proposal drafting instructions

Module 7: Proposals

Instructions for the proposal.

Using the  memo format , write a proposal for one of the following ideas:

• A new student activity or club

……- address it to the Student Senate chairperson.

……- send a copy to the Academic Dean.

2. A new course at CCC

……- address it to the Academic Dean.

……- send a copy to the chair of the Curriculum Committee.

3. A new program or plan for an organization with which you are affiliated.

……- address it to the person who has the authority to fund it.

……- send copies to other persons who would be interested.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Include the following sections (use headings):

……- a brief, opening summary of the entire proposal

• INTRODUCTION

……- defines and explains the need for the proposal (the whys and how comes)

……- explains the planning involved

• METHODOLOGY

……- gives an overview of the process (strategies and outcomes, the hows and whats)

• WORK AND MANAGEMENT PLAN

……- tasks, with schedule

……- facilities needed

……- management plan (details of when, who and where)

• DETAILED BUDGET

……- information on costs (salaries and materials)

……- information on budget procedures

……- relevant information on people involved, including names and titles (credibility)

……- be brief, but wrap up the key purpose of the proposal

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Remember to be specific with information. Consider the interests of those to whom you are selling your idea. Again, this project should be a bit more involved than the memo you wrote earlier in this course. It will take some planning and preparations, perhaps some research as well. Remember to do your  Cover Sheet  before you start writing your proposal.

• Eng 235. Authored by : Jeff Meyers. Provided by : Clinton Community College. License : CC BY: Attribution

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How to Write a Proposal and Get What You Want (Free Templates)

A proposal has a lot of different purposes, but there’s only one good way to write one: the way that pulls together all of the information in a concise and persuasive way and helps you get what you want … whether that’s a whole new software system, or just a tweak to your marketing strategy.

This Process Street article isn’t about a business proposal — also known as a quote — but instead about the document required when formally pitching an idea for action and execution by managers or department heads .

To explain how to write a proposal document and get what you want, we’ll go through the following:

Free proposal writing template

When are proposals necessary, why are proposals important, examples of proposals, how to write a proposal: step-by-step, last steps before submitting the proposal, more free proposal writing checklists, even more free proposal writing checklists, customize your proposal checklists with process street.

Let’s get started.

If you fancy taking a quick look at a free interactive template, that will help you write your proposals right away, feel free to dive straight into this!

Writing a Proposal: Step-by-Step Guide

There are more templates, like this one, further down in this post, so stick around.

Any project you don’t have the clearance or authority to start without a higher-up’s approval, you need to submit a proposal for.

According to SSWM , a proposal is “a detailed description of a series of activities aimed at solving a certain problem”.

That problem  could be anything, from:

• Process improvement
• Cost reduction
• A new marketing strategy

If it’s an idea you need to ask permission to execute, or to get action on, it needs a proposal.

A proposal is a way to pitch an idea and state your requirements, so it’s important for supervisors because they can get information in writing (not casually in the elevator), and be able to act knowing the full implications of their decision.

They’re also a chance for you to make a structured, logical argument and lay down everything in favor of your idea. A well-written proposal shows your manager you care about the cause, and it’s not just a mid-meeting whim you blurted out.

To write a top proposal you need to scrutinize it before you present it.

It’s a broad topic, but it’s best explained with examples.

• Proposal for Process Improvement
• Proposal for Server Replacement
• Proposal for Cost Savings

Below is a simple proposal example with some basic sections.

Now let’s take a look at how to write a proposal — whether it’s as simple as the one above, or more complex.

Here’s the general structure of a proposal:

As you can see, a proposal generally consists of:

• Introduction : A brief overview of the problem, solution, costs, and benefits.
• Issue : The main definition of the issue, including subject, purpose, main argument, background information and importance.
• Solution : The main definition of the solution, including your step-by-step plan, the benefits, and how potential obstacles will be overcame.
• Qualifications : Overview of the personnel required, experience.
• Conclusion of the costs and benefits, and wrap-up : Balance the cost against the benefit, reinforce your point one last time.

1. Identify and define your reader

Just like with any kind of persuasion, it helps if you understand how to appeal to your audience. Who will be reading your proposal and deciding if it’s accepted or rejected? What do they care about? What kind of language and benefits would resonate with them? This is the first step because it’s an important thing to keep in mind as you go along and as information that informs the way you write from here on.

2. Define the problem your proposal will solve

Who : Who will the proposal affect?

