Finalizing your Proposal

1. Adding the Executive Summary and … Finalizing your Proposal

2. Executive Summary (1-2 pages) briefly presents these items: • sustainability problem • rationale for your project and your plan • research methods of your investigation (including criteria you used to evaluate possible solutions) • technologies and processes investigated, with findings • implementation plan based on findings and conclusions of investigation • Start and completion dates • Cost with brief justification

3. In other words . . . • Include enough information about your investigation and your proposed plan to answer critical questions about rationale, budget and timeline.

4. The ES is a stand-alone document. • Do not refer to any sources, pages or graphics included in the rest of the proposal. • You may include a graphic in the ES if you believe it will help the understanding of the reader, but do not number or title it.

5. Remember to edit the entire proposal. • Be consistent in style and content.

6. Please add these items: • Cover Page • Title of proposal • Your affiliation (notthe office of your client) • A graphic is very nice but not required. • Title page • Title of proposal • Prepared for: name of funding agency • Prepared by: your name (s) • Your affiliation • Date • Table of Contents

7. Strive to make information visual and balanced. Use more graphics! • Graphics really help us visualize and therefore understand what you are describing and evaluating. • If you provide pictures for at least one technology, provide pictures for all.

8. Graphics • Check labeling and titling requirements. • See Graphics slides and Chapter 5 of my book. • Be sure you have at least one original graphic, in addition to the schedule and budget. • Cite the source of every “borrowed” graphic underneath the title. Discusseach graphic in the text

9. Integrate graphics with your discussion. • Try to place graphic within your text, as part of a page. • If graphic is just too large, put in a lettered appendix (Appendix B, e.g.)

10. This proposal is based on research. Please take care with the List of References. • You should definitely have more than 6! • Be sure to include at least two peer-reviewed sources. • Be consistent with your format.

11. Appendices • Appendix A should be titled References. • You may not need to have more appendices – use your judgment. • Include raw data, calculations, legislative bills, etc. that would interrupt flow of the report and are not critical for the reader’s understanding. • Give every appendix a letter and title. • Discuss and summarize every appendix in the body of the report. • Paginate appendices separately: A-1, A-2, etc.

12. Language • Your preliminary research is finished – describe what you did in past tense. • Your findings are your conclusions -- describe your findings in present tense. • Describe what your proposalpresents in present tense. • Describe the planned tasks in future tense

13. Bind the proposal. Spiral, fastback, etc. NOT a clip or a plastic sleeve.