This Module is Part 1 of a three-part series on proposal writing. This part introduces you to the processes and procedures for writing winning proposals. Part 2 discusses writing the technical proposal, and presents techniques that will ensure your proposal is responsive to your customer's needs, is easy to follow, and builds on the strengths of your company. Part 3 tells you how to develop financial information for the cost proposal.

	You must know about the opportunities available to your organization, and how they fit into your business.
	Does an opportunity build on business strengths you already have, or would it expand your business?
	Having identified an opportunity, you must understand the customer and make him appreciate your strengths.
	Never forget to evaluate the risk of submitting a proposal. Would a poor proposal establish a bad reputation with a potential customer? Or, if you win, are the technical, schedule, or cost risks associated with performing the job too high for you to accept?
	You must also consider the Return on Investment (ROI) associated with submitting a proposal. Is the cost of writing the proposal acceptable in terms of the potential for new business, even if you don't win?

If you do not do a good job of addressing these points, you probably won't write a winning proposal. This is discouraging, and constitutes a bad business decision.

These Modules, particularly parts 2 and 3, use a proposal from an engineering firm responding to a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) from the federal government to illustrate the concepts we are teaching. A large amount of funding is obtained through this type of RFP, especially in industries such as transportation or aerospace, but many of the concepts to be discussed are also helpful when writing proposals in a less formal environment. You could use them to develop a sales pitch for your management, for example, or a small company could use them in its search for start-up funding.

Government agencies also use Broad Area Announcements (BAA) and Announcements of Opportunity (AO) to find contractors. Another tool, the Program Solicitation or Program Announcement, is similar to the BAA or AO in that it explains the type of activities that the agency plans to fund. Many of these opportunities appear in the Commerce Business Daily and are often only one page. Usually they appear without notice, and the customer declares an information-gathering period of a week or so.

These announcements are opportunities for small businesses to obtain funding to develop innovative ideas. Two Department of Defense (DoD) programs exemplify the opportunities available to small, innovative companies: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funds early-stage research and development at small technology companies, and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, which is structured similarly, funds cooperative R&D projects involving a small business and a research institution (i.e., university, federally funded R&D center, or nonprofit research institution). The purpose of STTR is to create an effective vehicle for moving ideas from our nation's research institutions to the market, where they can benefit both private-sector and military customers.

Businesses seeking contractors often use a short Request for Quote (RFQ) process. They might send out a letter asking for the schedule, cost, and approach for the delivery of 100 widgets in six months, for example. The responding proposals may be very short.

In addition, there are many private foundations that fund innovative projects. Some of these are: the J. P. Getty Trust, Bayer Foundation, Pew Foundation, Intel Foundation, Merck Foundation, and AOL Foundation. Their Web sites define their interests and the procedures for obtaining funding from them.

Of course, if you have done your homework, you might find a customer who will accept an unsolicited proposal for an idea of mutual interest.