Proposals: three major types

1. Proposals: three major types • Research Proposal • proposes to define the scope of the problem and determine whether there’s a need for action. • Evaluation Proposal • proposes to investigate and evaluate solutions to the problem. • Implementation Proposal • proposes to implement solutions.

2. Your proposal details specific methods for conducting research. • Solicit expert opinion. • Collect and synthesize information from published and unpublished sources. • Evaluate sources of information. • Describe and justify courses of action for your investigation (your implementation plan).

3. In the course of conducting your investigation, you might also: • make and document observations • perform calculations and/or measurements • analyze test data

4. Proposal also describes methods of evaluating solutions should you get the grant. • Project Rationale sets out the criteria you will use to evaluate various solutions, or various applications of a solution, to the sustainability problem. • Proposal may end up proposing to study two sets of solutions: one long-term, one short-term.

5. Your complete proposal will contain these sections: • Executive Summary • Problem Description • Project Rationale • Technology Description • Implementation Plan • Including estimated schedule of your work • Appendices • List of References

6. Problem Description • Describe the local sustainability problem and link it to similar problems elsewhere (either locally or more universally). • Be specific about who client is and how your client frames the problem. • Define sustainability on basis of interview with client and your reading. Cite source of your definition.

7. Project Rationale • Evaluate and discuss the primary sources of information about the sustainability problem. Justify your particular definition of sustainability for this project. • Give overview of how you plan to investigate solutions to the problem. • Introduce the criteria you will use to evaluate solutions (cost, size, complexity, ???).

8. Technology Description • Communicates to a diverse audience information about the environmental technologies you are researching. • Defines issues confronting researchers. • Compares cost-effectiveness of various technologies, based on research and prior to more detailed investigation (if you win the grant).

9. Implementation Plan • Breaks down the scope of your work (should you get the grant) into tasks. • Describes in more detail your methods of research and methods of evaluation of information. • Shows sequence of tasks. • Includes specific sources of information in your description of research tasks. • Includes a graphical display of your schedule. • Describes value to community of accepting your proposal and awarding you the grant.

10. Executive Summary is a miniature version of whole proposal. • Concisely gives major findings and reasoning found in complete proposal. • Summarizes points for busy readers. • Written last!

11. List of References • Includes all relevant published sources of information (articles, books, reports, class notes (if posted on web), etc). • Does not include interviews and non-published sources – experts and client are named in body of report.

12. All proposals need to be persuasive. • What is your goal for this proposal. What do you want it to achieve? • What will convince proposal readers that you can do the tasks required? • Do you understand the problem or need from the client’s point of view? • Is your scope of investigation clear? • Does quality of writing affect reader’s view of your professional ability? • Avoid words such as maybe, feel, probably. • Don’t promise anything you cannot deliver.