Course: International Foundation Diploma

Module: Academic and Research Writing Skills

Lecturer : Dr Darwin Joseph

Coursework: Individual Assignment 1 (Essay – 40%)

Due Date: 02.06.2020

DECLARATION:

I certify that the attached assignment is my own work and that any material drawn from other
sources has been acknowledged.
I note that the Institute reserves the right to check our assignment for plagiarism.

Signature: ________Venus Tay_______________

Student Name: Venus Tay Zi Xuan

Submitted to: MDIS, Singapore Date: June 2, 2020

Word count: 2189

 Contents
1. Introduction..........................................................................................................................1

2. Project Proposal...................................................................................................................2

3. Importance of a Project Proposal.......................................................................................3

4. Functions of a Project Proposal..........................................................................................5

5. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................7

References.................................................................................................................................8

Appendices...........................................................................................................................................9
 Title: Importance and Functions of a Project Proposal

1. Introduction

A project proposal is written by a person known as a proposal writer, the proposal

writer will write and prepare a document to apply for funding (Coley, M. & Scheinberg, A.
2000). Project proposal holds a crucial part in helping a company or firm to become
successful. It becomes an inseparable part of a company’s development. According to
(Johnson, S. & Paine, C. 2016), a proposal helps to create new products, organize campaigns
for marketing and so on. Hence, a proposal writer must ensure the proposal is occupied with
clear details, good reasoning and information to persuade the audience or funder to accept or
approve the project. In this essay, the importance and function of a project proposal will be
discussed in detail. It is also important to understand what is a project proposal and how to
organize it to attract and persuade the audience. Thus, the elements and types of the project
proposal will be explained for readers to write a successful proposal.

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 2. Project Proposal

A project proposal can be defined as a complex set of sales and marketing products
that proposal writer develop to define the audience problems or opportunities and then sell to
customers based on their ability to provide solutions and strategies that meet the audience
requirements (Hamper, J. & Sue, L. 2011). It is also a draft resolution to prepare for
investment. So, there are two types of situation when one needs to write a project proposal. In
college when students are asked to discuss new technologies, pitch a product, gain strategies
or improve the community whereas companies or firms write proposals to create new
products, plan new projects, develop campaigns and gain new opportunities. The elements of
a project proposal include the title or introduction, goals and objectives, description of
activities, description of expected results, project implementation plan, beginning of
operations resource allocation, project personnel, detailed project budget, other technical
means and the division of financial sources.

Moreover, there are four types of proposals which include an internal proposal,
unsolicited proposal, sole-source contracts and as well as solicited proposal. The internal
proposal is written by a specific department, individual or group within the company to plan
new projects and is either solicited or unsolicited. A solicited proposal is when a client or
audience invited the company to submit a proposal. Companies will receive requests for
proposal (RFP), bid invitation or request for quotation (RFQ). On the other hand, the
unsolicited proposal is a proposal written for the sake of the company without receiving a
request from the client. Companies send proposals for many firms or potential clients,
however, it is quite risky and has chances of being declined by clients or firms. A sole-source
contract is a contract that is established with only one supplier or company. It does not have
any competitors and occurs when a company has marvellous performance and is trustworthy.

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 3. Importance of a Project Proposal

A proposal is a very important aspect for a company to implement their ideas, attracts
investors and giving a structure or direction which can lead to a company’s success. It is
also a document to request sponsorship or funding to the research.

First and foremost, a proposal holds an important role in setting a budget for the
company. Cost of the supplies, types of equipment, facilities, personnel, construction
should be included in the budget. Developing a project is very costly, thus, setting a
budget helps a company to know the cost to develop and plan the project, how much they
need to spend on materials and how much should they sell the product to gain profit. A
budget needs to calculate the net margin to markup the amount for profit. There are a few
types of budget which consist of the line-item budget that represent the expenditures in
specific budget categories whereas, performance or functional budgets and program
budgets that provide information that helps to effectively manage and allocate financial
resources (Coley & Scheinberg, 2000). According to Lewis. P (2005), a budget helps to
analyze and identify the components that can be eliminated which can reduce the scope
and complete the project for the desired amount. This is done when a budget exceeds
what the company wants to spend on the project. Hence, a company will not experience a
huge loss in funds if they plan a budget for the proposal.

