The Technical Proposal and The Request of

Proposala report by:

Michael Kevin Eugenio

Germil John Mamaril

John Mark Sangalang

What is a technical proposal?

A technical proposal is a detailed description of a series of activities aimed at solving a certain problem. In order to be successful, the document should (Repoa, 2007):

•provide a logical presentation of a research idea•illustrate the significance of the idea•show the idea's relationship to past actions•articulate the activities for the proposed project

What makes a good proposal?

•APPEARANCE - A strong proposal has an attractive, professional, inviting appearance. It should be unambiguous in language expressions. In addition, the information should easy to access.•SUBSTANCE - A strong proposal has a well-organized plan of attack. A strong proposal also has technical details because technical depth is needed to sell your project. It should:

Demonstrate needs Keep in view customer’s financial gain, convenience and

prestige Provide a suggestion Fulfill the requirement of solicitor Be purposeful and useful

Remember: A proposal is a persuasive document.

For companies, technical proposals are:

Valuable records to maintain

Index documents of company’s growth

Means of financial returns

Tools to promote various activities

Tools to win contracts

The Format of a Technical ProposalThe format consists of the layout and typography of a document. In formatting your proposal, you may follow these guidelines:

Aspect Description

Font for headings Boldface serif or sans serif: size in accordance with hierarchy

Font for text portion

12-point serif such as Times New Roman or Book Antiqua

Margins Standard, at least 1 inch

Layout One column, single-sided

Paragraphing Indented paragraphs, no line skip between paragraphs in a section

Page number Bottom centered

Figure names Numbered: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and so forth

Figure captions Below figure in 10 point type

Table names Numbered: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and so forth

Table headings Above table in 12 point type

Elements of a Technical Proposal

A technical proposal should have the following sections and headings:

1. Title Page •Title of project in initial capital letters •The sponsoring company and contact person’s name and information •Team name and individual member names •Date •An appropriate picture of the product, a team logo, or both

2. Executive Summary •Content: A brief summary of the proposal •Length: one-third to one-half page, never more than one page •Emphasis: highlighting of the proposed technical and management approach

3. Table of Contents

4. Statement of Problem: the “Why?” •Summary of the request by the sponsor (the original problem statement) •Background: Brief description of company and their business Relevance or importance of problem Background information to educate the reader Previous related work by others—literature review with credible sources Patent search, if applicable •Detailed problem description, as you now understand it

5. Objectives: the “What?” In the Objectives section, you translate the customer’s quantitative and

qualitative needs into clear, objective design specifications. Define the scope of work and clearly state the project objectives, including the following: •Design specifications in specific, quantitative terms. For example, “The plate must be rotated three times at a speed of between 1 and 3 rev/s” or “Control the temperature of a 1 liter non-insulated standard glass beaker of water to 37.5 ± 0.500C for three hours without temperature deviation.” •Critical design issues, constraints, limitations.

6. Technical Approach: the “How?” Although you may not know all the details of the problem solution, you should

know a first design on how you will attack the problem, and you should have some design concepts. The purpose of this section is to present the process by which you will arrive at the final answer.

The technical approach answers the following questions:1) What are the steps in the design process?2) What are the benefits and advantages of employing a structured approach to design? 3) How will you generate solution concepts? 4) How will you analyze the performance of your solution? 5) How will you decide on the best alternative?

7. Project Management: “How and When?” The Project Management section describes how the project will be managed,

including a detailed timetable with milestones. Specific items to include in this section are as follows: •Description of task phases (typical development tasks: Planning, Concept Development, •System-Level Design, Detailed Design, Testing and Refinement, Production) •Division of responsibilities and duties among team members •Timeline with milestones

8. Deliverables The culmination of the proposal negotiation with your sponsor will be a completed “Deliverables Agreement.” In this section, provide a detailed description of what you are providing and when you will provide it. Be as specific as possible.

9. Budget: “How Much?” Provide your best estimate of how project funds will be spent for your first

design. The sponsor will allow for only this amount. At this time, you need to know the details for your initial design. You can divide up your budget into some major categories, such as equipment, materials, supplies, and shipping costs.

10. Communication and Coordination with Sponsor Specify the interaction with your sponsor. Establish communication schedule

and the responsibilities of each participant. See the syllabus for exact dates of progress report, mid-semester presentations, final-presentations, showcase, etc.

11. Team Qualifications: the “Who?”

In a paragraph for each person, establish the team qualifications for the project. Highlight any specific job or course experiences that are relevant to the project.

Include a one-page resume of each team member in the Appendix. Do not include your hobbies.

The Request for Proposal

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is the primary document that is sent to suppliers that invites them to submit a proposal to provide goods or services. Internally, an RFP can also be referred to as a sourcing project, a document, or an associated event (competitive bidding). RFPs should be used carefully since they can take a lot of time for both the organization and its suppliers. However, for more complex projects, an RFP may be the most effective way to source the goods or services required.

Tips on writing an RFP

Before you begin writing, here are some important rules to remember.

 1. Proposal Organization: Always organize application including the Table of Contents in alignment with RFP.

2. Pay close attention to specific limitations for overall proposal, especially page number limitations.

3. Don’t write about the program design (methods) until you are in that section.

4. Using bold type and italics, selectively will help make words stand out.

5. Use bulleted lists to organize critical information.

6. Use extreme adjectives.

7. Always explain acronyms or terms that are very specific to your field.

8. Use strong active verbs in the present or past tense.

9. You can write in the first or third person voice, just make it consistent.

10. Be an expert. Some grants will require the use of very technical language. Demonstrate that you know what you are talking about.