What : What’s the reason for you to write the proposal in the first place? Explain the current situation and the problems that come with it.

3. Define the solution

How : How are you going to solve the problem? Explain step-by-step in detail.

Who : Identify the personnel you need, along with their prior experience to add persuasion to the proposal

4. Conclusion: costs, benefits and wrap-up

Reiterate : The purpose and main argument

Costs : Break down the projected costs involved for different elements of the project

Benefits : Break down the benefits to the organization, monetary and non-monetary, to persuade the reader there’ll be a return on investment

Thanks : Thank the reader for their time.

Contact information : Where can the reader get in touch with you? Make sure to be crystal clear to make the details easily discoverable.

Clear writing is your best friend when you’re trying to write persuasively. For that reason, there are a few checks to run before you submit your proposal.

Remember, what’s clear to you might not always be clear to other people.

1 .Check for jargon (then destroy it)

Although jargon is popular in the business world, not everyone shares the equal love for it. It’s terms like right-size, blue sky (verb), turn-key, and synergize. They might mean something to you, or make you feel intelligent, but there are simpler alternatives that will help people understand what you mean !

2. Change the passive voice to the active voice

The passive voice is defined as :

“The noun or noun phrase that would be the object of an active sentence (such as Our troops defeated the enemy) appears as the subject of a sentence with passive voice (e.g. The enemy was defeated by our troops).”.

It’s a long-winded way of expressing something that could be expressed in simple terms:

The passive voice sounds distant and even deceptive, and, since the reader might even just be skimming your proposal, you don’t want to add extra words to cloud your point.

3. Proofread the proposal

Install a tool like Grammarly and check the proposal in an online text editor. Grammarly will manage to pick up on anything that is grammatically incorrect and sometimes even flags up stylistically poor phrases. Poor spelling and grammar will only discredit the value of what you’re saying and could be a problem that leads to your proposal being rejected.

As promised, check out the below five templates that have each been designed by the team at Process Street — makers of the finest remote work software for processes around — to help you write winning proposals.

Proposal Template Checklist Process

This proposal template is a checklist that should be used alongside the proposal document you are planning to submit. Use it to make sure that all the elements have been considered, that the proposal contains everything it needs to and that it meets all set requirements.

Click here to access the Proposal Template Checklist Process!

Business Proposal Template Checklist

Whether your business proposal is solicited or unsolicited, use this business proposal template checklist to ensure you include all the required information in your proposal and cover key areas such as these the problem the organization is facing, the proposed solution, the budget, and a key CTA.

Click here to access the Business Proposal Template Checklist!

How to Write a Grant Proposal Checklist

Use this template to make sure your grant proposal includes all the relevant information, that it contains everything it needs to, and that it meets all stated RFP requirements.

Click here to access the How to Write a Grant Proposal Checklist!

Research Proposal Example Checklist

Use this template to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it.

Click here to access the Research Proposal Example Checklist!

Project Proposal Template Checklist

Use this template, alongside the proposal document you are planning to submit, to set the project vision, define the project requirements, describe the deliverables, and specify the deadlines.

Click here to access the Project Proposal Template Checklist!

If you’re looking for more inspiration, give these alternative proposal writing templates a go too.

• Bid Proposal Template Checklist
• Budget Proposal Template
• Construction Proposal Template Checklist
• Consulting Proposal Template Checklist
• Continuation Project Proposal Template
• Contractor Proposal Template Checklist
• Event Proposal Template Checklist
• Marketing Proposal Template Checklist
• Project Proposal Template
• Renewal Project Proposal Template
• Simple Proposal Format Checklist
• Sponsorship Proposal Template Checklist
• Supplemental Project Proposal Template
• Website Proposal Template Checklist

If the above templates don’t quite fit your company, industry, or the proposal document you are writing, don’t worry!

Process Street to the rescue!

Process Street is super-powered checklists . We are a super-charged, state of the art BPM SaaS platform which allows you to create templates and run individual checklists from these. You can check tasks off as you work through them, set deadlines, request approvals, assign various tasks , and work through your proposal workflows with ease.

Watch this to get an idea about who we are and what we do:

To help you customize your proposal writing template, and make your proposal wriitng easier, you can use all these different types of Process Street features:

• Dynamic due dates
• Task permissions
• Conditional logic
• Approval tasks
• Embed widget
• Role assignments

You can also connect your templates to thousands of apps through Zapier , webhooks, or API access to automate your proposal processes and workflows.

