Responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP)  

Responding to requests for proposals is a proven method of getting new work. Most review committees, however, hold certain expectations for the content and presentation of these responses. Following these 'unwritten rules' greatly enhances your chances of being interviewed, and chosen to complete the work. Your proposal must be all inclusive, thus making it easier for the reviewers to obtain all the information they need about you and about your capabilities. Following the rules stated in the RFP is a necessity; also consider adding other information that enhances your proposal and demonstrates your understanding of their needs and ability to meet their goals.

Maggiani, Rich. STC Proceedings (2002). Resources>Grants>Proposals

Secrets of Low-Cost Proposal Preparation  

To succeed in the next decade, technical communicators need to become more financially precise and need to increase their procedural impact. The ability to influence preparation procedures and awareness of financial issues are especially criticaI during preparation of new business proposals. This workshop focuses on techniques and tasks that increase a technical communicator’s ability to contribute to successful proposal preparation while reducing preparation costs. The techniques presented in this workshop have been successful in both commercial and government proposals.

Allen, Lori A. and William C. Wiese. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Short and Sweet: Better Cookie Cutter Proposal  

Multiple proposal production has the goals of credibility, accuracy, consistency, and speed. Producing a large number of proposals is enabled by standard formats, a team approach led by technical communicators, standard processes, top management commitment, and process management.

Reilly, Annette D. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Business Communication

The Use of Cognitive and Social Apprenticeship to Teach a Disciplinary Genre: Initiation of Graduate Students Into NIH Grant Writing    

This study reports about a yearlong study of the initiation of novice grant writers to the activity system of National Institutes of Health grant applications. It investigates the use of cognitive apprenticeship within writing classrooms and that of social apprenticeship in laboratories, programs, departments, and universities, which introduced students to the genre system of National Institutes of Health grant proposals and helped them in moving from peripheral participation to more central participation. While cognitive apprenticeship employs devices such as modeling, scaffolding, coaching, and collaboration to enhance learning in formal settings, social apprenticeship requires socialization, interaction, and collaboration with experts, colleagues, and peers in informal settings to acquire disciplinary knowledge and experiences. The study suggests that writing instructors should acknowledge and incorporate resources in other activity systems in which students participate, i.e., their laboratories and home departments, and teach genre systems rather than specific genres to better facilitate students' enculturation to activity systems of disciplinary discourse communities.

Ding, Huiling. Written Communication (2008). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Education

Using Editors to Win Proposals  

Paradoxically, engineers are often forced to seek jobs by pursuing a skill at which they are, admittedly, often inferior: expository writing. To win proposals for new business, they have to put their worst foot forward. This unhappy situation presents a great opportunity for editors.

Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2004). Articles>Editing>Proposals

Using High-Affect Goals in Teaching Proposal Writing  

Obviously, the purpose of any proposal writer is to persuade a reader. But our students are poorly served when they are told only that their documents aren’t persuasive enough.  General injunctions (or “top-level goals”) such as “persuade your reader” or “sell your reader” don’t help writers become more persuasive any more than the injunction “play with feeling” helps a musician become more evocative. Without a suitable repertoire of practical subgoals, Smith and our students know only in general what to do without knowing how to do it. In this article, we identify and examine six such subgoals. Once students understand these subgoals, they will be in the position to revise their proposals with their readers in mind.

Freed, Richard C. and Glenn J.Broadhead. JAC (1987). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

What Makes a Communication Research Proposal a Grant Winner  

To make a meaningful contribution to the field, researchers should follow sound research design principles and should report their results in a clear and logical manner. In addition, studies should build on the research of others, address timely issues, and fit in a well-articulated theoretical framework. Before embarking on a project, researchers should determine the overall purpose for the research and who the research will serve. Based on that determination, they should identify potential sources for funding and develop a thorough proposal. Finally, researchers should establish contacts who can help them pursue funding and conduct the research.

Velotta, Christopher E., Lottie B. Applewhite and J.M. Jansen. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Business Communication>Proposals

Winning Interaction: Foregrounding the Customer in Technical Proposals  

A change in the world of saies toward more constitutive approaches to the customer has nor generally been reflected in the sales proposal, often the most crucial interaction between supplier and customer. A few simple guidelines.for the preparation of proposals can lead to oetter 'foregrounding' of the customer. Puttrng the customer In the foreground means that customer objectives and benefits are the structuring principle for the proposal.

England, R. Bred. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

Review: The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals  

Have you ever wondered how to submit a piece of your work for publication, or have you done so, only to be rejected? According to Moira Allen, there are important procedures to follow when writing a perfect pitch for a potential publication. As the author of two books and over 200 articles and columns in well-known periodicals, Allen has also served as the editor for online publications such as Inkspot and Inklings. With this level of experience alone, Allen is more than qualified to offer good advice on writing queries, yet in addition, she includes 16 other contributors who provide tips from their specific areas of expertise for writing successful queries, pitches, and proposals.

Sharpe, Victoria. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Proposals

Writing Effective Applications, Plans and Proposals

Do you want to write more persuasive funding applications, planning documents, and other materials? Writing Effective Applications will help make your documents clear, correct, and complete.

California Department of Education. Resources>Grants>Proposals

Writing for Decisionmakers: Using Evidence and Structure to Persuade  

In approaching a writing task, we often write from the standpoint of writers, which is, of course, what we are. But if we want our writing to result in some kind of action on the part of our readers, we need to remember that how we present and structure the evidence that we have has a great deal to do with how persuasive our argument is— and what action, if any, results from it. The more oriented toward the reader our writing is, the more powerful it will be.

