BUSINESS ENGLISH LECTURE 21 1. Synopsis Report Writing Proposal writing Requirements Contents Format Anatomy Strategies Types of proposals.

BUSINESS ENGLISHLECTURE 21

1

Synopsis

Report WritingProposal writingRequirementsContentsFormatAnatomy StrategiesTypes of proposals

PREPARING A PROPOSAL

3

Proposal Requirements

A proposal provides sufficient information to persuade the reviewer that the

proposed work represents an innovative and profitable approach to an important

problem.

The proposal will be evaluated on the technical approach having a

reasonable chance of meeting the topic objective,

the approach being innovative, not routine,

the proposer’s capability to implement the technical approach, i.e. has or can obtain people and equipment suitable for the task.

Proposal Table of Contents Cover page Abstract Technical Content

Identification and Significance of Problem Technical Background Technical Objectives Work Plan

Statement of Work, Time Line and Deliverables

Related Work

Commercialization Strategy (EE402 optional)

Key personnel Facilities and Equipment Subcontractors and Consultants Cost Proposal (Budget)

Proposal Format

Proposal Cover Sheet Title of project Date proposed Label it as a “Proposal” “Submitted to:” name, address, phone, fax, e-mail “Submitted by:” (as above)

“Abstract” Give an abstract of the proposed project. Discuss

anticipated benefits, potential for commercial applications and profit. The Abstract is often the first cut in selecting proposals for funding

Proposal Format (con’d)

Layout and Format Use 1” margins all around Place name of group in header left Title in header right Page number in footer center Date in footer right Use Arial 10 pt or Times 12 point

Number all pages consecutively. The technical proposal begins on page 2 or 3.

Submit softcopy in MSWord (.doc) or Adobe (.pdf)

Technical Content “Identification and Significance of

Problem or Opportunity” Define the specific technical problem or

opportunity addressed and its importance to the company, customer, government, etc.(Know your audience.)

Do Not include the solution in the problem statement

“Technical Background” (optional) Provide a short technical primer if you

think the readers requires such “Technical Objectives” List your objectives to solve the problem Distinguish between goals, objectives

and tasks Include questions the work will try to

answer

Technical Content (con’d)

“Work Plan” This is a substantial portion of the total

proposal. Give short overview of what is planned and

work approach Provide an explicit, step-by-step description of

the approach: “Statement of Work” (SOW)

provide hierarchical detailed list of tasks “Time Line”

Show estimated start and stop times for Tasks Only show the first and second levels of Tasks Numbering follows the SOW tasks

see following examples Describe how and where the work will be

carried out Use the SOW and time line for

weekly/monthly updates.

Example Task List (SOW)

1.0.   Circuit partitioning for power and control

1.1.      Evaluate present company ballast designs for Sub-Miniature Dimming Ballast (SMDB)

1.1.1.      Establish benchmark and performance parameters for lower power operation.

1.1.2.      Investigate separating starter and continuous-power lamp drive functions.

1.2.      Develop alternate electrical and packaging approaches (include power and signal ASICs)

1.2.1.      Evaluate resonant transition, hard switching and class-E electrical topologies

1.2.2.      Evaluate higher frequency effects on substrate technologies

1.3.      Evaluate Digital Communications

1.3.1.      Evaluate IR transmit/receive size reduced circuits for applications to CFL

2.0.   Select SMDB product approach

2.1.      Develop SMDB product profile

2.1.1.      Review present fixtures forms

2.1.2.      Determine fixture constraints on physical SMDB product form

Assess which topology would be the best for this market place. 2.2.1.      Perform electrical and physical modeling, design and

simulation with proprietary tools 2.2.1.1.    Determine optimum inductor / transformer

specifications 2.2.2.      Perform thermal design and simulation 2.2.3.      Perform cost tradeoff analysis to determine least

expensive approach 2.3.      Documentation 2.3.1.      Develop CAD level documentation 3.0.    Prototype Design and Evaluation 3.1.      Select contract manufacturer for circuits 3.1.1.          Survey NYS companies as first and second source

suppliers

Example Time LineWeeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.0    Circuit partitioning for power and control1.1.      Evaluate present ballast RED: PLANNED

BLUE: ACTUAL1.2.      Develop alternate approaches

1.3.      Evaluate Digital Communications

2.0    Select SMDB product approach

2.1.      Develop SMDB product profile

2.2.      Assess best

2.3.      Documentation

3.0    Prototype Design and Evaluation3.1.      Select contract manufacturer for circuits

3.2.      Build 100 SMDB prototype circuits

3.3.      Define mechanical package

3.4.      Evaluate prototype products

3.5.      Establish pre-beta product

Technical Content (con’d)

“Deliverables” Describe expected outcomes of the

proposed work or what product(s) will be delivered

This is often one of the most important sections

(Think big picture and value of your deliverable)

“Related Work” Describe significant activities by group

members directly related to the proposed effort and how these activities interface with the proposed project

Describe the state-of-the-art and compare the proposed effort. The reviewer must be persuaded of the proposer's awareness of the state-of-the-art in the specific topic.

Commercialization Strategy (optional) Describe your strategy for potential

commercialization of the deliverable(s) Provide information on the market need

the product will address and the size of the market. What is the first application of your

product? Who will be your customers

What is your estimate of the market size (mkt sales $/year)?

How much money will you need to bring the product to market

Who are your competitors What is your advantage over your

competitors?

Key Personnel

Identify key personnel who will be involved

Include information on directly related education and experience.

A concise resume of the primary contributors

Facilities and Equipment

Describe available instrumentation and physical facilities necessary to carry out the effort.

