1. Explain the purpose of a proposal.

2. Identify and explain the different types of proposals.

3. Navigate and apply the format and structure of a proposal.
What Proposals Do

A proposal is an offer or bid to do a certain project for someone. Proposals may contain other
elements—technical background, recommendations, results of surveys, information about
feasibility, and so on. But what makes a proposal a proposal is that it is a persuasive
document that asks the audience to approve, fund, or grant permission to do the proposed
project.

If you plan to be a consultant or run your own business, written proposals may be one of your
most important tools for bringing in business. If you work for a government agency,
nonprofit organization, or a large corporation, the proposal can be a valuable tool for
initiating projects that benefit the organization or you the employee-proposer (and usually
both).

A proposal should contain information that would enable the proposal's audience to decide
whether to approve the project, to give you money for the project, or to hire you to do the
work, and maybe all three. To write a successful proposal, put yourself in the place of your
audience—the recipient of the proposal—and think about what sorts of information that
person would need to feel confident about you doing the project.

It's easy to get confused about proposals. Imagine that you have a terrific idea for installing
some new technology where you work and you write up a document explaining how it works
and why it's so great, showing the benefits, and then end by urging management to go for it.
Is that a proposal? No, at least not in this context. It's more like a feasibility report, which
studies the merits of a project and then recommends for or against it. All it would take to
make this document a proposal would be to add elements that ask management for approval
for you to go ahead with the project. Certainly, some proposals must sell the projects they
offer to do, but in all cases, proposals must sell the writer (or the writer's organization) as the
one to do the project.

Types of Proposals

Consider the situations in which proposals occur.

Sometimes proposals originate through a formal process. A company may send out a public
announcement requesting proposals for a specific project. This public announcement—called
a request for proposals (RFP)—could be issued through newspapers, trade journals,
Chamber of Commerce channels, or individual letters. Firms or individuals interested in the
project would then write proposals in which they summarize their qualifications, describe
schedules and costs, and discuss their approaches to the project. The recipient of all these
proposals would then evaluate them, select the best candidate, and then work up a contract.

But proposals also come about much less formally. Imagine that you are interested in doing a
project at work (for example, investigating the merits of bringing in some new technology to
increase productivity). Imagine that you visited with your supervisor and tried to convince
her to buy the new technology. She might respond by saying, "I like your idea, but I can't
approve a purchase that large. Write me a proposal. I'll present it to upper management." You
would then write a proposal in which you describe the problem, explain why it needs to be
solved, introduce your intended solution, describe schedules and costs, and ask for
permission to bring in the new technology. Your supervisor would then forward the proposal
to upper management, who would either deny the request or release funds to make the project
happen.

As you can see from these examples, proposals can be divided into several categories:

 Internal/External: A proposal to someone within your organization (a business, a

government agency, etc.) is an internal proposal. With internal proposals, you might
omit certain sections (such as qualifications) or not need to include as much
information in them. An external proposal is one written from a separate, independent
organization or individual to another such entity. The typical example is an
independent consultant proposing to do a project for another firm.
 Solicited/Unsolicited: A proposal that comes in response to an RFP is a solicited
proposal. Typically, a company will send out RFPs through the mail or publish them
in some news source. But proposals can be solicited in person, as well. For example,
if you are explaining to your boss what a great thing it would be to install a new
technology in the office, your boss might get interested and ask you to write up a
proposal that offered to do a formal study of the idea. An unsolicited proposal comes
even though the recipient has not requested proposals. With unsolicited proposals,
you sometimes must convince the recipient that a problem or need exists before you
can begin the main part of the proposal.
 Research/Goods-and-Services: A research proposal is one in which the
recipient requests permission or funding (and sometimes both) to study something and
write a report about the findings. A goods-and-services proposal is a classic business-
type proposal, in which one party offers to sell a product or service to another party.

Format of Proposals

You have many options for the format and packaging of your proposal. Two of the most
common formats are listed here.

Cover Letter or Memo with Separate Proposal

In this format, you send a cover letter or cover memo along with the proposal, but the letter or
memo does not appear inside the proposal's main body. They are distinct documents, and the
letter or memo should follow standard professional format. If the proposal is printed in hard
copy, the letter or memo is often paper clipped to the front cover.

Consolidated Business-Letter or Memo Proposal

In this format, you consolidate the entire proposal within a standard business letter or memo.
You include headings and other special formatting elements as if it were a larger, formal
document. (This consolidated memo format is illustrated in the left portion of the following
illustration.) Use the memorandum format for internal proposals and the business-letter
format for external proposals.
Figure 1: Proposal that uses the consolidated memo format (left) and a proposal that is
separate from its cover letter (right)

Common Proposal Structure

The following is an outline of the internal structure you'll commonly find in proposals. It is
not an absolute structure, so you can reorganize, cut, or add sections as necessary, but it is the
most common sequence and should serve you well as a basic framework, whether your
proposal is a single page or a multi-volume stack of bound paper.

