How Can It Cost That Much? A Three-Year Study of Proposal Production Costs    

New business proposals to the U.S. Department of Defense vary so much in their production requirements that it has never been easy to estimate the cost to prepare them. Worse, new proposal managers lack the experience to anticipate the work required to prepare a winning proposal. In many companies, marketing and technical communication organizations find it exceptionally difficult to estimate and acquire the realistic budgets needed to win. For the past three years, we have closely examined significant proposal efforts and discovered the six pillars of our department's proposal preparation costs. We have also derived a formula that characterizes proposal preparation costs in our environment. Our Cost Projection Factor estimate can be calculated in a minute and has demonstrated accuracy within 5 percent. Our purpose in preparing this article is not to reveal our proprietary proposal costs, but to demonstrate that a quick, accurate cost model can be developed for proposal publishing.

Wiese, William C. and C. Mal Bowden. Technical Communication Online (1997). Resources>Grants>Proposals

How to Prepare A Winning Book Proposal

Preparing a winning book proposal is very similar to bidding on many other freelance documentation projects. This article will show you how to create a book proposal that will give you the best chance of selling your book idea to the publisher you want.

Hedtke, John. IEEE PCS (2008). Articles>Publishing>Proposals

How to Work with U.S. Government Agencies and Obtain Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

A collection of resources for people interested in writing grant proposals toward U.S. government agencies.

Kluge, Deborah L. Proposalwriter.com (2005). Resources>Grants>Proposals>Government

A How to Write a Project Proposal

Writing a good proposal is a very important tool for organizing time and resources to complete a project which fully realizes your objectives. Whether the proposal is done as a PQP for credit separate from the one-unit project, or as the first fraction of credit towards the one-unit requirement, a project proposal will be invaluable in structuring your ideas about carrying out your research and writing your conclusions. Some faculty use it as an informal 'Contract' to establish an agreement about the content and limits of the final project report. Also, since the project proposal is a widely used communications tool in the professional world, you will have the advantage of learning what goes into a proposal as part of your undergraduate education.

Worchester Polytechnic Institute (1999). Resources>Document Design>Proposals>Africa

Increase Your Impact on Proposal Preparation  

To succeed in the 1990s, technical communicators must become more financially precise and increase their impact on procedures. These capabilities are especially critical during preparation of new business proposals. This workshop focuses on techniques and tasks that can increase the technical communicator’s ability to contribute while they reduce preparation time and cost. The techniques presented in this workshop have been successful in producing both commercial and government proposals.

Allen, Lori A. and William C. Wiese. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>TC>Proposals

Making a Proposal

Some of the biggest opportunities in technical writing are in proposal and grant writing. In fact, an American company wanted me to write proposals for them. But I refused saying that I had no experience. Of course, I lost money and a “golden opportunity”. You need not miss out on such an opportunity. If you know English and have some report writing skills, you can become a proposal writer. In India, grant writing or writing reports for grants or funding is not very popular. But in the US grant writing is big business. Technical writers are making big money writing grants and proposals. Typically, departments in universities want funding for their projects. These could come from corporations, trusts, and individuals. How do you convince them to fund your projects? That is what grant writing is about.

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2000). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

Murder Most Foul: How Not to Kill a Grant Application

Grappling with grant applications at your desk is as central to scientific success as is wrestling with experimental conundrums at the bench. In the fight for research dollars, grant writing can make or break a research career no matter how good or innovative a scientist's ideas are.

Science (2000). Articles>Grants>Proposals

The Nature, Classification, and Generic Structure of Proposals    

A study of forty current business/technical/professional writing textbooks suggests that little disciplinary agreement exists about what proposals are and how they differ from some kinds of reports; how the various types of proposals should be classified; and what structural features characterize the genre. Though many texts blur the distinction between proposals and internal recommendation reports, the two are never the same. The textbooks present a bewildering array of classification systems, often failing to distinguish between situation and function. A function-based system could divide all proposals into two categories - analytic (research proposals, R&D proposals, and consulting proposals) and service/product, with bids representing a special case. The lack of disciplinary agreement also makes it difficult for textbook users to internalize a generic structure that will serve for all proposal-writing tasks. Such a structure would include the following: situation, objectives, methods, qualification, costs, and benefits. The major advantages of such a generic structure are its slots, which make it like a schema; its event sequence, which makes it like a script; and its ability to help writers and teachers understand the relationship among the macropropositions that exist explicitly or implicitly in all proposals.

Freed, Richard C. and David D. Roberts. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1989). Articles>Business Communication>Proposals>Genre

Note to Contractors: Expose Your Writing Tasks  

Some contractors short-change themselves by failing to reveal in cost proposals all of the tasks they perform. Argues that full disclosure can improve a contractor's bottom line.

Hall, Mark D. Intercom (2004). Careers>Freelance>Proposals>Writing

Persuasion in Technical Communication: Analyzing Proposals Using Textual Hermeneutics  

Textual hermeneutics -- more specifically, Ricoeurian textual interpretation -- can help us to develop more effective proposals. Its basic principles of explanation, understanding, and appropriation allow us to examine the underlying structure of the document, synthesize a holistic meaning, and find a personal meaning as a reader. By applying Ricoeurian textual interpretation to a historical technical proposal and then to a contemporary one, we can see how the structural patterns, the holistic meanings, and the personal meanings contribute to the persuasive success of proposals. This systematic analysis of a document can help us develop strategies for writing effective proposals.