Next, a proposal helps a company to attract funders. It is a thoughtfully developed

checklist of expected results which helps to guide a funded effort (Shore & Carfora,
2010). It also acts as a guide for both the company and the funder, whereas, the funder is
a key tool to implement the sponsored project. Funding projects is an intentional
combination of promising ideas and various external resources provided to pursue these
ideas. Companies need to find a substantive match between their interests and those of a
funder. Thus, companies should provide a proposal with detailed information. For
instance, a proposal with coherent objectives or purpose, strategies, outcomes, budget,
the amount needed and timeline. There are also three types of funding sources which
include corporations, foundations and government agencies. The funder will negotiate
the amount with the company and often will be less than what they applied for. So, the
project budget and description section will be revised to reflect the amount of work
required for the funding.

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 A proposal is also important in creating goals and objectives. Without a proposal, it is
difficult for the company to develop its product which can also lead to failure. This is
because a proposal gives a structure and direction to the company. Goals set the
company’s ultimate mission and purpose for the project, whereas, objectives represent
the desired and measurable results. (Coley & Scheinberg, 2000). Objectives are
important in providing a promise of what will the achievement be during the funding.
There are two types of objectives which consists of process objectives and outcome
objectives. Hence, when preparing a proposal one must understand “What is the
problem?”, “What conditions need to be addressed?”, “What will be the benefit and
results?” and “What are the problems to be addressed within the long run?”. “To protect
children from child abuse” can be seen as an example of what a goal should look like.

Besides that, a successful proposal turns the ideas into reality and can be put into
action. So, a proposal is crucial in implementing plans or ideas. According to Konttila &
Suurnakki (2008), implementation ideas describe how the project will be carried out and
the methods used. It provides detailed information on the steps a company need to do to
achieve their goals and objectives. Hence, companies have a clear account of what they
plan to do, how much time needed and who will do it for the activity or product to be
accomplished. They will have a clear understanding of the list of tasks, activities and
processes that need to be involved.

On the other hand, the importance of a research proposal is to convince the reader to
do something and make them believe that the solution is appropriate and practical. The
research proposal acts as a communication tool to communicate ideas to their targeted
audience and to gain support (Denscombe, 2012). It is often written in a persuasive and
informative manner. Researchers or students need to provide appropriate information
from adequate resources to persuade readers. By doing so, researchers or students can
convince the reader about the value of their project.

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 4. Functions of a Project Proposal

The function of a proposal is to act as a blueprint for the research if the proposal is
well-constructed. It is an outline showing what the parts should look like and how they
will fit together (Denscombe, 2013). For instance, it can explain what and how will the
research be done, and justifies why the research is important. A research proposal can
determine a project’s success when it is thoroughly planned and organized. It is an
advance planning that benefits the researchers or students to run the project smoothly
without any major problems. Hence, without a proposal, it is clear to say that the project
will experience a lot of issues.

Next, a proposal has a communication function. The main purpose is to communicate

the researcher's research plan and intention to the audience who is allocating funds,
giving consent or consultation. It is to persuade someone in giving the support needed.
Therefore, researchers or students will have the opportunity to communicate their ideas or
plan concisely, critically and clearly. Thus, researchers need to provide clear evidence
and information to the targeted audience. This is because the possibility of financial
support or funding, the quality of aid and the economics of negotiations all depend on
how clear and thorough the proposal is presented (Keith, 2000). It is also to implement
the project and making it into reality.

Moreover, the function of a proposal is to act as a plan. It is considered an action plan

to execute the research or project. A set of careful, pre-planned and systematic
observations of certain limited phenomena are known as empirical research. It is also
observation and experience of the world which consists of two main types which are
quantitative research and qualitative research. Thus, the acceptance of results is
determined solely as far as the sufficiency of the techniques utilized in making, recording
and interpreting the planned observations (Keith, 2000). The proposal benefits the
researchers by forecasting any possible issues and major mistakes that may encounter
when implementing the research and so they can modify it. It sets the plan step by step in
detail which helps researchers to have a better understanding of the process.

