Scientific and Technical Communication: Theory, Practice and Policy

End Matter

End matter of the "artificial recharge" proposal includes references, a detailed work plan and — perhaps most importantly — six maps.

Appendices may include lists of figures, tables and visuals too long to place within the report body, and not immediately relevant to a reader's understanding of the proposal. It may also include descriptions of related projects, and letters of testimony from former clients. Some readers will look to a bibliography to be certain your research was complete; others, requiring specific information, will appreciate an index through which they may find a reference in the report body which occupies too little space to be listed in the table of contents.

Composing Proposals

You should approach writing a proposal writing through stages. First, assess your abilities: you need to know what work you can perform and what work you cannot perform. Second, research your probable competition; as best you can, determine their strengths and weaknesses. Third, determine your own strengths, and order them from most appealing to least appealing. If the quality at top of the list is especially forceful, and if it is unavailable to your competition, use it as the unique selling point which you repeat throughout the proposal. Finally, identify weaknesses in your proposal which are significant and obvious, and consider how you might assure your reader that you can compensate for them.

You are ready to begin a first draft. Its composition will be assisted by the generalized format offered above. Of course, you do not begin with the title page and write through to the appendix. Rather, you begin with the body of the proposal, and build the rest around it. First, write the body — that is, the description of proposed work and its subsections. Second, identify sections which require information standard to all proposals submitted by your organization — description of available facilities and qualifications of personnel, for instance. These are places in which you may insert text used in documents written previously. Such text is called boilerplate, and the insertion of such text is called boilerplating. The practice is made possible by authors with the foresight to save text; it is made simple and fast by word processors' "copying and pasting" functions. Reread the boilerplate, and expect that you will need to change or delete certain details. Finally, write sections which function as summaries — cover letter, statement of request, and conclusion. Unless you have specific reasons to do otherwise, retain parallel structure within sections — for instance, present advantages in the same order in both the body and the conclusion. As more information becomes available (probable salaries, available equipment, etc.), you will be able to add details to subsequent drafts.

Of course, the particulars of this process and the resulting document are much determined by the audience. Three types of audiences — corporations, government agencies, and foundations — are discussed below. The writing process may be altered accordingly.

To Corporations

A corporation is an organization of persons and material resources which exists to conduct business. In recent years many corporations have cut operating budgets, and come to rely more and more on outside help for specific purposes — a practice called "outsourcing." Ten years ago, for instance, a computer manufacturer may have expected its marketing division to advertise an updated model; in the nineties, the same firm may be more likely to contract the work from an independent agency. A corporation seeks a contract by making a public announcement — a Request for Proposal. RFPs appear in the classified sections of many newspapers. They also appear in the U.S. government publication Commerce Business Daily carried by most libraries; since 1982 they have been available on-line through DIALOG Information Services, Inc.

Some RFPs are quite long — hundreds of pages. Others are very brief — and so may not fairly represent the work requested. In such cases some contracting agents allow further contact for matters of clarity and for details; others set up a meeting with all those submitting proposals so that no one has an unfair advantage. At the very least, you will want to know the procedure and the criteria by which proposals are evaluated.

There is another way into these woods — an unsolicited proposal. As you might expect, unsolicited proposals to corporations demand more of their authors; usually they require some attention to business news, greater knowledge of manufacturing processes regarding the subject in question, more research, and perhaps more communication between contractor and contracting agent. The extra work is likely to have tangible rewards: successful organizations are successful in part because they make unsolicited proposals. Many such firms regularly contract with the government: they are aware of Congressional bills — when they are voted on, what they represent and — most importantly — the equipment and/or service needs of the funded program. In short, these firms actually anticipate the RFP; some go so far as to retain sub-contractors in advance.

In all likelihood your first experience writing a corporate proposal will be with others who write them often. They may have set procedures, and in some cases the writing will be so formulaic that it may seem like filling out a form. But a jaded attitude may show through in your writing, and you should guard against it. A contracting agent, obviously, would prefer to work with someone who seems genuinely interested and excited about the project.

To U.S. Government Agencies

The U.S. Government offers more contracts than any other single entity — public or private. There are several sources of information for government grants. The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance is a comprehensive listing of Federal programs which provide assistance to the American public; the 1993 edition describes 1,308 assistance programs in areas like aviation research, community flood warning capabilities and forest management. The Federal Register announces guidelines and regulations for all government grant programs. It does not include RFPs, but it gives brief descriptions of programs, and addresses from which RFPs may be obtained. Finally, Federal agencies (among them the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor) regularly issue their own program guides and announcements. Of these, the National Science Foundation is perhaps especially accommodating in that it makes such information available electronically through the Science and Technology Information System (STIS). STIS contains several publications; as a first-time proposal-writer, you may will find valuable brief descriptions of successful proposals from 1989 to present.

