English peoject

Proposals (Week 4)

What are proposals? How we do write them? What do they look like?

Proposals come in two varieties:

· Solicited

· Unsolicited

Solicited proposals are generally issued as requests by agencies to fill some vital need. You are essentially writing a proposal to fulfill a contract. The dominant type of solicited proposal is known as the RFP (request for proposal) and are commonly related to state and federal government contracts for materials and/or labor.

Unsolicited proposals, though a bit outdated, are appeals to agencies that seek solve a problem and advertise the writer’s expertise at solving this problem. They are like an ad sent out to fulfill an unidentified need. Most places see these as spam.

Even worse, proposals are generally split up into two more varieties:

· Internal

· External

Internal proposals are often short and, of course, written by members of an agency that already know the layout of operations. Your Project 2 is a perfect example of an internal proposal. As a MUS TEXAS student, you understand the needs of your peers. You have a slight understanding of how the university works. (Complain to a Dean, get an A!) Your proposal will be shorter than the external proposal because the assumption that administrators at MSU Texas know of the issues you are suggesting.

External proposals tend be longer and are usually linked to RFPs. Your sole goal for submitting an external proposal is profit, not charity. These tend to run from 10 pages to 50 pages and describe filling a need, product, cost, value of services provided, and other details usually left out of an internal proposal.

What are the objectives of a proposal?

It’s really simple:

· Clearly summarize the problem you are addressing. Do not feel like you have to write a novel. This should effectively describe the situation or problem and show importance for why it must be fixed.

· Provide an explanation of how you will correct this situation/problem. Just addressing need will get you nowhere. Have a solution(s).

· Show that your idea is feasible. Asking MSU Texas to build a waterpark is not feasible despite the idea that it is needed. UC Berkeley built a lazy river for students despite a multimillion dollar commitment that could have been used for other needs.

· Show benefits and refute possible objections.

· Give credentials that show how you can adequate fulfill needs/problems/situations.

· Always give a reliable timeline for when you expect the completion of the project.

· Give an honest (lol) list of costs. Underestimating budget is unethical. Overcharging for a product is worse. The Pentagon paid $500 per toilet seat back in the 1990s. I’m sure you can figure out how much that contractor made in pure profit.

· Have a strong conclusion that motivates readers. You want to provide a cost/benefit analysis (CBA) here.

I’m stuck and can’t think of anything!

The good news is that this happens to all of us. Something to consider is researching what other schools in Texas and across the country have that we could use. Comparative analysis is usually a good angle to take as it reminds your audience that they are behind the curve in certain regards. Look at our competition in the Lone Star Conference schools and see what they possess that we could use. Look at other Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico schools to see what they have that could aid MSU students and draw more potential students in. It’s perfectly fine to point out flaws.

To give you an example: When I was at Penn State our president would constantly compare our classrooms, technology, etc. to Michigan State. If Michigan State had something before we did, you can bet we would acquire it as soon as possible. Many businesses work in a similar fashion as they constantly want to match or beat competition in terms of assets, technology, or other means.

GENERAL NOTES:

You have a selection of proposals on D2L to view. They all follow the same format. As the assignment sheet notes, you have $10 million dollars to play with in order to fix an existent problem at MSU. Think creatively about what we need/desire/expand upon.

I will end this will a couple notes:

1) DO NOT WRITE ABOUT PARKING LOTS, TEXTBOOKS, OR THE FOOTBALL STADIUM.

2) Think of who this will benefit. Just students in general? A variety of students? A group of students (fraternities/sororities?)? Faculty, staff, and students?

3) You can partner with Wichita Falls or Shephard Air Base. If you have an idea that can incorporate MSU and the surrounding community, go for it!

4) You can focus on projects that are not building related. Want to change a curriculum? Hire one or two more faculty to teach a new set of courses? Go for it.