Front Matter

Cover letter: A proposal that is longer than a few pages often contains a brief "cover" letter
or memo (depending on if the proposal is external or internal, respectively) that is paper
clipped to the proposal itself. This cover letter or memo briefly announces that a proposal
follows and outlines its contents. In fact, the contents of the cover letter or memo are pretty
much a condensed version of the introduction section. This redundant content is because the
letter or memo may get detached from the proposal, or the recipient may not even bother to
look at the letter or memo and just dive right into the proposal itself.

Binding, section tabs, cover, label: Consider packaging the document in a professional-

looking way, especially if you are preparing an external proposal in hard copy. Use a spiral or
comb binding, insert tabs for major sections (on long proposals; short documents are easily
navigable without tabs), and prepare a label for the cover that includes at least these four
pieces of information:

 the proposal's formal title

 the intended recipient
 the authors (or, often, the authors' organization)
 the date of submission

Title page: A proposal that is longer than a few pages usually includes a title page. On this
page, you should include the same basic information that appears on a cover label. You may
also wish to include a descriptive abstract at the bottom. (See the next section, Abstract /
Executive summary.)

Do not include a running header or page number on a title page.

Abstract—Executive summary: These two elements are superficially similar, but they serve
different purposes. An abstract is a capsule summary of the proposal's high points; it's usually
a single paragraph, and its purpose is to clue a reader in to the document's purpose and
general contents. An executive summary is a more-detailed summary that includes all the
important points in the proposal; it will contain multiple paragraphs and is significantly
longer than an abstract, and its purpose is to allow a busy executive to decide whether reading
the entire proposal is worthwhile.

Long proposals may contain both an abstract and an executive summary. Short proposals
most likely contain an abstract but no executive summary.

There is no hard limit on an executive summary section's length; it can vary from a half-page
to as long as needed. On a very long and complex proposal (for example, a proposal written
for the federal government about a multi-billion-dollar project), the executive summary can
be a short book. However, a good rule of thumb is to limit an executive summary to two
pages.

Table of contents: Any technical document of more than a few pages that includes distinct
major sections should include a table of contents (ToC), and each major section should start
on a new page.

The number of subheading levels you include in the ToC is up to you. A long, complex
proposal with multiple subheadings may be more navigable if every subheading has its own
ToC entry, but a relatively short proposal may only need its major headings to appear in the
ToC.

The ToC should not include the title page or the cover letter/memo. If the proposal includes
an abstract and/or executive summary, those sections should appear in the ToC, and it is
customary to paginate them with lower-case roman numerals. The ToC should not include
itself. Treat it as page zero.

Table of figures: If your proposal contains more than one figure or table, list them in a table
of figures (ToF), sometimes called a "list of figures."
Please note that tables and figures are different things. Strictly speaking, figures are
illustrations, drawings, photographs, graphs, and charts. Tables are rows and columns of
words and numbers; they are not considered figures.

For longer reports that contain multiple figures and tables, create separate lists for each. Put
them on a separate page from the ToC, but put them together on the same page if they fit.
You can identify the lists separately, as Table of Figures and Table of Tables.

Main Body

Introduction: Plan the introduction to your proposal carefully. Make sure it does all of the
following things (but not necessarily in this order) that apply to your particular proposal:

 Indicate that the following document is a proposal.

 Refer to some previous contact with the recipient of the proposal or to your source of
information about the project.
 Include one brief motivating statement that will encourage the recipient to read
beyond the introduction and to both consider doing your project (if it's an unsolicited
or competitive proposal) and consider hiring you to do the project.
 Give an overview of the proposal's contents.

Take a look at the introductions in the first two example proposals listed at the beginning of
this chapter and try to identify these elements.

Background on the problem, opportunity, or situation: The background section discusses

why the project is necessary or desirable—what problem exists, what opportunity there is for
improving things, and/or what the basic situation is. For example, managers of a chain of
daycare centers may need to meet state licensing requirements by ensuring that all employees
know CPR. An owner of pine timber land in east Texas may want to harvest saleable timber
without destroying the local ecosystem.

If your proposal's audience knows the problem very well, this section might not be needed.
Writing the background section still might be useful, however, in demonstrating your
particular view of the problem. And, if the proposal is unsolicited, a background section is
almost a requirement—you will probably need to convince the audience that a problem or
opportunity exists and that it should be addressed.

Benefits and feasibility of the proposed project: Most proposals discuss the advantages or
benefits of doing the proposed project. This section acts as an argument in favor of approving
the project. Also, some proposals discuss the likelihood of the project's success. In the
forestry proposal, the proposer recommends that the landowner make an investment; at the
end of the proposal, he explores the question of the potential return on that investment. In an
unsolicited proposal, this section is particularly important—you are trying to "sell" the
audience on the project.
Figure 2: Schematic view of proposals

Description of the deliverable (results of the project): Most proposals need to describe the
deliverable—the finished product that the audience will receive after hiring you to complete
the project. If you are writing a research proposal, the deliverable will be a report. If you are
writing a goods-and-services proposal, the deliverable will be an object or action.