Read thoroughly the agency's published guidelines for proposals; they are likely to answer most of your questions. The National Science Foundation's booklet "Program Solicitation for Small Business Innovation Research" is typical: it offers advice on everything from particulars of application (deadlines, copies, required signatures) to rhetorical strategy.

National Science Foundation
Program Solicitation for Small Business
Innovation Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency of the Federal Government, invites science-based and high-technology small business firms to submit research proposals under this Program Solicitation for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). NSF will support high-quality research proposals on important scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit if the research is successful.

The NSF SBIR Program encourages proposals in advanced applications research across essentially all fields of science, engineering, and science/engineering education supported by the Foundation. These fields, including specific areas of research interest, are described under Research Topics. Proposals must respond to one of these topics, which begin on page 11.

...

An emphasis under this solicitation is to stimulate high quality research in four areas of national importance: biotechnology, scientific instrumentation, high performance computing, and manufacturing systems. These areas are emphasized in several topics of this solicitation and are also dispersed through other topics. Firms with scientific, engineering, and science education research capabilities in these fields are encouraged to submit proposals in these fast changing areas of national interest. When proposals are otherwise considered to be of approximately equal technical merit, this emphasis may be given extra consideration in the evaluation process.

...

E. Background, Technical Approach, and Anticipated Benefits

1. Describe in detail the overall background and technical approach to the problem or opportunity and the part that the proposed research plays in providing needed results.

2. Highlight the innovativeness and originality of the proposed research.

3. State the anticipated results and commercial applications of Phase I and II if the research is successful, including the significance of the research and its potential to (1) provide the research base to attract follow-on non-Federal investment for product or process development in Phase III; (2) stimulate or achieve technological innovation; and (3) contribute technical and/or economic competitiveness benefits to the Nation.

....

The rest of the document describes requirements for sections regarding related research, senior personnel, consultants and subcontracts, equipment and facilities, current and pending support of principle investigator and senior personnel, commercial potential, a description of equivalent proposals to other federal agencies, and budget. It also includes a checklist with which the proposal writer may make certain that the proposal is complete.

Here again, program guidelines and RFPs may not answer all your questions regarding a given program. Agencies which allow contact include in their guidelines the telephone number of a representative. Speak to the representative to be certain you understand the agency's need, and the procedure and criteria by which it evaluates proposals.

To Private, Corporate and Community Foundations

The Internal Revenue Service defines a foundation as "an IRS-sanctioned, non-profit, non-governmental entity financing public causes." Perhaps a more useful definition is an organization whose purpose is to distribute funds according to established criteria. There are over 30,000 private foundations in the United States and Canada — together they provide roughly 400,000 grants each year. In most years, a relatively small part of this number (roughly three percent) gives away a majority of the grants. The 1993 Grants Index, for instance, reported that 58,000 grants of $10,000 or greater and with a combined value of 4.85 billion dollars came from only 846 foundations. Types of foundations may be ranked according to total assets.

General purpose foundations (or independent foundations) like the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation are few in number (there are perhaps 500) but large in impact: together, they give away half of all foundation grants. They have assets in the hundreds of millions, full-time staffs, boards of trustees and presidents with six-figure salaries. Award decisions may be made by the donor or the donor's family, by a board of directors, or by a trust officer acting on behalf of the donor. The size of individual grants is often large (reaching into the millions of dollars) and likely to be awarded to well-established organizations. In recent years a plurality of these grants has been awarded to organizations involved with education.

Company-sponsored foundations like the Sears Foundation, the U.S. Steel Foundation, and the Alcoa Foundation are legally separate from the company whose name they share. Award decisions are made by a board of directors which includes representatives of the company, but may include individuals with no affiliation. Still, company-sponsored foundations are likely to fund causes related to the company's interests — one client's alma mater, another client's favorite symphony orchestra, for instance.

Community Foundations are named after the community in which they originated; they are likely to receive money from local sources and distribute it according to donors' requests. Award decisions are made by a board of directors which is meant to represent the community. Recipients are local: scholarship students, recycling programs, etc.

Begin by deciding what kind of work you can perform. At this earliest stage of the process do not limit your imagination: brainstorm a lengthy list. Examine possibilities realistically, and narrow them to one or two. Then — and only then — define your project as specifically as possible.

Identify foundations likely to fund your project. Two very useful sources of information about foundation funding are The Foundation Directory and The Foundation Grants Index. Both are published annually, and both may be found in most library reference sections. The Foundation Grants Index lists all grants bestowed the previous year, and offers a paragraph description of each. It contains a main listing of grants arranged by subject. And it has one especially useful feature: an index of key words and phrases which enables you to find every foundation which awarded grants relating to a given subject. More recently, a CD-ROM Foundation Grants Index has appeared at college and university libraries: it allows searches of foundations using key words involving areas they have funded. Another very useful CD-ROM source is the Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN). It contains information on federal, non-federal and corporate research, and fellowships.

