Honing Proposal Ideas

1. Honing Proposal Ideas Terry A. Ring CHEN 4905

2. The hardest Step is Coming up with the Idea

3. Ideation • Steps • Divergent Thinking to come up with a creative idea • Brain Storming in groups • Reading to verify that someone has not already done this work. • Be sure to check patent literature • Reading to firm up your idea • Reading to develop supporting information • Assured that this is a good idea and that it is doable. • Assure that this is an idea that you have some skills to attack

4. Ideation • In everything that you do and read, ask • Is there a better way to do this? • Why is this the only way? • What are the negatives associated with this way of doing things? • What are the good things associated with this way of doing things? • Why not use technology from another arena to do this?

5. Identify Funding Source • Goal: Identify an Request for Proposal (RFP) to submit your idea to • Look at mission statements for • Industry • Gov’t agencies • Foundations • National • International • Non-Governmental Organizations • Read past RFPs • Read the abstracts of successful past proposals • Talk with Project Managers about future RFPs that might be in the works • Visit Project Managers with Concept slides and ask which proposals they would like to see

6. The Hard Work of Proposing

7. Proposal Development • A proposal answers the following questions • What is the problem? Attention/Need • To set up the problem you need to review the state of the art (literature). • Know the problem thoroughly from many points of view. • What is the proposed solution? • Explain the solution. Need • Explain how it will solve the problem. Satisfaction • Explain how it will lead to a better world. Visualization • What work needs to be done to verify that the solution will work? • What is the cost in time and $ to verify that the solution will work? Action • Does the solution meet regulatory requirements and agency requirements including budgetary requirements? • End the proposal with how the solution will lead to a better world.

8. Proposal Needs Excellent Graphics • Proposals are limited in the number of pages allowed • “A picture is work 1,000 words.” • So more information can be conveyed with a mix of words and pictures • Graphics have to be very good to convey a new idea • Schematic of process • Block Diagrams showing how concepts fit together • Mockup of a new Device

10. Winning Proposal Yea!!

11. Do the Research Work • Goal: A successful grant does the work that is contracted on the schedule proposed. • As delays are encountered communicate clearly with Project Manager • If better research directionsare identified get clearance for this different work from Project Manager • Interim reports on schedule • Interim spending reports on schedule

12. Reporting out • Goal: Have the Final Report Done on Time • That means that the work is done on time and the reporting keeps pace with the work.

13. Restart the Proposal Process • Often the previous research work uncovers a series of new research questions • Get the literature work done and proposal ideas generated along the way • Identify funding agency along the way • This becomes an endless loop • Unknown