Planning and Writing Proposals Prof. Stephen A. Bernhardt Dept of English University of Delaware September 2006

Science Writing and Science Science Writing Thinking, planning, coordinating, proposing, tracking, running, recording, reporting, concluding

Types of Documents Plans to govern work Memos and letters to keep work flowing Proposals to describe and persuade Presentations to deliver Reports to detail, analyze, and interpret Plan example

Planning document What are you trying to do? Purpose, goals, deliverables Who will use the document? Your team, your manager, your agency What is the best approach? Detail on tasks, roles, & deadlines How should it be designed? Graphic, organized, explicit

Planning document Project overview Team and contact info Goals and deliverables Tasks, milestones, critical path activities Team rules Schedule, time allocation Budget

Why plan? Teams with shared visions (in writing) work better. Teams need rules and schedules (and wiggle room). Teamwork demands complex resource planning.

Nutshell the Proposal What is your purpose? Who is the audience? What is your plan? What will you deliver? When? By whom? With what resources? At what cost?

Proposal Quality Responsive to RFP—shared mission Clear need Quality of deliverables Credible expertise: ability to perform Realistic schedule and budget

Be Deductive and Explicit Purpose and scope up front Preview main messages and issues Lead sentences on sections and paragraphs—top line skim Plenty of navigation devices Emphasis on most important sell points

Two Organizational Schemes DeductiveInductive Main Point

Organization Main messages, summary statements, or conclusions appear at the beginning of sections and paragraphs Document sections are organized deductively, from general to specific, from most important to least important Procedural steps are sequential Organizational devices are used to guide the reader

Elements of Design Effective formatting, layout, and design Headers and footers Page numbers Consistent use of styles White space for separation and emphasis

Front Matter Orients the Reader Cover with title, date, sponsor, proposer Executive summary or abstract Table of contents for organization

Summaries Summaries provide broad, descriptive coverage of development activities and outcomes. Summaries attempt to show the whole and its parts. Summaries work at a coarse level of detail, at coarse grain, but are still completely representative. Summaries should be visual: easy to skim/scan.

Body of Proposal Provides Main Elements Introduction and overview Statement of problem Proposed solution with objectives Methods and materials Work plan: milestones, deliverables, checkpoints Schedule (high level graphic) Budget: costs and benefits

Introduction Reviews the project context: Who requested the work? Why? For what outcome or benefit? Overviews the plan of this proposal

Statement of Problem Provides clear and compelling description of the problem Defines the need Discusses any critical issues associated with the problem Details any constraints on the problem's solution

Proposed solution Identifies broad strategy or planned approaches Lists specific, measurable outcomes to be accomplished Ties objectives clearly to problem

Methods and materials Describes in detail what the team proposes to do to find a solution (action steps) Includes specifics—amounts, numbers, locations, tools, instruments, etc.

Work Plan (in proposal) Focuses on management of the project Shows how the team will be coordinated, scheduled, and monitored Commits to dates (aggressive or realistic or both) Works at high level for client

Schedule Presented in visual format Places all activities on a timeline Highlights critical or key activities Convinces audience that the timeline is realistic Serves as the proposal “at a glance”

Budget Presented in visual format Provides rationale and commentary (budget narrative) Forecasts/determines costs for staff, materials, support, and overhead

Back Matter/Appendices Bibliography or references Computer documentation Instrument descriptions or sources Full resumes Raw data to back up summary points made in the body of the proposal

Writing Resources UD Writing Center ( ), basement of Memorial Hall Johnson-Sheehan, Richard. Writing Proposals. Brusaw, Alred, and Oliu, Handbook of Technical Writing Diane Kukich (CEE) Steve Bernhardt