Technical proposal

 Technical Proposal

1.     Technical comes from the Greek tekhno, which means "art or skill." Anything technical requires both art and skill.

2.     The word propose comes from the Old French root words pro, meaning "forth" and poser, meaning "put, place." 

3.     A technical proposal is a type of document that outlines the precise details of a proposed product or service.

4.     It is a  plan that suggest somethng to be done for future.

5.     Technical proposal is written in a formal set-up.

6.     It is made for

                        i.         Changing the existing thing

                       ii.         Making new thing

7.     It either provides its services or products to the second party.

8.     Oxford Dictionary defines proposal as,“A formal suggestion or plan or the act of making a suggestion.”

9.     Propoal includes the demand, expenditure and time for completing proposed statement.

Characteristics of a good proposal:

1.     A good proposal should be presented in a persuasive manner.

2.     It should be written in simple language.

3.     All the information should be precise and well organized.

4.     Proposal should be attractive and neatly prepared.

5.     The theme should be so convincing, as it may attract the attention of theconcerned person.

6.     A good proposal must highlight the benefits and advantages of proposal in full.

Purposes of writing proposals

1.     To alter any exisxting service or product or action, etc.

2.     To bring improvements.

3.     To plan and construct new things.

4.     To start something new, never before

Need/importance of a proposal

a.     It is used to make changes.

b.     It can suggest a new idea for betterment.

c.     It is used to improve engineering/technical performance within an organization.

d.     A good proposal helps the organization to get financial returns.

e.     Thes are are valuable records for an organizations.

f.      Promising proposals gives good writtens.

g.     These promotes various reasearch acivities

h.     These also helps to win contracts.

Categories of Proposal

All kinds of proposal are divided into two brod categories-:

1-    Solicited proposal:

Whenaproposalisinvitedby some individual/body or party,itisknownassolicitedproposal.Solicitedproposalsaregenerallysent in response to advertisements.

2-    Unsolicited Proposals: proposal:Sometimestheproposalsarenotinvitedbyanybody.Butanindividualorateamofindividualsthinksthatanewtechnologyorfacilitycanbedevelopedormodifiedbyworkingonadefiniteplan. He can prepareaproposalto start that workandsendittothebody,whomightfeelinterestedinthatkindofwork.Thistypeofproposaliscalledanunsolicitedproposal.

Types of Proposals

1.     Business proposals: the proposals that deals with any aspect related to business is called business proposal. These proposals helps in growth of the organization.

2.     Research proposals: Proposals that contributes in research field. These proposal needs scientific and systematic investigation.

3.     Technical Proposals: The proposals related to technology are called technical proposals.

Structure of Proposal

A good proposal has four essential parts. These are:

1.     Front matter

2.     Technical section

3.     Managerial section

4.     Financial section

1.     Front Matter: It includes many parts:

a.     Cover page: A long proposal needs a cover. Generally, light-colored/white-colored pages should be used as a cover. Cover bears:

                             i.         The name of the writer

                           ii.         Title of the report

                         iii.         Its date

                          iv.         Name of the authority/body to whom the report is to be submitted

b.     Title page: Next to the cover page, there is a title page. Title page bears:

                             i.         Title of the proposal

                           ii.         Name of the proposal writer

                         iii.         Its date

                          iv.         The project number, if it is…

c.     Letter of transmittal- Fund transfer and conditions

d.     Draft Contract-

e.     Acknowledgement: Many people help a proposer in making his proposal. The proposal acknowledges their contribution and thanks them. He mentions:

                             i.         Name of the persons

                           ii.         Their designation

                         iii.         The institution/where they are associated with.

f.      Table of contents: If the proposal is extra long, there needs a 'table of contents' but in a short report, there is no need to maintain a table of contents. It has:

                             i.         A list of headings

                           ii.         Sub-headings

                         iii.         The page number, on which these occur.

                          iv.         The list of enclosed tables/graphs should be clearly written.

g.     Executive summary: Summary must highlight:

                             i.         Objective of the proposal

                           ii.         Procedures adopted

                         iii.         Outcome of the proposal

2.     Technical section: The main body is the technical section. The technical section includes-

                             i.         Introduction- states the problems,

                           ii.         Background- describes the work that is already done,

                         iii.         Objective- Explains the objective,

                          iv.         Scope and limitation- Significance of the proposed work and its limitations.

                           v.         Technical Procedure- describes the technical procedure.

                          vi.         Methodology- the method of conducting the actual plan is mentioned.

3.     Managerial Section: This section provides information about:

a.     Sequence of activities

b.     The existing pieces of equipment, facilities, and products

c.     Required facilities

Besides, the proposer must convince the concerned authority about his potential in the concerned area. For this, he needs to mention:

a.     His academic qualities

b.     His professional/technical qualifications

c.     His experience in the specific area.

4.     The Financial Section: In this section, the proposer furnishes details of the expenses. This may include:

a.     Cost of the material

b.     Wages(to be given)

c.     Expenses on electricity/water/food/pieces of equipment/machines etc.

5.     Supplementary parts: Besides these, some more parts can be added, in case if the proposal goes lengthy.Such as:

                             i.         Appendices

                           ii.         Glossary