About Formal Proposals
Formal proposals can be lengthy. They can go beyond a handful of pages and run into several volumes. You'll discover that most formal proposals you'll write will be in response to an RFP – or Request for Proposal – from either a large organization or the government. You also won't be writing the proposal alone. Typically, there will be a team of key individuals appointed to work on the proposal to make sure it's written, printed, and delivered by the closing date that the organization or government provided.Whenever an RFP is issued, there will typically be a list of topics that you must address within your proposal. Since these topics vary by organization or government office, it makes it impossible to provide a standard outline of what to include. However, we will go through the major components of a formal proposal. These components can form headings when you start to write the proposal.
- Letter of Transmittal. This letter is attached to a formal proposal. It's typically signed by an executive of the proposing company. It talks about the significant parts of the proposal. Sometimes it lists the cost. It's similar to an executive summary that precedes a formal report.
- Summary. The Summary summarizes the purpose of the proposal, as well as covers the highlights and cost. It can be left out if there is a letter of transmittal, or an executive summary bound inside the report.
- Introduction. The introduction of a proposal is the same as the introduction to a report. It tells the background, purpose, and scope.
- Description of Work, Problem, or Situation. In this section, you describe what work has to be done, the problem that has to be fixed, or the situation that needs resolved or improved.
- Approach. The Approach talks about your company's approach to the work, problem, or situation. It should list exactly what needs to be done, as well as why and how it will be done.
- Organization and Planning. In the Approach, you should describe how the project will be done in broad terms. The Organization section deals with your company and how a project group will be established to work on and complete the project. In this Planning section, you should include a complete project plan, as well as detail the steps that will be taken. You should also tell what will be accomplished or achieved.
- Exceptions covers any deviations from the client's requirements and details why the requirements do not need to be met. The advantages of the deviation should also be detailed.
- Price Proposal. Your price for the project should be stated in total, then broken down to show the costs for different phases of the project.
- Experience describes your company's experience and history with an emphasis on the experience from doing work similar to the work you will be doing for the client.
- Appendixes contain supporting documents, drawings, charts, schedules, etc.
Major formal proposals, such as those sent to the government or a large organization, are often bound into book form using plastic binding -- or the perfect binding method used for soft-cover books. Minor formal proposals aren't quite as long. They can be stapled or bound into book form.
The report pyramid and writing plan for a formal proposal is shown below.
Take note that the front cover, letter of transmittal, and the title page come before the summary page. The Table of Contents comes after the Summary page.
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