If you’re unfamiliar with process automation, what it means, and the benefits it can bring to your business, watch this Process Street webinar on automation:

Remember, if you want to get access to any of our proposal writing checklists, just click the links above and they will be added to your Process Street account where you can use them over and over again. Or, if you haven’t yet signed up for a Process Street account, click here and start your free trial.

Has this guide helped you out? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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Benjamin Brandall

Benjamin Brandall is a content marketer at Process Street .

90 Comments

I am strongly looking forward to learning how to write a proposal, thanks

Thanks Honar, it’s an honor to have you here 😉

I am looking forward to learning how to write a great proposal. Thanks for posting this site.

Practice makes perfect, just keep it up and you will get there!

Looking forward for you to checklist and using it to edit my proposal…. thx a lot

Awesome, and remember you can sign up for a free account for life, no credit card required to run up to 5 checklists for proposals or anything else!. Check out more about Process Street here: https://www.process.st/product/

I really loved your paper on how to write a proposal. I looked up others and found total satisfaction when I came across yours! Thanks again Tanya Palacios

We are very pleased to hear that.

thanks a lot for helping me understand proposal writing more clearly. Am very grateful.

Of course, proposal writing can be tricky, but if you follow the templates we provide you will quickly see it’s not that difficult. Proposals follow the same structure most of the time, once you learn that structure it’s easy to create proposals quickly.

Very nice and excellent advice and coaching on proposals writing. I will always keep in touch for more information.

Excellent writing Benjamin. Definitely agree with the destroying jargons part. There’s no need for these kinds of words for project proposals. Anyway, here’s an informative step-by-step guide that I’d like to share regarding writing project proposals: https://www.freenvoices.com/how-to-write-project-proposal . I believe that this will complement your well-written article and your readers too. 🙂

Great post Evatt, thanks for sharing!

I am in the process of drafting a proposal for a multi-million deal. Looking forward to getting pointers to make my proposal a seller!

After reading your post,it now became crystal clear that proposals are not easy…But thanks alot. You’re a good teacher

Hey Vitalis, yes they take some practice but you will get there. Just keep it up!

i want to write proposal for study PhD but i dont know how to write it can you send to me example thank you very much best regards

Hi Mays, There’s some good advice here in regards to writing a PhD proposal: https://www.findaphd.com/advice/finding/writing-phd-research-proposal.aspx

My personal advice would be to really demonstrate strength when outlining your methodology. This section is a great opportunity to display deep knowledge of methodological approaches and their academic grounding. Make sure to cite the foundational texts for the approach you want to take and to reference current academic discussions pertinent to your particular application of that approach. If you can find a recently published PhD thesis which takes a similar methodological approach to you own then you can read through their methodology section to give yourself both inspiration and a great starting point for building a methodology reading list for yourself.

Best of luck!

Además, asimismo desarrolla otros proyectos de formación en línea sobre marketing digital y nuevas tecnologías con la finalidad de instruir a emprendedores de qué forma crear un proyecto digital para vender sus conocimientos.

Your blog is very informative. Nice you tried to provide a crystal clear information on this topic!

Nice one, at least have got an idea now about proposal writing

Appreciate the guidelines on how to write an explicit formal proposal.

You are most welcome Ogoh, we’d love any feedback you may have in the future!

Appreciate for providing knowledge on proposal writing

I’m really happy to learn from this paper.I’ve increased my knowledge in proposal writing.Thanks

Wow! You’re really doing a nice work, really haven’t got it detailed and simplified before.

Nice job. I am a professional proposal writer in lagos Nigeria and I must confess that you have done a good job on this article. I learnt a few new things. Keep up the god work

Thanks Mr Sam, always good to have the support of an expert.

the explanation is very complete I am happy to be able to find articles on various types of letters and I can learn here thanks for all the articles

We tried our best Zaki, thanks for the kind words

nice suggestions. thanks

Thanx for the great work U have done towards my exprienc on Proposal writing.May God bless U.

You did a great job in outlining all the nitty-gritty of writing a great proposal in this article. Kudos!

Thank for sharing this knowledge

It was a pleasure!

Write a comment…great work but I need a proposal on how to start car wash business inside school

Thank you for the little experience I have achieved on proposal writing. Can you give me a broad idea on a proposal I wan to write, I want to do a Clean City proposal…

Hey Darious, check out these posts we wrote on sustainability: https://www.process.st/corporate-sustainability/ https://www.process.st/sustainable-business/

so grateful for the information.

