how to write an internal proposal

8/11/2019 How to Write an Internal Proposal

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1. Identify and define the problem

A. What problem are you trying to solve? Be specific.B. How big is the problem? In other words, how much does the problem hurt, i.e., how muchis it costing us?

C. When does the problem occur?D. Where does the problem occur?E. Why is the problem occurring?F. If we don't solve the problem, how much will it cost us over the next year? Two years?Three?

You get the idea. Also, keep in mind that the decisionmaker may not realize that he or she hasa problem. And when you point out that they do, they may (1) want to kill the messenger, (2)deny that a problem exists, (3) look for someone to blame it on, (4) take a wait and seeattitude or any number of other strategies to maintain a secure, safe and profitable status quo.The key to presenting a problem within a proposal is to do it in unemotional financial terms.The problem must be described as logically as possible, and presented as reality. Describingthe problem may be thought of as the "sure foundation" upon which your proposal is based.The remainder of the proposal must then build upon this foundation. If your foundation isweak or illogical, then the rest of your proposal will be weak, illogical and will fail toconvince the decisionmaker to fund your proposal.

At the end of the problem description portion of the proposal, the decisionmaker must makethe first of several critical decisions: Do I want to try and solve this problem? Let's take amoment to look at how most people try to solve problems. Problems are, at best, disruptionsin our daily routines. Problems are annoyances. Most human beings don't want to address orsolve problems. We just want them to go away. But real problems don't go away. If anything,they get worse. Let's go back to our headache example. Once the decisionmaker realizes he orshe has a headache, they will start looking for an aspirin. They will start their search byexploring for a "nearby" solution. They may look in their desk. Nope, no aspirin. They maywander into the next office and say, "Do you have an aspirin?". If they can't find any aspirinnearby, they may go down the hall. They may end up in your office. It is during this stage ofthe problem solving process that they want their problem solved for free.

When they can't get what they want for free, they may re-evaluate how bad their headache is.If it's bad enough, they will eventually leave the building and buy some aspirin at a localstore. Now, let's translate this analogy into selling your proposal. Once you have described the

problem in your proposal, you then want to describe a solution. In short, you want to be their"nearby" aspirin provider. You do this by providing the decisionmaker with unbiasedinformation and a logical plan.

2. Present an effective solution

A. Briefly describe several possible solutions. Give the pros and cons of each. Thisdemonstrates that you have thought about the problem and have not jumped to recommendyour first "half-baked" idea.

B. Take your best idea and then turn it into a recommendation for a preferred course of action.


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C. Explain your plan of action by describing:1. The specific steps that will have to be taken;2. Who will be involved;3. What resources will be needed (both human and technical); and4. When will the plan be implemented (a time line or Gantt chart is often used to describe

this portion of the proposal).

In short, you want to describe a course of action that will solve the problem. This portion of a proposal is often referred to as the Technical Section . At this point, you must play the role ofa consulting salesperson helping a customer to find the best pain reliever by providinginformation and making an educated recommendation. Note that no costs are mentioned atthis point. Cost descriptions come next. What you want to do at this point is to "sell" yoursolution.

Now the decisionmaker must make a second critical decision, that being he or she mustanswer the question: Is this the best solution to the problem? If you have done yourhomework and you have carefully prepared your solution plan, the resounding answer should

be YES! Once the decisionmaker decides that your solution is what should be done, you mustnext announce the price of the solution.

The third section of a proposal is called the Cost Section . The Cost Section is built on thevarious items identified in the Technical Section. In other words, you must build a line item

budget for your proposal.

3. Present cost information

A. Break your budget out by the specific steps that will have to be takenB. Budget for people who will be involved

1. Professional time, internal/external consultants, etc.2. Support personnel

C. Budget for technology that will be required1. Equipment2. Services

D. Detail cost over time (again, a time line or Gantt chart may be used to describe this portionof the proposal)

Keep this portion of the proposal logical and realistic. Your goal in steps 2 and 3 is to give the

decisionmaker factual information which allows him or her to answer the question: Is this acost effective solution?

4. Project Results

Many decisionmakers may acknowledge (1) that a problem exists, (2) that they want to solvethe problem, and (3) that your proposal provides a cost effective solution, but will fail tomove. Therefore, your fourth step is to contrast the cost of not solving the problem withthe cost of solving the problem. This is perhaps the most critical portion of the proposal.This is where you must give the decisionmaker a "cold blooded" rationale for "investing" inyour solution. You must project a future break-even point where your solution will begin to

save the organization money, i.e., make the organization more profitable. Since mostmanagers and executives work on a quarterly or yearly profit and loss time frame, their


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attitude will always be "the sooner the better." Be careful not to fall into the trap of inflatingyour projection. It is better to be seen as being conservative, rather than overly optimistic inyour projections. Step 4 helps the decisionmaker to determine: When will we profit fromthis proposal?

5. Ask for the order.

The final page of your proposal should be a permission to start page that approves the project.This is where you ask the decisionmaker to make his or her final decision... that is to buy. It'sthe decision that you have been working up to and without it you have wasted your time. It

prompts the decisionmaker to act and not put you off. The decisionmaker must decide to solvethe problem or not. It's the proverbial "the ball is in your court," now do something. Thedecisionmaker may hedge, ask for more information, or present objections. Respond speedily,giving the decisionmaker only what is asked for, but no more. Don't let them waste your time.Get a decision. Go or no go. If the proposal is killed, file it away. If the problem gets worseand upper management starts looking for someone to blame, you have CYA, and candocument that you had a solution, but well, you know.

