TECHNICAL

PROPOSAL
Dr. Ali Raza Khoso

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Technical proposal
•Aproposal, in the technical sense, is a
document that tries to persuade the
reader to implement a proposed plan
or approve a proposed project.

•Aproposal, in simple terms, is an offer

by one party to provide a product or
service to another party in exchange
for money.

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 Technical Proposal

•Proposals
are written to people within
an organization, to an outside
company, or to the government.

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Technical Proposal
•Consultants submit proposals to companies,
stating that they can help solve problems within
a company
•Building contractors submit proposals to the
government that they can build something for
the Public Works Department;
•Reputed advertising agencies proffer to
publicize a product or an idea for a company
•Construction companies submit proposals to
governments abroad that they can build
everything from bridges to sky-scrapers—the list
is endless.
Request For
Proposals (RFP)
•From a government agency,
organization, or company.
•The requesting body receives multiple
proposals responding to their request,
reviews the submitted proposals, and
chooses the best one(s) to go forward.
•Your proposal must persuade the
reader that your idea is the one most
worth pursuing.

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Kinds of Proposals
•Solicited Proposals:
• An organization identifies a situation or
problem that it wants to improve or solve and
issues an RFP (Request for Proposals) asking
for proposals on how to address it.
•The requesting organization will examine
proposals and choose the most convincing
one, often using a detailed scoring rubric or
weighted objectives chart to determine which
proposal best responds to the request.

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Kinds of Proposals
•Unsolicited Proposals
•A writer perceives a problem or an
opportunity and takes the initiative to
propose a way to solve the problem or take
advantage of the opportunity (without being
requested to do so).

•Thiscan often be the most difficult kind of

proposal to get approved.

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Kinds of Proposals
•Internal Proposals
•These are written by and for someone within
the same organization.
•These proposals are generally shorter than
external proposals, and usually address some
way to improve a work-related situation
(productivity, efficiency, profit, etc.).

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Kinds of Proposals
•External Proposals
•These are sent outside of the writer’s
organization to a separate entity
(usually to solicit business).
•Usually sent as a formal report (if long),
introduced by a cover letter (letter of
transmittal).
•External proposals are usually sent in
response to a Request for Proposals, but
not always.
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Examples of Proposal
• To construct parking slots, buildings, bridges, highways
• To sell property such as buildings, machines, airplanes
• To survey areas for possible water sources
• To plan and construct airport baggage conveyor
systems
• To modernize the office procedures of a company
• To train international managers for work in foreign
countries
• To conduct the basic research before developing an
automobile factory in a foreign country
• To improve engineering performance within a company

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Importance of Proposal

•Successful proposals give financial returns

to the organization.
•They help promote various research
activities which are vital for the individual,
organization, or government.
•Proposal writing develops certain favorable
and useful skills such as communicative,
persuasive, and organizational skills.
•It also enhances the power of estimation,
judgment, and discrimination in the writer.
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 Characteristics of a Good
Proposal
•More creative than other forms of
professional writing

•Include summary, background, objective,

description of the problem, methodology and
cost estimate

•Containcertain or all elements of structure

according to the purpose, usefulness, and
requirements of the recipient language

•Use plain, direct, and unambiguous

expressions 14
Characteristics of a Good
Proposal
•Proposalcontents answer the following
questions:
•What do we propose to do?
•How do we propose to do it?
•What evidence can we propose to use that will
actually get the desired results?
•What evidence can we present to show that our
proposal is the best way to get the desired results?
•How can we demonstrate our ability to do what we
propose to do?
•What evidence must we present to show that the
cost will be acceptable and, perhaps, that we can
meet a satisfactory time schedule? 15
Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
I. Prefatory Parts •Methods
• Title page and sources
• Letter of Transmittal •Plan of attack
• Table of Contents •Managerial procedures
• List of Tables/Figures
•Sequence of activities
• Executive Summary
•Equipment, facilities,
II. Body of Proposal products
• Introduction
• Problem •Personnel qualifications
• Need •Cost estimate
• Background
• Objectives or
Purpose III. Conclusion
• Scope and Limitation
Technical Procedures •Appendices
•References

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Prefatory Parts

•Title Page: The title pages of a proposal

are similar to either short or long reports.