Very happy to learn how to write a proposal from you.

Very happy to help you 🙂

Very informative, really appreciated your expertise. I learned quite a bit. Thank you, I’m all set, also number two (2.) Change the passive voice to the active voice is something for me to remember when I’m writing.

Yes that’s a great tip!

It is really great, I would like to know more about writing a great proposal about enhancing bank customer service

Sounds like an important project, you might also enjoy this post: https://www.process.st/enterprise-risk-management/

I sincerely appreciate you for this brilliant presentation. I still need to know more about the solicited proposals. Thanks!

I would like to know how to write a good proposal .

I’m looking forward to be the best in writing proposal, in the organization

Good luck with your endeavors Paul!

I want to learn how to write project proposals

I have an idea of how to write the proposal but would am unsure and would rather see what the experts have to say about it. Thanks!

I want to write a proposal to get a generator for my hospital as a back up

This piece has given me a clearer understanding on how to and what to look out for in writing a proposal. But I will be more grateful if u can give me a template and points on how to write a proposal to a state government to train their young people on drug abuse and how to minimize the current menace it is causing to our society. Thanks, it was a nice experience.

Glad to hear you liked it. We don’t have any templates specific to that use case, but we will look to create some more soon. Cheers, Adam

Glad you enjoyed the experience 🙂

Thanks very much for the well explained presentation.

Hello. This is very good and helpful, I need help to write a proposal for freelancing and content writing. Thanks

I’m not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but we have an article here about pitching to TechCrunch: https://www.process.st/write-for-techcrunch/

I hope it helps!

Cheers, Adam

You are most welcome!

I never knew on how to write a proposal but now I have got something from you thank you. But I would like an example of a professional proposal …… as for me am writing a proposal on the need to make clubs for youth of East Africa based science, technology and arts plz I need it very soon even today

We don’t currently have any examples for you, but we are working on a set of processes to follow to help people write proposals like these. It should be published in a few weeks.

For the time being, perhaps look at what different organizations say they want. Here are a few examples from the UK:

– Warwickshire Community And Voluntary Action (CAVA) have this document where they ask people to send them proposals to start youth programmes. They explain what they are looking for and how they will judge the proposal.

– Here is another example but this time from an organization in Manchester, UK. This has instructions and requirements, and you can use its specifications as inspiration for how to create your proposal.

I hope some of this makes the proposal writing process clearer.

Best of luck, Adam

This may also help: https://www.process.st/proposal-template/

Good luck with your proposal Naomi! Sounds like it’s for a great cause..

Thats great. I have learned alot thanks.

I need to know how to write a proposal writing. Can u give an example plzz…..

Hi Sapioamoa, you can find a collection of examples here: https://www.process.st/proposal-template/

I hope this helps! Adam

i thank you for that and now i am requesting for help, i am a student first year and my ambition is to help the orphans i would like you to help me how to write a proposal of that kind. thank you.

Hey Deo. It sounds like you’re doing great work. Check out these proposal templates . They should help you!

thank you so much sir

Living in a rural setting in Uganda- am writing a proposal to ask for financial donations to buy agricultural inputs, medical assistance etc for my community- this website has helped to put ideas together and to hopefully come out with a winner! Thank you!.

That’s great to hear we’ve been able to help! Best of luck Catherine!

am very greatful to receive such an skillful knowledge from you,but may i pls receive a sample of how to write a proposal for starting a small scale printing firm just in kenya.

thank you in advance

Thanks for the kind comment, Elijah. You might be able to find some more useful information in our most recent article about proposals (with lots more templates) here: https://www.process.st/proposal-template/

Nice one. Thanks for this.

Glad to hear it helped, Deji!

Glad you enjoyed this, Lillian! ⭐️

This is what i was looking for so long. Thanks for summing up all these informations about how to write a proposal. I’m really glad that you add these free template 🙂

Awesome, glad you enjoyed the templates. Was there a particular one that you found most helpful?

Are you still free to give feedback? Happy New Year btw.

Sure we are here to give feedback! Just leave your question about proposal writing in the comments and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

I feel this is among the most vital information for me.

