1/24

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to Blum's Chapter 1, and Tepper's Introduction and Chapter 1.

You should be beginning--even as you are first contemplating the nature and design of a proposal--to create your own proposal (this document, aside from your weekly participation in the class activities, will determine your grade, for the most part). Therefore, after carefully examining your interests and experience, define a problem that you would like to solve or identify a need to which you would like to respond. Is the subject of your proposal commercial (are you selling a service or a product)? Would your idea fit under a not-for-profit rubric? Does the government (local, state or federal) have resources and venues sufficient to address your need? Are you considering a pitch to an existing client or current employer? Your answer will indicate the type of organization or granting agency you believe to be an appropriate audience for your proposal.

1/31

By this date you will have posted your reactions to the Proposal Writing Short Course and the Guide to Proposal Writing on EIES. You will also have posted on EIES a critique of Sample Proposal 1. As regards this proposal, and all other primary documents, please use the following format (outlined here and also at the bottom of this page). The critique of documents (this does not necessarily apply to our textbook readings or to on-line proposal-creation guidelines) should be arranged in four sections: Good Stuff, Bad Stuff, Suggestions for Improvement, and Picky Details.

As for your own proposal project: Once you have decided on the subject of your proposal and a potential general audience to pitch it to, write a one-page memo describing your intentions. What is the scope of time your idea covers? How much money will satisfy your needs? You need not have a specific funding agency in mind at this point; in fact, it's good not to have one and to explore your alternatives. Just have a general idea of whether it is internal (your boss, for example) or external, and if external, whether you intend to develop a non-profit organization to receive funding or seek funds as a commercial enterprise. This is a public assignment, which means that your memo should be cut and pasted into our EIES conference. Do not email it or fax it to me. The assignment's purpose is twofold. First, everyone in the class should have a sense of what the others are intending to do. You never know who might have valuable information, and therefore suggestions, about your idea. The second reason is that I'd like you to work collaboratively, not necessarily on the proposal itself, but in exchanging feedback on each other's work, toward the end of the semester, when you circulate drafts of your proposal for review.

2/7

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to Blum's Chapter 2,  and Tepper's Chapter 2.

As for your own proposal project: Prospect research is a crucial step in developing a successful proposal. Now that you have an idea that is worthy of support, your next step is to identify a potential audience for it. Go to the "Hyperlinks to Funding Resources Information" link on the course homepage, where you will find links to web sites that will serve as either idea generators or applicable resources for you; your textbooks also contain useful references that are worth pursuing. If you are seeking funding outside of your current employer, find two organizations that have the potential to meet your needs. Find a Request for Proposal or Program Announcement that seems to fit with your idea. Then analyze the document in a page or two and paste your analysis into EIES along with an online link to the document so that others may see it as well.

2/14

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to Blum's Chapter 3,  and Tepper's Chapter 3.

As for your own proposal project: We have already noted that prospect research is a crucial step when developing a successful proposal. You have an idea that is worthy of support and have already found a likely RFP or PA.  You have identified your audience,  therefore, so now you need to analyze it in order to develop an effective rhetorical strategy and to understand the needs and expectations of that audience. When you have narrowed your potential prospects down to your final choice, develop a briefing profile of no more than two pages and paste it into EIES. Your profile should discuss the organization you intend to solicit, its giving history and its established guidelines.
 

2/21

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to Blum's Chapter 9.

As for your own proposal project: If possible, interview at least one person from the granting organizations you have selected, to gather general information that has the potential to affect your proposal. If you cannot get an interview, review whatever literature the granting agency can supply that relates to your idea and their criteria for funding. Seek out secondary sources of information about your intended source of funds. What do new agencies, outside evaluators and previous clients have to say about the interests and integrity of the company or agency? Write a progress memo that explains your information gathering process, its results as well as the rationale behind your decision to direct your proposal to the specific granting agency you have selected. Post the memo on the EIES conference.
 

2/28

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to
Tepper's Chapter 4.