•The title page should include at least the

title, the name of the person or company
to whom the proposal is submitted, the
name of the person submitting the
proposal, and the date.

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 Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Prefatory Parts
• Letter of Transmittal:
•This is a cover letter that accompanies or is bound
along with the proposal.

•Includes a brief introductory a middle, and a

concluding paragraph.

•The topic and purpose are clearly mentioned in the

introductory section of the letter.
•The middle section contains the proposal highlights
and the concluding section motivates the recipient
towards responding positively to your proposal.

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Table of contents: Brief proposals do
not require a table of contents. But if
the proposal is long then a table of
contents is essential.

•Listof Tables and Figures: This list

enables the reader to locate the
graphic aids, if any, quickly.

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
• Executive Summary:

• Even brief proposals should have an executive

summary seeking to gain a quick review.
• The executive summary should be a concise
version of the detailed proposal.
• It should provide a brief background, telling
your reader the need for taking up this
project, and summarize the objectives, how
they will be met
• It should create a positive impact, so as to
induce the reader to read more of the
proposal.
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 Note:

The importance of an effectively

written executive summary cannot be
underestimated.
Many consultants believe that a
project is accepted or rejected solely
based on the impression created by
the summary.

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Body of the Proposal

•Problem and Need:

•The problem statement clearly specifies
what it intends to investigate.
•It should elaborate the existing
facilities/procedure and the short comings
arising out of the same.
•It should explain why the problem exists
and what benefits will come from the
proposed research.
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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Background:

• This includes information such as:

•Previous work completed on
identical or related projects
•Literature reviews on the subject,
particularly the proposer’s
evaluation of them
•Statements showing how the
proposal will build on the already
completed projects.
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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Body of the Proposal

•Purpose: The objective or purpose of the

proposal should be stated clearly, for
example:

•To offer the services for a feasibility

study of “XYZ Dam”
•To propose design solution of waste
water scheme in Mirpur Khas City.

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Scope: This part defines the
boundaries of the project.
•The proposal will specify which topics
will be inside & outside its scope.
•The writer of the proposal has an
ethical and legal obligation to clarify to
the client the limits of his/her
responsibility

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Limitations:This section describes the
restrictions over which the proposer
has no control, such as the non-
availability of some classified
information.

•Project team/Personnel: Listing of the

individuals who will work on the
project, including project
director/coordinator along with their
CV.
Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
• Procedures: Here, a brief discussion
on how the technical requirements
of the reader will be met.
• Methods and Sources: You need to tell
the reader the methods and sources
which you will be using to collect the
required statistical data for your project.

• For example: To whom you conduct

interviews?

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Plan of Attack (Methodology):

•Here you are required to present the

methodology you would adopt to carry out the
project.

•In general, this section presents the various

solutions available for the problem and the one
you have chosen, justifying the reasons for
selecting the same.

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Sequence of activities:
•Gantt chart or milestone chart, you can
present to your client a clear picture of the
phases of activities of the project and how
long each phase will take.

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
• Equipment, Facilities, Products
• You may explain the existing equipment,
facilities, etc. at your end and also the
additional facilities which you may need to carry
out the project.

• Personnel
• Manpower requirement to complete the project.
• Technical expertise your personnel have to
accomplish the project.
• Team organization of your project (Hierarchy)

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Budget/Cost Estimate
•The budget or cost section is mandatory
for all proposals.
•It should include such items as materials
and supplies, salaries, travel, duplicating,
consumable items, etc.
•It is customary to include a budget
justification section, in paragraph form,
stating the various items of expenses the
project would incur

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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Conclusion
•This last section of the body of the
proposal provides a final opportunity
to you to re-emphasize and persuade
the recipient that you have all the
resources in terms of material,
expertise, and enthusiasm to
accomplish the project.
•No new ideas should be added here
and this section should be very brief,
maybe one paragraph.
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Elements of Structure of a
Proposal
•Supplementary Parts

• Appendices, as in formal reports, are optional

in proposals also.
• Visuals (maps or graphs) and some pertinent
letters of support and endorsement can be
added.
• References give the list of sources which are
used or quoted in the proposal.
• Bibliography are sources used for developing
an understanding but are not quoted in the
proposal.
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