Proposal Writing by Dr. Curtis Berthelot P.Eng. Dr. Dennis Pufahl P.Eng. Department of Civil Engineering

Proposal Writing 2 Lecture Objectives  Define a professional proposal.  Investigate the necessary elements of a good proposal.  Present a proposal framework.

Proposal Writing 3 What is a Proposal?  Summarizes and presents a proposed project framework in clear and concise detail.  Forms the basis of the contract terms for the project: Treat the proposal as a contract.  First impression of your technical and business competence.  Basis for Chapter 1 of the final report.  It is your intellectual property: You may wish to protect it.

Proposal Writing 4 Proposal Types  Unsolicited: Typically based on informal communications. Proposes an idea.  Request for Proposals (RFP): Formal call for defined services/products. Typically used to investigate alternative solutions to a specific client defined need.

Proposal Writing 5 Background Work to a Proposal  Define the needs of the client: Big picture: warm and fuzzy motherhood. Specifics: real proof of value of your proposed solution Political issues/concerns: public infrastructure.  Define the purpose of the proposal: Marketing-industry application of existing products/services. Informative-research and development.  Define the audience and decision maker(s): Technical. Business/Executive. Political. All of the above.

Proposal Writing 6 Contents of a Good Proposal  Address the needs and the proposed benefits for the decision maker(s): Get to know your internal champions and suit their needs.  Explicitly define the project deliverables: Fully understand and communicate what client is going to get.  Be slightly conservative: DO: under-sell in the proposal and over-deliver in the project. DO NOT: over-sell and under-deliver (this is the result of an unfocused proposal-break through the motherhood).  Provide sufficient detail so as to decrease the risk of a failed project and an unhappy customer.

Proposal Writing 7 Small Project Proposal  Letter or memo describing: Professional services being provided. Fees being charged.

Proposal Writing 8 Large Project Proposal  Cover Letter  Executive Summary  Introduction/Background  Goal/Mission (Motherhood)  Objectives  Scope what is included in the proposal (what is not-optional)  Benefits/Significance (technical and business aspects)  Literature Review-Industry State of Play (R&D)  Work Plan (project milestones, elements and tasks)  Project Team Members  Schedule and Budget  Deliverables Schedule (dissemination of results plan)  Final Report Layout (starts to build the client’s expectations)  Appendices

Proposal Writing 9 Executive Summary  Overview of the contents of the proposal for people that are too busy to read the proposal at length: Summarize the need. Summarize the features, advantages and benefits of your proposed solution. Summarize the deliverables (in context of client’s specific needs). Summarize project budget and schedule.

Proposal Writing 10 Introduction/Background  Introduce the problem.  Summarize related background to the problem.  Explicitly define the problem.  Convince/educate the reader that it is necessary to solve the problem.  Define possible conventional solutions to the problem.  Set the stage for your solution (bring all readers to the same state of mind that you want them at).

Proposal Writing 11 Goal/Mission  Establish the strategic purpose of the project (25 words or less): Big picture. Far reaching impacts. Strategic perspective.  Describe in the context of the client’s strategic plan.

Proposal Writing 12 Objective(s)  Tactical milestones of the project.  Define in the context of the client’s more immediate needs.

Proposal Writing 13 Benefits/Significance  Define the benefits (significance) of the project: Economic. Industrial/Corporate. Political. Social. Environmental.  This is most often the critical marketing “hook” of the proposal.

Proposal Writing 14 Scope  Establishes the boundaries of the project:  Define what is included in the project: The scope of this project considers…….  Define what is not included in the project (optional list of obvious related items not included): The scope of this project does not consider……. Usually intuitive that what is not in is out.

Proposal Writing 15 Literature Review-Industry State of Play  Used primarily in research and development type proposals.  Establishes the state of knowledge related to the specific problem being investigated.  May review industry’s current state of play.

Proposal Writing 16 Project Work Plan  Define the project step by step: Project Milestones Elements Tasks  Used to track your progress.  Appendix A: Project flow chart may help to visually map the main components of the project.

Proposal Writing 17 Project Team  Define the personnel involved with the project.  Summarize the unique qualifications/competence of the team members: Engineering is increasingly becoming a profession of specialists.  Define the roles and responsibilities of each team member in the context of their unique qualifications/competence.  Appendix B: Project Team Curriculum Vitea’s.

Proposal Writing 18 Budget and Schedule  Define the project funding requirements with respect to the project work plan: Project milestones Project elements Element tasks  Project funding in terms of: Labor Materials Equipment (capital) Travel/Overhead/Administration, etc.  Appendix C: Project Gantt chart visually illustrates project schedule and budget by milestone, element and task.

Proposal Writing 19 Deliverables Schedule  Used to identify mechanism of dissemination of results. Progress/Interim reports: Informs client of progress. Use Gantt Chart to illustrate progress (percentage complete). Identify and quantify delays, describe impact of delays and your plan to overcome the delays. Facilitates project management golden rule: “Plan to Change”. Annotated Outline of Final Report. Final Report. Presentations/Seminars. Publications.

Proposal Writing 20 Layout of Final Report  Chapter 1: Proposal written in past tense.  Chapter 2: Theoretical framework/literature search.  Chapter 3: Study results/findings.  Chapter 4: Interpretation of results.  Chapter 5: Summary, conclusions and future recommendations.  Appendices. Appendix A: Project Flow Chart. Appendix B: Project Team CV’s. Appendix C: Project Gantt Chart. Other Appendices as required to contain specific information. i.e. data.

Proposal Writing 21 Closing  As an engineer, if you want to love life, love your job. This applies in the work you propose to undertake in your career. Work in areas of fundamental interest to you: This helps fuel your effort. May be applied or theoretical. Has all components of an interesting engineering problem and/or engineering process. Take pride in the final deliverables (report and presentation). May want to add projects you do (including proposal) to your professional portfolio. Job application portfolio.

Proposal Writing 22 Your GE 390 Proposal  Proposal writing is in my opinion, one of the most difficult but important exercises you undertake as a practicing engineer.  Take this exercise very seriously: Start to hone your skills now.  Try to implement the principles of the closure slide when writing your proposal.

Proposal Writing 23 Discussion