Make a short list of candidate foundations and compose letters of inquiry to each. Ask specific questions about their needs. Certain foundations encourage the grant-seeker to arrange a phone call or a meeting with its representatives. It is an opportunity for each party to learn of the other. The foundation's representatives will expect you to present a general outline of your proposal. You have a chance to discover all you can about the foundation's needs and to solicit advice for writing the proposal.

Writing a proposal to a foundation is much like writing a proposal to a corporation or government agency, and may follow the process described above. In one sense it is easier: individual corporations and individual government agencies may be quite different from each other, and may have varied expectations of authors. Foundations, on the other hand, are alike enough that we may offer general advice for to the grant-seeker. First, most foundations advertise themselves as philanthropic. Focus on the human element: emphasize how your proposal will improve individual lives, and use a specific, if fictional, case. Second, many readers will not be specialists. Avoid technical jargon in the summary; if it is necessary, include it in an appendix. Although proposals to foundations vary greatly in length — from a single page to over one hundred — most foundation representatives prefer a document of ten or twenty pages.

To International Foundations

Foundations and institutions like foundations appear worldwide; the character of each, as you might expect, is determined by the particular politics, culture and history of their nation of origin. It is difficult to generalize the character of foundations even within the relatively similar nations of Western Europe. France and Italy, for instance, have a history suspicious of intermediaries between the state and the individual, and view foundations as such intermediaries. Consequently, these countries have relatively few foundations. In Great Britain and the Netherlands, by contrast, foundations are perceived much as they are in the United States — not as intermediaries, but as self-governing and largely autonomous. And both countries have a great number of foundations. Beyond Europe, differences in legal, social and cultural norms are still greater; in Muslim countries, for instance, charity is dispensed through a community-based organization called a waqf. All this suggests that to succeed, a seeker of international grants must make a more exhaustive study of his target foundation and its contexts and build an understanding of its character from facts, not assumptions.

In recent years, international foundations have been attracted to two issues more than others: the environment, and famine relief. Friends of the Earth International (representing organizations in 26 countries) inaugurated million-dollar campaigns to protect the world's rainforests. The 1984-85 famine in the Sahel attracted the funds of numerous foundations — and caused the formation of others. And so although international foundations have had differences in their outlook, those differences are being overtaken by concerns which transcend national boundaries.

Discussion

1. Suppose you are about to research possible granting agencies for Proposed Artificial Recharge Studies in Northern Qatar, and you have access to The Foundation Grants Index (in its bound or CD-ROM form). As a class, make a list of "keywords" with which you might begin your search.

Exercises

1. Using the Foundation Grants Index, identify two foundations likely to fund proposals in each of the following areas:

respiratory disease
computer literacy among schoolchildren
acid rain research
cultural relations between the United States and Japan
schizophrenia

2. With a member of the class from another field of study, imagine a proposal to a U.S. Government agency for a project which uses resources from his or her field, and your own. Compose a brief description of the proposal in a first draft.

3. Groups identify appropriate persons, committees and/or organizations, and compose proposals to them. Proposals should follow the format discussed in this chapter; they may include parts or all of earlier phased exercises: i.e., the qualifications section may contain parts of cover letter, and the "methods" section may a contain description of a procedure.

Further Reading

Eikstein, Richard M. Directory of Computer and High Technology Grants: An Innovative Reference Directory Pinpointing Computer, Software, and Related High-Tech grants Available to Nonprofit Organizations. Loxahatchee, Fla.: Research Grant Studies, 1991.

The Foundation Directory, Columbia University Press; New York Foundation Center, serial.

The Foundation Grants Index, New York Foundation Center, serial.

Guide to European Foundations. Torino: Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, 1979.

Hillman, Howard and Chamberlain, Marjorie. The Art of Winning Corporate Grants. New York: Vanguard Press, 1980.

International Foundation Directory. Hodson, H.V., Ed. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research Co., 1986.

Kiger, Joseph Charles. International Encyclopedia of Foundations. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.

Kimrey, Joel O. Proposed Artificial Recharge Studies in Northern Qatar. Orlando, FL: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey, 1985.

Margolin, Judith B., Aikman, Lorna and Reed, Patricia. Foundation Fundamentals: A Guide for Grantseekers. New York: Foundation Center, 1991.

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Viking Press, 1955.

Neilsen, Waldemar A. The Big Foundations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972.

Neilsen, Waldemar A. The Golden Donors: A New Anatomy of the Great Foundations. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1985.

Schumacher, Dorin. Get Funded! A Practical Guide for Scholars Seeking Research Support from Business. Newbury Park: Sage, 1992.

Tepper, Ron. How to Write Winning Proposals for Your Company or Client. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.

Proposals
Chapter 11: Part 2

David M. Toomey with James H. Collier

Book Contents

Chapter 11: Part 2

Proposals Chapter 11: Part 2

David M. Toomey with James H. Collier

Book Contents

Chapter 11: Part 2

Proposals
Chapter 11: Part 2