Items of equipment to be purchased (as detailed in the cost proposal) shall be justified

State whether or not the facilities need modifications to meet environmental laws and regulations of federal, state, and local Governments for, but not limited to, the following groupings: airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials. (For EE402 – assume they no modifications are needed)

Subcontractors and ConsultantsInvolvement of subcontractors or

consultants may be appropriate If such involvement is intended, it should

be described in detail and identified in the cost proposal.

A minimum of two-thirds of the effort, as measured by direct and indirect costs, must be carried out by the proposing group, unless otherwise approved

Cost Proposal

(See Example Budget Form) Sufficient information should be provided to

understand how the proposer plans to use the requested funds

List all key personnel by name and number of hours dedicated to the project as direct labor.

Justify special tooling, test equipment and materials

Cost for travel funds must be justified and related to the needs of the project.

Cost sharing is permitted.

Example Budget Form

Page: 1 of 1Contractor: ABC Address:

Elicott, New York 14260Location (where work is to be performed): Agency funding: 75,847$

(same) Total Project Cost: 189,617$ Total Cost Cost to Cost-sharing &

Cost Element to Project Agency Co-funding(% sharing): 40% 60%

1. Direct Materials a. Purchased Parts $25,000 $10,000 $15,000 b. Other $0 $0 $0 Total Direct Materials $25,000 $10,000 $15,000

2. Materials Overhead Rate: 10% $2,500 $1,000 $1,500

3. Direct Labor Hours Rate/hrSr. Electrical Design 312 56 $17,472 $6,989 $10,483Card Design 30 29 $870 $348 $522Electrical fabricate &Test 104 36 $3,744 $1,498 $2,246Mechanical fabricate 78 32 $2,496 $998 $1,498Reliability testing 0 36 $0 $0 $0 Total Direct Labor $24,582 $9,833 $14,749

4. Labor Overhead Rate % 13% (f ringe benef its) Base (3) $3,196 $1,278 $1,917

Perimter Road, WestBuilding

Contract Pricing Proposal Form Name of Proposed Project:"Development and Commercialization of Power Line Carrier Controlled Fluorescent Lighting Systems"

5. Outside Special Testing $0 $0 $0

6. Equipment $5,000 $2,000 $3,000

7. Travel $1,500 $600 $900

8. Other Direct Costs $0 $0 $0

9. Subcontractors/ConsultantsHours Rate/hr

Contract Mfg. (TBD) $64,000 $25,600 $38,400Consultant - Prof. Hopkins 104 130 $13,520 $5,408 $8,112Consultant - Mech. Eng. 40 100 $4,000 $1,600 $2,400SUNY Buffalo $0 $0 $0 Total Subcontractors/Consultants $81,520 $32,608 $48,912

10. G&A Expense Rate % 40% (General & Administrative) Base (3-9) $46,319 $18,528 $27,791

11. Fee or Profit Rate: 0% (0 for cost-sharing) $0 $0 $012. Total Estimated Project Cost $189,617 $75,847 $113,770This proposal ref lects our best estimates as of this date, in accordance w ith the instructions to proposers.Typed Name and Title: Signature: Date:

January 1, 2004

From New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposal requirements. See http://www.nyserda.org/791attd.pdf

WRITING AN EFFECTIVE PROPOSAL

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Why is it important?

If you plan to be a consultant or run your own business, written proposals may be one of your most important tools for bringing in business. And, if you work for a government agency, nonprofit organization, or a large corporation, the proposal can be a valuable tool for initiating projects that benefit the organization or you the employee-proposer (and usually both).

A proposal is a document that request support-usually money- for work a proposer wants to do. what makes a proposal a proposal is that it asks the audience to approve, fund, or grant permission to do the proposed project.

Types of proposals

Internal proposal: If you write a proposal to someone within your organization, it is an internal proposal. With internal proposals, you may not have to include certain sections (such as qualifications), or you may not have to include as much information in them.

External proposal: is one written from one separate, independent organization or individual to another such entity.

Solicited proposal: If a proposal is solicited, the recipient of the proposal in some way requested the proposal. Typically, a company will send out requests for proposals (public announcements requesting proposals for a specific project ) through the mail or publish them in some news source.

Unsolicited proposals: are those in which the recipient has not requested proposals. With unsolicited proposals, you sometimes must convince the recipient that a problem or need exists before you can begin the main part of the proposal.

Things to remember when writing a proposal:

The proposer has a particular interests and goals, and that's why he/she writes the proposal.

The recipient of the proposal, be it an organization, a person, or a group, has its own interests and goals which may or may not coincide with those of the proposer.

So, the proposal should be convincing to the potential funder, and it should show that the proposed activity will be a good investment.

This is especially important when there is a competition between you and other proposers.

Always make sure that your proposal meets the expectations of the funder.

How to make sure that your proposal meets the expectations of a given funder:

In order to write a proposal that meets the expectations of a given funder, you should try to know the funder`s goals and interests.

If you are writing an unsolicited proposal to a private company, a good source of information might be the company's published reviews and annual reports.

Requests for proposals are usually the best source of information when you are writing a solicited proposal.

If your proposed activity and the request for proposal (RFP) don't match, try to look for another funding agency.

LISTENING EXERCISE AND LANGUAGE EXPANSION

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00:14 – 21:00

Listening Activity Answer discussion

Negotiation – pitch an idea for strategic partner ship

Listening Questions 1. In the beginning, what does Mike say

his company is looking for?2. Which idea is Mike tentative or hesitant about?3. What is Mike going to do next?

Answers

Listening Questions 1. In the beginning, what does Mike say

his company is looking for? Who is established in the region /

2. Which idea is Mike tentative or hesitant about?

How it might all work / partnership -

3. What is Mike going to do next?Start with a selective part – local market networking with small investment Layout general idea and the other guys provide me researched information

Review

Report WritingProposal writingRequirementsContentsFormatAnatomy StrategiesTypes of proposals