(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