Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021

Types of proposals
Proposals and short reports

There are four main types of proposals: internal/external and solicited/unsolicited (figure 10.3). The specific approach for writing a proposal depends on the topic and desired outcome. Proposals can be about company policy or sales goals, for example. Or they might be written in response to a request for proposal (RFP), a document put out by a company that asks for bids on goods, services, or solutions. Proposals might be written by an individual or by an entire department.

Identifying the type of proposal can help you make important decisions about the document’s audience, purpose, and message as shown in this table of proposals (figure 10.4).

Figure 10.3. Proposal Categories. This chart shows the four categories of proposals.

Figure 10.4. Common Types of Proposals. This table lists some of the most common types of proposals and how audience, purpose, and message differ for each.

Internal / External

Whether the problem is big or small, internal or external, the type of proposal is not always determined by the writer. A semiconductor company that wants to install new machines in its cleanroom may request proposals from more than one company. Or a technology department may be tasked with reducing cost and request proposals from its own employees.

An internal proposal happens inside a specific business or organization. Roy’s proposal is internal because he’s writing it for his boss. Some companies will have an established procedure that is required for an internal proposal to be successfully pitched.

An external proposal is completed when an outside party writes a proposal for a different business or organization, typically as a profitable business transaction. For instance, when the semiconductor company wanted to install new cleanroom machines, they put out an RFP from three different companies before they made a decision.

Solicited / Unsolicited

Another category of proposals involves whether the document is created in response to a direct request.

A solicited proposal is specifically requested by the audience (typically a business). In this case, one business has approached another business (or sometimes an individual) about a possible project. The first business may do this by issuing an RFP, asking potential business partners to write and deliver a proposal, as in the example of the semiconductor company. Or a business in need of a new building might issue an RFP, for example, to multiple architects as a way of getting multiple suggestions.

An unsolicited proposal is more speculative because the party writing the document is not responding to a direct request. In this case, the business or individual writing the proposal hopes that the proposal will be appealing to the recipient. Most of the time, the business or individual writing an unsolicited proposal has already done a significant amount of research to determine the likelihood of the proposal being accepted, similar to what Roy has done.