Method, procedure, theory: In some proposals, you'll want to explain how you'll go about
doing the proposed work. This section acts as an additional persuasive element; it shows the
audience you have a sound, well-thought-out approach to the project. Also, it serves as the
other form of background some proposals need. Remember that the background section (the
one discussed above) focused on describing the problem or need that brings about the
proposal. However, in this section, you discuss the technical background relating to the
procedures or technology you plan to use in the proposed work. For example, in the forestry
proposal, the writer gives a bit of background on how timber management is done. Once
again, this section gives you, the proposal writer, a chance to show that you know what you
are talking about and to build confidence in the audience.

Schedule: Most proposals contain a section that shows not only the projected completion
date but also key milestones for the project. If you are doing a large project spreading over
many months, the timeline would also show dates on which you would deliver progress
reports. If you can't cite specific dates, cite amounts of time for each phase of the project.

If you are writing a research proposal about a potential project, you should divide the
Schedule section into two separate parts. One subsection should address the schedule for
researching and writing the report. The other subsection should address (at least in general
terms) the schedule for the major project that you are researching. For example, in the
forestry proposal, the timber landowner would have two major questions about time: when
would your report arrive, and how long would it take to harvest the pine timber in an
ecologically responsible way? You'd need to address both these questions in the Schedule
section, but you'd need to keep them in separate subsections.

Costs, resources required: Most proposals also contain a section detailing the costs of the
project, whether internal or external. With external projects, you may need to list your hourly
rates, projected hours, costs of equipment and supplies, and so forth, and then calculate the
total cost of the complete project. For internal projects, you will still need to list the project
costs: for example, hours you will need to complete the project, equipment and supplies
you'll be using, assistance from other people in the organization, and so on.

If you are writing a research proposal about a potential project, you should divide the
costs/resources section into two separate parts, just like the schedule section. One subsection
should address the costs for researching and writing the report. The other subsection should
list the costs and necessary resources (or at least reasonable estimates of them) for the major
project you are researching. Again, with the forestry example, the timber landowner would
want to know how much you'd charge to research and write a report about eco-friendly ways
of logging his land. Likewise, the land's owner would want to know that he can afford the
ecologically-sound logging project. If harvesting the timber in the eco-friendliest way will
cause him to go broke, there's no point in hiring you in the first place. You need to address
both these issues in the costs-and-resources section but keep them in separate subsections.

Qualifications: Most proposals contain a summary of the proposing individual's or

organization's qualifications to do the proposed work. It's like a mini résumé contained in the
proposal. The proposal audience uses it to decide whether you are suited for the project.
Therefore, this section lists work experience, similar projects, references, training, and
education that shows familiarity with the project.

Conclusions: The final major section of the proposal should do two things:

 refocus the audience's attention on the positive aspects of the project

 urge the audience to contact you with their approval

You can also encourage the audience to get in touch to work out the details of the project,
remind them of the project's benefits, and put in one last plug for you or your organization as
the right choice for the project.

Back Matter

Appendices: An appendix is an "extra" section that appears after the proposal's main body.
Any useful content that you feel is too large for the main part of the proposal or that you
think would be distracting and interrupt the flow of the proposal should go into an
appendix. Common examples of appendix-appropriate material are large tables of data, big
chunks of sample code, fold-out maps, background that is too basic or too advanced for the
body of the report, or large illustrations that just do not fit in the main body.

Use separate appendices for each item or category of items, and label each one alphabetically,
as "Appendix A: (descriptive title of contents)" and so on. If you've got only one appendix,
continue the proposal's page numbering scheme. If you have multiple appendices, you can
number each appendix's pages separately, as A-1, A-2, and so on.
Glossary: It's always a good idea to define specialized terms in the document's main text, but
if your proposal contains a significant number of terms that are unfamiliar to your audience,
you may need to include a glossary.

Index: Long, complex proposals may need to include an index so that readers can find the
specific word or topic that interests them.

Information sources: If your proposal quotes, paraphrases, or summarizes information that

came from outside sources, cite the sources appropriately in the main text and include
bibliographic information in a separate section at the proposal's end. Use whatever citation
format is appropriate for your audience's profession and field. Common formats include
IEEE, MLA, APA, CSE, Chicago, and Turabian.

Proposal Pre-Writing Strategy

When you develop a proposal, go through this checklist and think about these issues. Make a
list of your thoughts on them so you (and if you are working in a group, all your coworkers)
have a master document you can refer back to.

Audience: Describe the intended audience of the proposal and the proposed report (they may
be different) in terms of the organization they work for, their titles and jobs, their technical
background, their ability to understand the report you propose to write.

Situation: Describe the situation in which the proposal is written and in which the project is
needed: What problems or needs are there? Who has them? Where are they located?

Deliverable type: Describe the deliverable that you are proposing. If you are writing a
research proposal, will you give your client a technical background report? A
recommendation report? A feasibility report? If you are writing a goods-and-services
proposal, what object or service will you provide?

Information sources: If you are writing a research proposal, make sure you know that there
is adequate information for your topic. List specific books, articles, reference works,
interview subjects, field observations, and other kinds of sources that you think will
contribute to your report.

Graphics: List the graphics you think your report will need according to their type and their
content. Odds are, you'll need at least one figure or table.