Fruitman, Michael P. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Writing>Proposals>Rhetoric

Writing from the Winner's Circle: A Guide to Preparing Competitive Grant Proposals

We have grant proposals, and we have competitive grant proposals. Externally, they appear the same. This document 'Writing from the Winner's Circle: A Guide to Preparing Competitive Grant Proposals' by Dr. David Stanley, was published by Nebraska EPSCoR in 1996 to assist researchers in Nebraska as they develop grant proposals to support their research programs.

Stanley, David. University of Nebraska (1996). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Writing Killer eCommerce/IT Proposals that Win New Business  

Winning new eCommerce/IT business depends on many factors, not the least of which is a requirements-focused, bloat-free proposal that prospects and customers will read. But to get to that point, proposal development must be tied to a business development process that will guide a qualified opportunity toward becoming a business proposal, and ultimately, a sustainable or repeatable business deal. Before committing resources to proposal development, a Needs Analysis/Return on Investment (ROI) study (billable service) for the prospect or customer should be necessary. Such a study not only shows the prospect how well your organization knows its business, it helps steer a prospect to your organization’s process. The Needs Analysis/ROI study results provide a head start on proposal development, where the proposal turnaround time can be as short as one day.

Le Vie, Donald S., Jr. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Business Communication>Proposals

Writing Proposals: An Interview with Paul Weber

Proposals involve a myriad of strategy, planning, organization, research, and, of course, writing processes. The value of creating these standard, or boilerplate, files will multiply across subsequent proposals. With minor modifications related to the particular proposal, well-researched and professionally written standard files provide the proposal process with an immediate degree of completion, enabling management and proposal organizers more time for critical proposal analysis, creative solutions, and custom product modifications.

Vega, Barbara. Writing World (2005). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Writing the Winning Proposal: It's Serious Business for Communicators

Operating a business on any level, from one-person band to global organization, is so competitive today that delivering excellent proposals can be critical. So we want to offer some guidelines and ideas, drawn from our own experience and from some people who've spent a lot of time thinking about proposal writing.

Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Grants>Proposals

Writing Grant Proposals

A collection of online resources about writing grant proposals, particularly those useful to nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofit Support Center (2004). Resources>Grants>Proposals>Rhetoric

Hints on Preparing Research Proposals

Writing proposals has become an important facet of present day scientific research. Any project which takes money or other resources will, these days, be competing with other projects. The person or organization responsible for the money will have to make a decision which will make it possible for your project to succeed. Usually such decisions are made on the basis of a written proposal.

American Astronomical Society (1999). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Writing

What do Winning Proposals Have In Common?

Winning proposals have clearly defined needs and describe how those needs were identified. Winning proposals define programs to meet the identified needs.

Carnow, Gary. Scholastic (2005). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Education

The Art of Grantsmanship

The objective of these guidelines is to assist both new and veteran investigators to optimize their chances of successfully competing in a peer-reviewed grant application competition. It is a competition. With success rates falling to 50% or below, the difference between success and failure often results, not just from the quality of the science, but from the quality of the grant application. In all probability, the quality of science of the applications in the 10% below the cut-off for funding by an agency is not significantly different from that in the 10% just above the cut-off. "Grantsmanship" can make the difference.

Kraicer, Jacob. University of Western Ontario (1997). Articles>Grants>Proposals

L'Art de Préparer une Demande de Subvention

Les présentes directives ont pour but d’aider les nouveaux chercheurs et les chercheurs expérimentés à optimaliser leurs chances de réussite dans un concours de subventions jugé par les pairs. Et il s’agit bel et bien d’un concours. Avec un taux de réussite de 50 % ou moins, la différence entre la réussite et l’échec résulte souvent non seulement de la qualité de la démarche scientifique, mais aussi de la qualité de la demande de subvention. Selon toute probabilité, la qualité des projets scientifiques visés par les demandes de subvention est sensiblement comparable dans les tranches de 10 % qui se situent de part et d’autre du seuil d’approbation. Ce qui peut faire la différence, c’est la façon de préparer la demande.

Kraicer, Jacob. University of Western Ontario (1997). (French) Articles>Grants>Proposals

The Dynamics and Challenges of Interdisciplinary Collaboration: A Case Study of 'Cortical Depth of Bench' in Group Proposal Writing  

This study contributes to a discussion on collaboration and technical/professional communication in indeterminate zones or less familiar sites for collaboration. The interdisciplinary group for this case study collaborated to write a project proposal to solicit funds from the US government for constructing a test bed for immune buildings as a tactic for combating potential biological and chemical terrorist incidents. Their approach to collaboration coincided with several approaches previously addressed in professional and technical communication research. Novel and creative approaches emerged as a result of this collaboration, but in some instances, disciplinary differences, as manifested by disputes over concepts and terminologies, posed obstacles to collaboration. Such challenges necessitated strong leadership, which was also critical for managing group process.

Gooch, John C. Social Science Research Network (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Proposals

Careers in Grant Writing

Article describes how to enter the professional writing field of grant writing. Includes information on skill and educational requirements, and obtaining training for this career.

Reeder, Caroline S. . Funds for Writers (2004). Careers>Grants>Proposals>Business Communication