Kim, H. Young, Eric J. Ray, Cathy A. Shuffield and Jing Xu. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Proposals

Persuasion In Technical Communication: Applying Constructivism To Proposal Writing  

Constructivism is a cognitive theory stating that people construct understanding based on what they already know or understand and that more cognitively complex people can better take and understand others’ perspectives and hence, design more persuasive messages. As the key to proposal writing is persuasion, and the key to persuasion is understanding, applying this theory provides us a general strategy for all proposal writing: first, collect information to establish our own context-related constructs and interpretive schemes and to understand those of our reader; then, make all the writing decisions based on the understanding achieved.

Xu, Jing. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Business Communication>Proposals>Persuasive Design

Persuasive Proposal Writing

In language, clarity is everything. So, too in writing research grant proposals. For many applicants, the proposal is the only opportunity to communicate with funding source reviewers. To ensure that reviewers understand your research proposal, applicants must write clearly and persuasively. In plain English, a lot of time, effort, and money rides on your ability to communicate effectively.

Mackler, Yosef. Research Authority, The. Resources>Grants>Proposals

Power Storyboarding (Winning Proposals Can Cost Less)  

Cooperative writing is a complex human dynamic process that must be well managed before it produces good proposal documents. Power storyboarding can help. It forces the proposal manager to take ownership and manage the writing process, gives writers the full context of their assignments before they write, preempts inconsistencies, and forces consensus. By preventing up to two weeks of non-productive effort, power storyboarding lets your team focus on real issues that can lead to winning proposals.

Wiese, William C. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Proposal Checklist

An extensive list of questions one should consider while preparing a grant proposal.

Chermside, Herbert B. Virginia Commonwealth University (1981). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Proposal Pointers and Pitfalls

Study the proposal evaluation criteria and the points allocated to each section/subsection of the technical proposal, as well as the points that are allocated to cost. This information will tell you what to emphasize and where to put your efforts with regard to proposal preparation.

Kluge, Deborah L. Proposalwriter.com (2006). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

Proposal Production: Creating Calm Amid the Chaos  

With foresight, planning, and use of the right tools you can eliminate the chaos associated with proposal production. This paper highlights the steps and processes to prepare for proposal kickoff, work with your production team and authors, maintain control, and deliver your proposal product on time and under budget. Avoiding pitfalls during electronic delivery will also be covered.

Wilson, Richard P. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Proposal Production: Creating Calm Amid the Chaos  

The production of a winning business proposal can be a tough and trying time for all involved. But with the use of some simple tools, strategic up-front planning, and effective management techniques during actual production, the proposal task can run smoother and more eflciently. And by following these guidelines you can lead a highly efficient proposal stafs through the toughest proposal efforts and produce a proposal document that wins new business and moves your company forward.

Wilson, Richard P. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Project Management

Proposal Writer's Guide

Writing a proposal for a sponsored activity such as a research project or a curriculum development program is a problem of persuasion. It is well to assume that your reader is a busy, impatient, skeptical person who has no reason to give your proposal special consideration and who is faced with many more requests than he can grant, or even read thoroughly.

Thackrey, Don. University of Michigan. Resources>Grants>Proposals

Proposal Writing Resources  

The goal of this site is to provide writers with links to useful resources for developing, managing, and writing proposals. This site is organized into five broad categories: Federal Funding, Private Foundations & Nonprofits, Academic Fellowships, Links, Discussion Lists, & Advice, and Companies, Consultants, & Software.

Munger, Roger H. ATTW. Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

A Proposal Writing Short Course

The process of nonprofit proposal writing is grounded in the conviction that a partnership should develop between the nonprofit and the donor. When you spend a great deal of your time seeking money, it is hard to remember that it can also be difficult to give money away. In fact, the dollars contributed by a foundation or corporation have no value until they are attached to solid programs in the nonprofit sector.

Foundation Center (2001). Resources>Grants>Proposals>Writing

Proposals 101: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Writing and Management of Bids and Proposals  

Whether we work in a large corporation or a small business, technical communicators are called upon to help prepare proposals more than ever before. Because so many of us have not worked on a proposal, we need to understand not only the sequence of events required to produce a successful proposal, but also some of the specific organizational and management concepts that will assure that a high-quality proposal is prepared on time. This paper presents the concepts of proposal managementfor communicators new to the process.

Wilkins, Teri L. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

Proposals: Effective Executive Summary

What are the essential elements of an executive summary? This has been a common question in all the interviews I have appeared for the position of a Proposal Writer. I have a readymade list to answer this question.

Tripathy, Priyadarshi. WordPress (2007). Articles>Communication>Proposals

Requests for Proposal: A Call for Standardization

Anyone who has written a proposal knows that it sometimes takes a lot of work to make work. Peter Zvalo makes some suggestions on how to improve the Canadian federal government’s unnecessarily confounding requests for proposals.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2003). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Requirements: A Primer for Communicators  

Poorly written requirements are the single biggest point of failure in the development of new software systems. Requirements that are not carefully defined or are written in ambiguous terms result in an endless stream of re- working and budget overruns. Smart project managers these days are trying to solve the problem with the addition of professional communicators to their project teams to both elicit crisp requirements and express them in simple, accessible terms.

Shelton, Jan D. and Karen A. Steele. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Project Management>Proposals