1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL
DR.URJA MANKAD

2. DEFINITION OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL
A proposal is an offer by one party to provide a product Or service to another party in exchange for money. It is a kind of sales presentation. In other words, proposals are offers to solve the technical problem or to undertake a project of practical or theoretical in nature.

3. PURPOSE
As said earlier, proposals aim to solve a problem, after a procedure, find answers to questions, offer advice and training or conduct research on a topic of interest to both the parties. Proposals serve to review and improve existing products and services to meet the ever-increasing and complex requirement of today’s highly competitive environment.

4. PURPOSE: Any of the following can be the purpose of the proposal.
To construct
To survey areas for the possible resources
To plan
To modernize the office procedures
To train managers or engineers as per the international standard
To conduct a basic research for necessity
Academic research

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROPOSAL
Technical proposals are a persuasive blend of information, organization and reason (rationale).
A proposal should
Demonstrate to appropriate decision makers that their needs would be met with.
More creative than other forms of writing
Include summary, background, objective, description of the problem, methodology and cost effectiveness.
Anticipate the possible reasons for rejection and provide suggestions for overcoming them
Use plain, direct and unambiguous language.

6. That means the proposal should answer the following questions:
What do we propose to do?(objective)
How do we propose to do?(methodology)
What evidence can we propose to use that will actually get the desired result?( reference, reading material, past project report)
What evidence can we propose to show that ours is the best way to get the desired result?
What are the aspects or the evidences to be presented to make the cost acceptable?

7. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
Prefatory parts:
Title page:
Similar to report. It should include at least
the title,
the name of the person or a company to whom the proposal is submitted,
the name of the person submitting the proposal and date.

8. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
The letter of Transmittal
This is a cover letter that accompanies or is bound along with the proposal.
This cover letter should include :
a brief introductory: topic and purpose
a middle: proposal highlight
The concluding part: motivate the recipient towards responding positively.

9. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
DRAFT CONTRACT:
A draft contract is the rough draft to the contract prepared by the proposer. When the proposal is accepted, the original or rough draft may change in terms of finance, duration of the project.

10. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Even brief proposals should have an executive summary as evaluators will initially read only this summary to gain a quick review.
That means it includes a brief background. Here budget figures are omitted. The summary should end with a re-emphasis of the proposal’s strengths as it gets circulated among a wide group.

11. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
BODY OF THE PROPOSAL:
problem and need:
This includes the problem statement which clarifies what one intends to investigate. It should evaluate the facilities and procedure; that means why there is a problem and what benefits can it bring.

12. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
BACK GROUND:
It includes following information.
Previous work completed on the same topic
Literature reviews and proposer’s evaluation
Statement on how the project will be carried out.

13. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
PURPOSE:
The objective or the purpose should be clearly mentioned
SCOPE:
This part of the proposal defines the boundaries of the project.
One must specify whether the project has more than one areas of the company, department, village, city or even country. It is writer’s ethical and moral obligation.

14. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
Limitation:
This section describes the limitations over which the proposer may not have control. Not getting enough reading material is one of them.
Project team /personnel
Even the smallest of the proposal must have the list of the individuals who will work on the project. In long proposals, the resumes and designation of the personnel must be mentioned.

15. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
Procedures:
A brief discussion on how the technical requirement of the reader will be met with. This should include the following aspect.
Methods and sources
Plan of attack
Sequence of activities
Equipment, facilities and products
Required manpower

16. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
BUDGET AND COST ESTIMATE:
The budget or cost section is mandatory for all proposals. It should include such items as materials and supplies, salaries, travels, duplicating, consumable items etc.. It is customary to include budget justification in paragraph form, stating the various items of expenses of the project.

17. ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE (FORMAT)
Conclusion:
It provides the final opportunity to re-emphasize your proposal. No new idea should be stated here. It should be very brief, preferably in one paragraph only.

18. SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS
Appendices: Visual graphs and some pertinent letters of support and endorsement can be added. But we have doubt anywhere, it is better to leave that part.
References: It gives the list of sources which are used or quoted in the proposal.

19. STYLE AND APPEARANCE
All techniques and principles which are applicable to the technical communication and report writing are equally applicable to the technical proposals also.
As proposals are evaluated in the terms of general appearance,

20. STYLE AND APPEARANCE neatness,
specific appearance of table of content,
list of figures,
title page,
consistency of style,
completeness, and
professionalism,
it should be checked and rechecked.

21. EVALUATION SCHEME The following is the evaluation scheme:
understanding of purpose, objectives and tasks: 30 points
technical quality of the method proposed to be applied: 30 points
quality of management plan and planning: 10 points
qualification of the staff: 20 points
corporate capability and experience: 10 points.

22. THANK YOU