10.2 Proposals
The Life Cycle of a Project Idea
A great idea does not usually go straight from proposal to implementation. You may think it would be a great idea to change the design of the office space in your department, but before anyone gives you the go ahead for such an expensive and time-consuming project, they will need to know that you have done research to ensure the idea is cost effective and will actually be workable for your employees. Figure 8.2.1 breaks down the various stages a project might go through, and identifies some of the typical communication tasks that might be required at each stage.
Most ideas start out as a proposal to determine if the idea is really feasible, or to find out which of several options will be most advantageous. So before you propose the new office design, you propose to study whether or not it is a feasible idea. Before you recommend any specific office concept, you should propose to study three different concepts to find out which is the best one for your department. Your proposal assumes the idea is worth looking into, convinces the reader that it is worth spending the time and resources to look into, and gives detailed information on how you propose to do the “finding out.”
Knowledge Check
Once a project is in the implementation phase, the people who are responsible for the project will likely want regular status updates and/or progress reports to make sure that the project is proceeding on time and on budget, or to get a clear, rational explanation for why it is not. To learn more about Progress Reports, go to 8.4 Progress Reports.
Proposals
(How to write a Business Proposal in 10 Easy Steps, n.d.)
Proposals are some of the most common types of reports you will likely find yourself writing in the workplace. Variants of proposals include business plans and marketing plans. Proposals are persuasive documents intended to initiate a project often in response to a challenge and get the reader to authorize a course of action proposed in the document. Proposals may be informal, short document, addressing a need or challenge in your workplace, or the proposal may be a more formal and lengthy document that responds to a call for proposals for a complex project.
A proposal, in the technical sense, is a document that tries to persuade the reader to implement a proposed plan or approve a proposed project. Most companies and organizations rely on effective proposal writing to ensure successful continuation of their business and to get new contracts. With an effective proposal, the writer convinces the reader that the proposed plan or project is worth doing (worth the time, energy, and expense necessary to implement), that the author is the best candidate for implementing the idea, that the proposed plan is realistic and feasible, and that the proposed course of action will result in intangible benefits.
Lengthy proposals are often written in response to a Request For Proposals (RFP) issued by a government agency,