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 A proposal also functions as a contract that is enforceable by law. It is a bond of
agreement between the researcher and their supervisor or department. Thus, a proposal is
approved, a contract will be signed between the funder and the researcher and only then
where the researcher can implement or execute the research. When the proposal in
progress, both parties can work out the terms and conditions of the agreement to make
modifications by negotiating the contract. A study of the approved proposal states that, if
it is done skillfully and extensively, it should form the foundation of work that will fully
satisfy all guidelines of acceptance. However, when a contract is made, major changes in
the terms or conditions could not be done by both the researcher or funding source unless
the changes are minor and are absolutely necessary.

The fifth function of a proposal is for educational purposes. Denscombe (2013) claims
that “ research proposal can act as an end-product in its own right”. Thus, rather than
functioning as a contract, a plan or communication it also has an educational function. It
is much more convenient for students as they don’t need to carry out researches just to
learn the knowledge of insights into the research process and its methodology. Proposals
are without a doubt very useful to students by providing learning exercises. For instance,
a social science research proposal can be studied by students related to this field.

Lastly , proposals give companies opportunities to produce new products or even

programmes. Higher chance of acceptance and funding is when the proposal is planned
well with adequate information to define and solve the client's problem. When
conducting proposals, identifying the company’s mission, business plan and marketing
plan is important to a successful and winning proposal. Understanding the company’s
strength, weaknesses, the client’s problem and finds ways to solve them to develop a
proposal that will interest the client's in funding the project. The proposal can be either
funded by corporations, foundations, non-profit organizations or government. When the
project is funded, companies can implement their plan without worrying about financial
issues. Thus, the product or programme can be conducted.

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 5. Conclusion

A proposal is a document that helps companies or researchers to earn funding and

implement their plan or ideas. It is to persuade the audience or client to approve the
project. In addition, there are four types when it comes to proposals which are internal
proposals, solicited proposal, unsolicited proposals and sole-source proposals. Proposals
hold an important and crucial part for companies and researchers. It sets a budget for the
company to complete projects for the desired amount. It is also a way to attract funders
in supporting the project. Besides that, proposals create goals and objectives which then
helps to implement the ideas into reality. Moreover, proposals convince readers to take
action on something and to believe the solution is practical. The function of a proposal is
to act as a blueprint to understand the flow of the project. It is also to communicate with
funders, act as a plan to carry out actions and to be a contract between the funder and the
researcher. Furthermore, a proposal functions as research training. It is also an
opportunity for companies to develop their products and programmes. In short, a
proposal is a very important document for students, researchers and companies.

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 References

Coley, M. & Scheinberg, A., 2000. Proposal Writing. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,
Inc.

Denscombe, M., 2012. Research Proposal A Practical Guide. 1st ed. Berkshire: The
McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Denscombe, M., 2013. The role of research proposals in business and management education.
The International Journal of Management Education, 11(3), pp. 142-149.

Hamper, J. & Sue, L., 2011. Handbook for Writing Proposals. New York: The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

Johnson, S. & Paine, C., 2016. Writing Today. New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Keith, P., 2000. Developing Effective Research Proposals Essential Resources for Social
Research. 3rd ed. London: Sage Publications, Inc.

Konttila & Suurnakki, 2008. Research Gate. [Online]

Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265582872_Chapter_3_How_to_write_a_project_p
roposal/citation/download
[Accessed 29 10 2011].

Lewis.P, 2005. Project, Planning, Scheduling & Control. 5 ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill
Comapanies, Inc.

Shore, R. & Carfora, M., 2010. The Art of Funding and Implementing Ideas. 1st ed. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications, Inc.

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 Appendices

A guide in developing a proposal.

 Questions about the context for the proposals.
- Who will read my proposal?
- What are the expectations?
- What is the process of a proposal approvement?
- What departments guidelines are there for the proposal?
- What is the purpose?
- What are the goals and objectives?
- What is the answer to these questions?
- Why is the research worth doing?
(Keith, 2000)

DIAGRAM 1 SHOWS A BASIC PATTERN FOR A PROPOSAL (JOHNSON & PAINE, 2016).

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TABLE 1 SIMPLIFIED LINE-ITEM BUDGET FOR GETA GRANT AGENCY’S LEARNING FOR LIFE
PROJECT, JULY 1, 20XX, TO JULY 30, 20XX. (COLEY & SCHEINBERG, 2000)

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