other things being equal, the supplier that offers the lowest bid for a product with that configuration

wins the contract

Writing an internal proposal is simpler than an external one because

you have a greater access to internal readers than you do to external readers and you can get information more easily

Whether your project calls for primary research, secondary research, or both, the proposal will be unpersuasive if

you haven't already done a substantial amount of research

Internal proposals are more complicated than external proposals because

you might find it hard to understand the situation in your organization

When you write an unsolicited proposal, analyze

your audience carefully