Chapter 20 Proposals and Requests for Proposals
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Transcript of Chapter 20 Proposals and Requests for Proposals
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 20Chapter 20
Proposals and Proposals and Requests for ProposalsRequests for Proposals
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
““To Propose”To Propose”
To propose is to put forward an offer, to make asuggestion that is open for discussion and consideration.
Proposals solve problems by putting forward solutions to readers.
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Internal ProposalsInternal Proposals
Offer solutions to problems that the organization is aware of
Offer solutions to problems that the organization did not initially recognize as problems
May be subdivided into everyday proposals (sometimes called “routine proposals”) and formal proposals
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Goals of Goals of Internal ProposalsInternal Proposals
To persuade an audience that a problem exists
To make the problem understandable
To argue that the problem should be fixed
To explain if/how the problem will escalate
To persuade an audience that the suggested solution makes sense
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Everyday ProposalsEveryday Proposals
Are fairly informal
Often take the form of memos or emails
Offer solutions to routine problems
Are written in response to problems that do not require great effort to define, identify, and solve
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Formal ProposalsFormal Proposals
Usually contain more information and address more complex problems
May offer solutions that require greater monetary commitment
May be addressed to multiple audiences
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
External ProposalsExternal Proposals
Work to persuade outside readers to accept the solutions the proposal offers
Are written to secure contracts that solve other organizations’ problems for a fee
Can be solicited or unsolicited
Can be classified as sales proposals or research and grant proposals
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Sales ProposalsSales Proposals
Persuade other organizations that the writer's company can best supply a service or product
Persuade through third-party expertise
Show feasibility in terms of money, reliability, and performance
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Research and Research and Grant ProposalsGrant Proposals
Persuade a sponsoring organization to fund research or a project
Can be prompted by the sponsoring organization
Are common within academia
Also help companies and organizations conduct research to help develop products and services
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Solicited andSolicited andUnsolicited ProposalsUnsolicited Proposals
External proposals are often solicited through: Requests for Proposals (RFPs) Information for Bids (IFBs) Requests for Quotations (RFQs)
Unsolicited proposals offer a solution to a problem that may not have been previously recognized.
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Requests for ProposalsRequests for Proposals
Are formal appeals put out by organizations to request that interested vendors submit proposals in response to a set of needs
Are sometimes preceded by requests for information (RFIs)
Promote competitiveness to secure the lowest price for a service or product
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Writing RFPsWriting RFPs
Understanding the form and function of RFPs also assists you as a proposal writer.
The key elements in RFPs can be categorized as: Information that RFPs provide Information that RFPs request
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Information Information that RFPs Providethat RFPs Provide
Title and/or brief description of the RFP
Contact information
Proposal schedule
Background information
Proposal selection process
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Information Information that RFPs Providethat RFPs Provide
Project summary and details Goals Budget Project Personnel Timeline Requirements Relationships and Support
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Information Information that RFPs Requestthat RFPs Request
Company/organization information
Proposed solution Summary Proposed Process Task List Time Line
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Information Information that RFPs Requestthat RFPs Request
Details of the proposed solution Functionality Options for implementation Originality Scale Technical requirements
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Information Information that RFPs Requestthat RFPs Request
Budget estimates Provisions to be made by the proposers Personnel to be employed References Portfolios Awards Certification and Licensing information
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
RFP EthicsRFP Ethicsand Professionalismand Professionalism
Understand that ethics are integral for a relationship to succeed
Never ask for the impossible
Disclose as much about the problem as possible
Provide sufficient time to compose proposals
Do not solicit for proposals that will not legitimately be reviewed
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Technology and RFPsTechnology and RFPs
Writers should try to reach broad an audience as possible through: The World Wide Web Subscription services Databases and lists PDFs Forms
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Writing ProposalsWriting Proposals
Offer feasible, realistic, well-defined solutions
Address audience needs
Display the credentials that allow readers to take the proposal seriously
To get acceptance, the Plan and Research phases are crucial
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
RFP GuidanceRFP Guidance Consult the RFP to learn the rhetorical context
Carefully read and analyze the RFP during the Plan phase of the PSA
Determine the problem presented by the RFP
Look for clues as to the proposal’s audience
Frame solutions in response to the problem
Determine what information is available, and what information will need to be researched
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Components of ProposalsComponents of Proposals
Organization is often similar to reports and manuals, including front matter, body, and end matter
Specific choices are driven by their contexts, purposes, and classifications
Avoid simply rehashing the structure of the RFP
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front MatterFront Matter
Title page
Letter of transmittal (cover letter)
Executive summary (abstract)
Table of contents
List of visuals
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Body: IntroductionBody: Introduction
Proposal introductions inform and persuade readers by including: a statement of purpose a description of the background and/or an
explanation of the problem an account of the scope of the proposal an explanation of the proposal’s organization
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
BodyBody
The remainder of the proposal body details the solution(s) to the problem: Approaches or methods used Plan of action establishing validity and
credibility Qualifications (experience and references) Budget estimations Proposed schedule
Conclusion & Recommendations
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
End MatterEnd Matter
Contains materials that aren’t necessarily crucial to the success of the proposal but that do provide further information or clarification, such as: Bibliographies for citing outside research Glossaries for audiences with varying levels of
expertise Appendices for any additional information
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Use of TechnologyUse of Technology
Using templates can streamline the process
Many templates also include built-in help
Still, no technology is a substitute for solid rhetorical choices
Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Whether you are trying to persuade readers to fund your research, buy your product, or hire your service, your writing is all that proposal readers will have to evaluate you and often the only chance you will have to persuade them. Thus, the writing in your proposal must be flawless.