Which brings us to an important point, don't waste your time trying to solve little problems.Go for the ones that will make a difference. The ones that are important. The ones that arecausing a lot of pain. Be a problem-solver, and you will build your credibility and reputationas someone who gets things done.

As a side note, you might think of how your proposed instructional delivery system might beused by other departments such as accounting or information services, thereby magnifying itsworth to the organization while at the same time developing allies in other areas of theorganization. In short, THINK BIG . Why not, it takes the same amount of time and energy asthinking small.

Phil

Internal Proposal Topic Memo

Once again, this topic memo is written in preparation for the next assignment, this time aninternal proposal; in this memo you are simply to get the instructor's permission to go ahead

with the topic you have selected for your proposal. In order to get this permission, you need todescribe fully to me the topic you are going to write about.

Problems The internal proposal is a memo that you as a member of an organization (of any type) writeto a superior proposing a solution to a problem. First, then, you need to examine the variousorganizations in which you are involved and think of what is wrong with them or what could

be done better. You may also choose an organization you used to be a member of that hadsome problems. You may act as if you still are a part of the organization and as if the

problem is current even though the situation has passed.

A "problem" need not be a disastrous situation; any area of the organization that could beimproved can be regarded as a problem area. But not just any problem will do. The problem


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must not be too large--so large that only the highest officers in the organization would bequalified to address it. Also, the problem cannot be too small--so small that a proposal of justa few lines would suffice. (The internal proposal must be at least a two-page memo.) Forexample, if you want an organization to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade itscomputer systems, then a two-page memo will not do the trick. When you want to initiate

major capital expenditures, you first ask superiors to study a problem before proposinganything. On the other hand, if a solution is obvious and inexpensive--like a new coffee makerto replace the old one that just quit--then a two-page memo is overkill.

Causes of Problems Once you have identified a problem, consider as well the causes of the problem, since it is thecauses that your solution should eliminate. For example, if dwindling attendance at chaptermeetings is the problem, various causes could be to blame--morale, communication, conflictswith other events, and so on. The cause of the problem should determine the solution you

propose. If you cannot remedy the causes of a problem, then you have no proposal to make.

Examples Possible problems and solutions are many; most do not involve large expenditures. Here are

just a very few examples:

in order to eliminate a problem with intercom etiquette, an employee proposed that aseminar be held instructing all employees in how to use the new intercom system andthat a list of guidelines be created;

in order to provide battered women with the opportunity to store some of their belongings during their stay at a women's shelter, an employee proposed that a storageshed be constructed in the back yard of the shelter;

in order to eliminate confusion and hard feelings concerning holidays, personal days,and sick days at a company, an employee proposed that the company's policy be

published and distributed to all employees; in order to eliminate potentially dangerous situations in a mining company, an

employee proposed that all employees be required to attain a basic level of literacy.

Most of the best internal proposals identify procedures that could be changed with little or noexpense in order to make an organization run more efficiently.

Solutions All proposals must describe a specific, concrete, and tangible method of solving the problem

you identify. If, for example, your organization suffers from poor morale, you must proposesomething more than the idea that employees need to exhibit a happier, perkier attitude.Instead, you must propose a program or policy or change of methods that will result in a

better attitude. In addition, most proposals need to be at least minimally researched: the costof products sometimes needs to be determined, for example, or certain statistics showing thatyour problem exists might need to be gathered and presented.

Here is an overview of the proposal topic memo in terms of SCAMP:

Style: The purpose of this memo is to get the instructor's permission to go ahead withyour idea for the proposal, so you want to impress your audience that you know what

you are doing and can do a good job on the assignment. In other words, be fairlyformal and direct.


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Chunking: Remember to start the message with the four audience-centered elementsof a good business writing introduction: purpose, context, good will, and overview ofwhat is to come. Break down the message into chunks with heads that correspond tothe main parts of your message. I would expect sections like this: Organization,Position, Problem, Cause, Solution, and Superior, Cost, Research.

Memos are headed with the standard TO, FROM, DATE, and SUBJECT; check the pages in Kolin for memo format.

Audience: Your audience is the instructor; when you write the proposal, youraudience will be your superior in an organization. For now, however, your audience issomeone who probably does not know anything about your organization, your positionin the organization, the problem you see, the solution that might fix the problem, etc.So be sure to keep the information needs of your audience in mind: describe thesubject fully to me. The audience is also wanting to be persuaded that you will do agood job with this topic.

Message: Describe in different sections the various parts of your proposal topic. Hereare the subjects you want to cover:

1. the organization in which you are involved or were involved;2. your position in the organization;3. the problem you have identified for which you think you have a solution;4. the specific, concrete, tangible solution to the problem you have identified;5. the audience for the proposal, that is, your superior in the organization;6. any ancillary topics that might occur to the instructor, such as cost and the time

you think it might take to implement the proposal.7. research you will have to do in order to make the proposal.

Purpose: Your purpose is to obtain permission to proceed with your internal proposaltopic.

how to write an internal proposal

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