As for your own proposal project: You now have the information necessary to construct a working outline, an essential tool for any detailed writing project. Based on the criteria established by the granting agency you have targeted and the scope of work necessary to deliver your proposal, develop an outline that reflects what you believe to be a complete breakdown of tasks to be completed as well as an effective organization of ideas and materials. Post the outline on the EIES conference.

3/6

Usually there are supplemental materials required by the granting agency, such as a budget, profiles of key personnel, and a list of past projects--these documents illustrate that you are competent to achieve the ends that your proposal has established. Depending on the criteria your proposal and audience demand, develop the list of supplemental materials and begin to assemble the pieces. Describe these materials in a progress memo and post it on the EIES Conference.

3/20

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to
Tepper's Chapter 8.

As for your own proposal project: As Tepper has indicated, visual materials that accompany or make up the heart of a proposal can be effective parts of your pitch and ultimate success. Considering the subject matter of your proposal and the audience you have selected, decide on the appropriate visual aids to be included. Assemble drafts of these materials and deliver them, along with an explanatory memo, to me by mail or email attachment. Do not attach them to EIES. If you have a web site where I can view them, email me the URL. Continue to work on the supplementary materials.

3/27

We have reached the point in the semester where you must start taking stock of the pieces of the information you have been gathering and begin to form them into a coherent whole. Juxtapose this information and the materials you've developed against your outline and its relevant funding agency's requirements. What needs to be drafted? What needs to be revised? Submit a 3-4 page Proposal Game Plan on EIES.

4/3

The time has come to put it all together. You now know all the basics you need in order to flesh out your proposal. Think about all the sections it will have to have, especially as regards your proposal's controlling idea. For now, you can write it up in a text-only format so it can be posted on EIES for class comments. Post the draft on EIES.

4/10

Write brief critiques of all class drafts of proposals and post the critiques (use the four-part format--cf. the bottom of this page) on EIES for comparison.
 

4/17

By this date you will have posted your reactions (into the EIES conference--do not mail them or fax them to me) to
Blum's Chapter 10.

As for your own proposal project: By this point, you have nearly all the components necessary to develop the first draft of your complete proposal. The last pieces are the résumés of personnel who will deliver what your proposal promises to do. Revise all these résumés to highlight appropriate skills and accomplishments, making them germane to the proposal. Complete whatever is outstanding (such as budget and visual aids) and submit one copy of this first draft to me and one to each member of your review committee (I will set up the committees ahead of time). It would be helpful to all your readers to have your proposal as a file on your web site. If this is not possible, send it as an attachment to all your reviewers (and to me).
 

4/24

We must acknowledge, at this point, that your proposals are in part academic exercises, which makes true peer review impossible. While some of you may be pitching your proposals to funding agencies or other organizations, none of us is an expert in the subject areas that support each of the proposals I am asking you to review. For this assignment, it is important to try to read critically but also to avoid making assumptions about what a particular funder may be looking for. Rather than putting yourself into the shoes of the actual audience the proposal is destined for, consider yourself part of the pre-review process, whereby your review committee must unanimously sign off on each proposal before it goes out to its funding agency. As a reviewer, you are looking for the following: coherence of idea; evidence of a match between the subject of the proposal and the abilities and giving history of the agency; applicability and effectiveness of graphs, tables, charts and other visuals, feasibility and correctness of the budget; as well as any surface errors that you might find.

Write a critique and send it to each of the proposers indicating areas of concern and potential remedies. Email it directly to the proposer and cc me.

5/1

Once you have received critiques from me and the members of your review committee, respond to our commentaries by revising your draft. Begin by making a list of all general and specific comments. Is there any repetition among your reviewers? Respond to each comment individually, even if the response is that you disagree with your reviewer's assessment. Continue by selecting appropriate suggestions and revising your drafts to incorporating  them. Deliver one copy of your revision to your instructor and one to each member of your review committee. All members of the review committee should then provide feedback (brief, if appropriate) on the revisions by no later than 5/7.

5/10

It is time to submit your proposal for a final grade. This must be done by attachment and/or hard copy.

Arrange your critique into four areas of focus:

Good Stuff
Bad Stuff
Suggestions for Improvement
Picky Details