Key Issues and Concerns in the Development of a Proposal
Key Issues and Concerns in the Development of a Proposal
Key Issues and Concerns in the Development of a Proposal
Introduction
Status of the Opportunity
The first steps taken after reviewing a Request for Proposal involves determining the status of the opportunity. (Johnson-Sheehan, 2008). In short one must determine if an opportunity or problem exists. The Request for Proposal under review indicates that Government officials are soliciting a vocational initiative that will be funded to train a service oriented work force. The service jobs suggested include “medical services (home health and nurses aides, medical and dental assistants), positions in hotels (maids, housekeepers), security services, telecommunication equipment operators, technicians, repairers, bookkeepers, janitors, food service workers, bus drivers, computer technicians, business services (office skills, cashier, sales), child care, sales, and environmental technicians” (RFP, 2008, para. 2).
The potential proposal must articulate a plan that will create a trained work force of at least 250 individuals within a defined budget of $500,000. Demographics are not defined in the published Request for Proposal. Determining where the vocational initiative is to be executed is vital before one can determine the viability of the opportunity. A six month training time frame is suggested with a start date of September 1. In real time this timeline would require a viable working plan be in place in approximately three months. One must ask if a realistic window of time exists for putting a viable plan in motion. By all appearance the funding source is looking for an outside contractor presumably because limited internal resources are available to address the identified need. Additional information is needed before one can fully understanding the underlying reason and motivations of the client. Author Johnson-Sheehan (2008) states “of course, knowing why the RFP was written and how the client
Key Issues and Concerns in the Development of a Proposal
Introduction
Status of the Opportunity
The first steps taken after reviewing a Request for Proposal involves determining the status of the opportunity. (Johnson-Sheehan, 2008). In short one must determine if an opportunity or problem exists. The Request for Proposal under review indicates that Government officials are soliciting a vocational initiative that will be funded to train a service oriented work force. The service jobs suggested include “medical services (home health and nurses aides, medical and dental assistants), positions in hotels (maids, housekeepers), security services, telecommunication equipment operators, technicians, repairers, bookkeepers, janitors, food service workers, bus drivers, computer technicians, business services (office skills, cashier, sales), child care, sales, and environmental technicians” (RFP, 2008, para. 2).
The potential proposal must articulate a plan that will create a trained work force of at least 250 individuals within a defined budget of $500,000. Demographics are not defined in the published Request for Proposal. Determining where the vocational initiative is to be executed is vital before one can determine the viability of the opportunity. A six month training time frame is suggested with a start date of September 1. In real time this timeline would require a viable working plan be in place in approximately three months. One must ask if a realistic window of time exists for putting a viable plan in motion. By all appearance the funding source is looking for an outside contractor presumably because limited internal resources are available to address the identified need. Additional information is needed before one can fully understanding the underlying reason and motivations of the client. Author Johnson-Sheehan (2008) states “of course, knowing why the RFP was written and how the client
References: Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2008). Writing proposals: rhetoric for managing change (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River: NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Kikula, I, & Qorro, M. (2007). Guidelines for preparing concept notes and proposals. Research on Poverty Alleviation, (REPOA). Retrieved May 15, 2008 from http://www.repoa.or.tz/documents_storage/Special_Paper_07.23.pdf. University of Phoenix. (2008). Request for proposal. Retrieved May 13, 2008, from University of Phoenix, Week One, rEsource. COM 301 – Writing Proposal Course web site.