Before beginning your grant proposal, you might want to come up with a catchy name for your project and include it on your title page. It could become the catch-phrase that the funder uses to refer to your project and it will make it more memorable.

Elements of a Request for Proposal

1. Introduction SectionThe first place to start writing is the Introduction section. The RFP should outline in detail what documents need to be included in this section. Documents included in the Introduction section will include:Support letters – Testimonials from collaborators and institutions, agencies and individual in support of project.Title Page - Follow the directions from the RFP regarding title page exactly. Pay close attention to any formatting requirements. Information on the Title Page will include:

Descriptive Title of the ProjectFunding agency/organization to whom application is submittedAuthorizationApplicant: - Name and Location of the institution. May include name of

person(s) preparing applicationTable of Contents

2. Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is also referred to in an RFP as an “Abstract” or “Summary”. The best strategy for creating the Executive Summary is to write it last after all the other sections are complete, even though it appears in the proposal as the first page. The Executive Summary should be no more than one (1) page in length.

The Summary should contain the following elements as a short paragraph or statement:•Applicant(s) name•Problems•Plan of operation (could include goals and objectives)•Personnel•Cost, including amount requested, the match, and total project costs.•EvaluationThe main reason why you should write this section last is it really can be the be the most important section. Depending on the pool of applicants, this may be the only part of your proposal that is read by the funders.

3. Problem Statement

Now it is time to begin writing the narrative section of the grant proposal. The first section of the narrative is always the Problem Statement or Needs Assessment. This section is where you will introduce the funders to your organization and identify how your project will impact your local community.

A Problem Statement should be organized into the following sub sections:•Need to be addressed: Explain the extent to which the project meets the specific purpose of the source of funds.•How the needs were determined: Describe how you determined the needs you propose to address.•How the needs will be met: Explain how you propose to use the project to meet these needs.•Benefits to be gained: Describe what benefits will be realized as a result of meeting the needs.

4. Expected Outcomes

The next section of the proposal narrative is referred to as the “Expected Outcomes”, “Measurable Objectives” or “Project Outcomes”. The purpose of this section is to establish the benefits of funding your project in measurable terms.

Characteristics of an objective or measurable outcome:•Verb is the key – must show action.•Of course, must be measurable.

5. Methods

This is where you will describe in detail how you plan to use the grant money and how your project will be carried out. Consider this a list of the details related to how you will meet your objectives.

The purpose of this section is to:

Describe how you intend to achieve your objectives

Show how this will in-turn solve the problem

Show how this will ultimately eliminate the need

Make sure to address the following items or subsections:

– Project design/methodologies– Management plan

– Goals and objective– Resources and Personnel: Explain how you propose to use your own resources

and personnel to achieve each objective

This is not a section that should be written as a narrative. You should try to represent each of these sections as tables, graphs, illustrations or timelines. Some funders will specify that the use of color charts or graphs is prohibited. But even black and white illustrations will be helpful.

6. Key Personnel

Now you need to identify the project personnel that will administer your grant. The purpose of this section is to illustrate credibility for successful administration of the project. Things you will need to decide:•Who will manage the project?•Who will direct the project?•Who will carry out the day-to-day activities?

The Key Personnel section should include the following sub-sections:•Job Descriptions•Time Commitment•Nondiscriminatory Employment Practices

7. Budget

The budget information and narrative usually come toward the front of the application preceding the program narrative. Budgets are cost projections. They are also a window into how projects will be implemented and managed. Well-planned budgets reflect carefully thought out projects. Be sure to prepare descriptions to your budget, even if they are not required. Many funders provide mandatory budget forms that must be submitted with the proposal.

•Funders use these factors to assess budgets:•Can the job be accomplished with this budget?•Are costs reasonable for the market - or too high or low?•Is the budget consistent with proposed activities?•Is there sufficient budget detail and explanation?

8. Evaluation

The last section you will include in your grant proposal is your plan for evaluation. At some point in the project it will be necessary to judge whether or not your project objectives are being met.

Reasons for planning an evaluation:•Reduce the possibility of funding agency conducting its own evaluation.•Encourages you to examine the clarity of the objectives, how easy the objectives will be to measure, and chances of their being achieved.•Enhance cost effectiveness.•Provide data for basis of decision making.•Reinforce efforts or support new directions if deemed advisable.•Provide motivation to participants.•Create a reason for good press and helps public relations.•Source of valuable information for others who might be anticipating similar program.

Reference List:

•Dillon, L.B. Project Proposal Writing. Retrieved from http://www.sswm.info/category/planning-process-tools/implementation/implementation-support-tools/project-design/project-p.

•Joshi, N. (2011). Technical Proposals. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/nikhiljoshi2010/10-technical-proposal.

•Leonhard Center, Penn State College of Engineering. Guidelines for Project Proposals. Retrieved from http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/workbooks/proposal_guidelines.pdf.

•Wheaton G. (2008). Request for Proposal (RFP). Retrieved from http://www.epiqtech.com/request-for-proposal-rfp.htm.

•Zeller, B., Krupar K., & Schwarting C. (2004) Grant Writing II: Writing the Proposal. Retrieved from http://www.mscd.edu/~act2/grant2/home.html.