And i’m glad reading your article. But want to statement on few normal things, The web site style is perfect, the articles is truly excellent : D. Excellent activity, cheers

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Hi,have learned a lot from you,could you please help me to write a proposal how to spend on projects in a christian organization Thanks

Not sure how that would be any different, but if you have a specific question about writing proposals I’d be happy to answer it 🙂

Thanks sir for your post. I’am very greatful to receive such an skillful knowledge from you

Any organization needs a visual identity these days. It includes a unique logo, colors, wordmark, typeface, and some visual elements like illustrations and iconography that makes a memorable first impression and sets the brand apart from the competitors.

Am glad to have gotten more ideas than I expected on how to write a proposal. All in one article.

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6 steps for writing a persuasive project proposal

A project proposal is a written document outlining everything stakeholders should know about a project, including the timeline, budget, objectives, and goals. Your project proposal should summarize your project details and sell your idea so stakeholders buy in to the initiative. In this guide, we’ll teach you how to write a project proposal so you can win approval and succeed at work.

All projects have creation stories, but they don’t start with someone declaring, “Let there be resources!” To move forward with a project, teams must submit a proposal to decision-makers within their organization or to external stakeholders. 

What is a project proposal?

A project proposal is a written document outlining everything stakeholders should know about a project, including the timeline, budget, objectives , and goals. Your project proposal should summarize your project details and sell your idea so stakeholders feel inclined to get involved in the initiative.

The goal of your project proposal is to:

Secure external funding

Allocate company resources to your project

Gain stakeholder buy-in

Build momentum and excitement

Project proposals vs. project charters vs. business cases

Project proposals and project charters serve different purposes in the project creation process, and it’s important to understand the difference between the two. While a project proposal takes place in the initiation phase of the project, the project charter takes place in the planning phase. 

As mentioned above, a project proposal is a persuasive document meant to convince stakeholders why the project should be carried out. A project charter is a reference document that defines project objectives, and it can’t be created until the project proposal is approved.

People also confuse the business case with the project proposal, but the business case also comes after the proposal. Once the project is approved through a proposal, a business case may be used to secure additional funding for the project.

Types of project proposals

There are six types of proposals you may encounter as a project manager, and understanding the different formats can be useful as you write yours. Each type has a different goal.

Solicited: You’ll send solicited proposals in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP announces a project in detail and asks for bids from qualified teams. Because you’re competing against other companies for this type of proposal, you must do thorough research and write persuasively.

Unsolicited: You’ll send unsolicited proposals without an RFP, meaning no one asked for your proposal. In this case, you won’t be up against other companies or teams, but you’ll still need to be persuasive because you have no knowledge of whether the stakeholder you’re pitching to needs you.

Informal: You may have a client send you an informal request for a project proposal, in which case you can respond with your project pitch. Because this isn’t an official RFP, the rules are less concrete.

Renewal: You’ll send renewals to existing clients in hopes that they’ll extend their services with your organization. In this type of project proposal, the goal is to emphasize past results your team has produced for the client and persuade them you can produce future results.

Continuation: You’ll send continuations as a reminder to a stakeholder letting them know the project is beginning. In this project proposal, you’ll simply provide information about the project instead of persuading the stakeholder.

Supplemental: Similar to a continuation proposal, you’ll send a supplemental proposal to a stakeholder already involved in your project. In this type of proposal, you’re letting the stakeholder know the project is beginning, while also asking for additional resources. You should persuade the stakeholder to contribute more to the project in this proposal.

The tone of voice and content of your project proposal will differ based on the type of proposal you’re sending. When you know your project goals, you can write your proposal accordingly.

How to write a project proposal

These step-by-step instructions apply to most project proposals, regardless of type. You’ll need to customize your proposal for the intended audience, but this project proposal outline can serve as a reference to ensure you’re including the key components in your document. 

1. Write an executive summary

The executive summary serves as the introduction to your project proposal. Similar to a report abstract or an essay introduction, this section should summarize what’s coming and persuade the stakeholder to continue reading. Depending on the complexity of your project, your executive summary may be one paragraph or a few paragraphs. 

Your executive summary should include:

The problem your project plans to solve

The solution your project provides for that problem

The impact your project will have 

You should only address these items briefly in your executive summary because you’ll discuss these topics in more detail later in your proposal. 

2. Explain the project background

In this section, you’ll go into the background of the project. Use references and statistics to convince your reader that the problem you’re addressing is worthwhile.

Some questions to include are:

What is the problem your project addresses?

What is already known about this problem?

Who has addressed this problem before/what research is there?

Why is past research insufficient at addressing this problem?

You can also use this section to explain how the problem you hope to solve directly relates to your organization. 

3. Present a solution

You just presented a problem in the project background section, so the next logical step in proposal writing is to present a solution. This section is your opportunity to outline your project approach in greater detail. 

Some items to include are:

Your vision statement for the project

Your project schedule , including important milestones

Project team roles and responsibilities  

A risk register showing how you’ll mitigate risk

The project deliverables

Reporting tools you’ll use throughout the project

You may not have all these items in your proposal format, but you can decide what to include based on the project scope . This section will likely be the longest and most detailed section of your proposal, as you’ll discuss everything involved in achieving your proposed solution. 

4. Define project deliverables and goals

Defining your project deliverables is a crucial step in writing your project proposal. Stakeholders want to know what you’re going to produce at the end of your project, whether that’s a product, a program, an upgrade in technology, or something else. As the stakeholder reads through your vision, this will be the section where they say, “Aha, this is what they’ll use my resources for.”

When defining your deliverables, you should include:

The end product or final objective of your project 

A project timeline for when deliverables will be ready

SMART goals that align with the deliverables you’re producing

While it’s important to show the problem and solution to your project, it’s often easier for stakeholders to visualize the project when you can define the deliverables.

5. List what resources you need

Now that you’ve outlined your problem, approach, solution, and deliverables, you can go into detail about what resources you need to accomplish your initiative.

In this section, you’ll include:

Project budget : The project budget involves everything from the supplies you’ll need to create a product to ad pricing and team salaries. You should include any budget items you need to deliver the project here.

Breakdown of costs: This section should include research on why you need specific resources for your project; that way, stakeholders can understand what their buy-in is being used for. This breakdown can also help you mitigate unexpected costs.

Resource allocation plan : You should include an overview of your resource allocation plan outlining where you plan to use the specific resources you need. For example, if you determine you need $50,000 to complete the project, do you plan to allocate this money to salaries, technology, materials, etc.

Hopefully, by this point in the proposal, you’ve convinced the stakeholders to get on board with your proposed project, which is why saving the required resources for the end of the document is a smart strategic move.

6. State your conclusion

Finally, wrap up your project proposal with a persuasive and confident conclusion. Like the executive summary, the conclusion should briefly summarize the problem your project addresses and your solution for solving that problem. You can emphasize the impact of your project in the conclusion but keep this section relevant, just like you would in a traditional essay. 

Tips for writing an effective project proposal

Following the steps listed above will ensure your project proposal has all the right elements. But if you want to impress your readers and win their approval, your writing must shine. In addition to the above, a project proposal includes:

Know your audience

As you write your proposal, keep your audience (i.e. the stakeholders) in mind at all times. Remember that the goal of the proposal is to win your audience over, not just to present your project details. For example, if you’re creating a new editing tool for a children’s publishing house, can you determine whether your stakeholders are parents and appeal to their emotional side when persuading them to buy in to your product?

Be persuasive

Persuasion is important in a project proposal because you’re hoping your audience will read your proposal and do something for you in return. If your reader isn’t intrigued by your project, they won’t feel inclined to help you. If you describe your editing tool but don’t mention the many features it will offer, how it will benefit clients, and its positive impact in the industry, your audience will wonder, “Why should I care about this project?” 

Keep it simple

While you should go into detail on your problem, approach, and solution, you shouldn’t make your project proposal overly complex. This means you can discuss the project plan for your proposed editing tool without discussing what codes the engineers will use to make each feature work. 

Do your research

A successful project proposal includes thorough research. Be prepared to back up your problem—and solution—with reputable sources, case studies, statistics, or charts so you don’t leave your audience with questions. When writing your proposal, put yourself in the reader’s shoes and ask:

Why is this a problem?

How is this a solution to the problem?

Has anyone addressed this problem before?

What are the project costs?

If you can answer these questions, then you’ve likely done enough research to support your proposed initiative.

Use project management tools to strengthen your project proposal

Good project proposals require team collaboration . With the right management tools, your team can communicate, share information, and work together on one shared document. 

When you store all your project information in one place, it’s easy to access that data when you need it. Project proposals stem from well-organized and properly planned projects, which is why project management software is a key resource to effectively write a project proposal. Ready to get started? Try Asana .

Related resources

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SMART Goals: How To Write Them and Why They Matter