Tutorial — Reading and Evaluating the Request for Proposal
The RFP explains that MTI is looking for new designs of a toy to add to their current product line and is inviting design groups to submit proposals and prototypes of their ideas. Students will carefully read the RFP to determine what is expected of design teams and what is needed to meet the challenge. They use the Evaluating the RFP Log Sheet to begin to analyze what the RFP is asking them to do. They write down questions for a volunteer engineer who will be visiting the classroom. www.edc.org/ERO/WIM/SCIACT.PDF

Tutorial — Foundation Center's Proposal Writing Short Course
This is a free two-part online course covering the basic components of a proposal and important elements such as budget and expenses, administration, and the research process involved in writing a proposal. http://fdncenter.org

Tutorial — Proposal Budgeting Basics
Another online tutorial offers the basics of developing a project budget--an important component of the grant proposal. The course covers issues such as overhead costs, and employee fringe benefits, and provides links to sample budget templates. http://fdncenter.org/learn/classroom/prop_budgt/index.html

Tutorial — The RFP Process.
Overview of the RFP process is part of the University of Arizona LIS 613 class "System Analysis and Evaluation" taught by Stuart Glogoff.

RFP/RFQ Process. Outline from SIS 582 Library Automation taught by Tamara J. Miller.

How to Write a Request for Proposal for a Web Project
Bruce Morris suggests that, "a two-stage proposal process with plentiful; scoping time built in. The first stage would be designed to glean through the crowd and select a short list of companies to bid on the RFP after you have produced it. The idea is to find 3 or 4 development companies you feel good about even though they haven't cranked out a proposal with numbers yet. To do this you need to prepare a scoping document that the greater mass of interested developers can use as a starting point to talk with you." www.webdevelopersjournal.com/columns/writerfp.html

How To Write a Website Proposal
What you need to cover if you need to get a website proposal. This column will explain the burning question, "how do I write a website RFP." First appeared in the Internet Lawyer. See www.kevinleethomason.com

Website Proposals v Traditional Media
Sean Carton from Clickz, "Even though the (internet) business has matured somewhat over the past five or six years, the practices still aren't anywhere near as cut and dried as they are in, say, the traditional advertising industry. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the Web development request-for-proposal (RFP) process." www.clickz.com

Web RFP Guidelines and Sample RFP
A point-by-point guide on how to write a document summarizing your Web project in order to obtain an accurate project bid from potential Web site developers. This article outlines the typical components of an RFP for a web design project. Although more information can be added to the document, the components below represent a basic set of information that the developer can use in order to make an appropriate proposal for the project. Andrea Obana, Fine Brand Media, Inchttp://www.finebrand.com/ideacenter/web-site-planning/

Sample RFP is at http://www.finebrand.com/ideacenter/web-site-planning/

Write Benefits & Features Proposals
Ten excellent guidelines from Gary Dundar, including excellent articles on how to outlines the benefits on our proposal, "Do not expect the Source Selection Evaluation Board to immediately understand why the features of your proposal are advantageous." www.garydunbar.com/

Starting off — Defining your Needs
Reprinted from "IT Selection Strategies". This first article of the series focuses on how to identify and define your functional requirements.www.olcsoft.com

How to Write a CM Request For Proposal
Ciminelli-Cowper on how writing an effective Request for Proposal enables your selection committee to choose the best Construction Management (CM) firm for your individual project. The following information should help you plan your selection process and develop an effective proposal. PDF www.ciminelli.net

RFP for Technical Training
"As a supplier on the receiving end of an RFP, there are two things that I typically run across: 1) lack of clarity on the training topics being requested and 2) a disproportionate ranking of required courses." Includes very useful checklists. www.learningcircuits.org

Six Guidelines for Successful Proposals
Free resources and tutorials for both advanced grant-writing consultants and inexperienced non-profit staff. http://grantproposal.com

National Science Foundation – Sample Proposal
Sample proposal available for download: "Be explicit in your narrative about how the program will make an improvement. This narrative must contain specifics including details of experiments and/or applications, both to show that planning has been done and to help reviewers understand why the particular application you propose is better than other ideas. You and your colleagues should think through several iterations of the definition of the project. The narrative should be specific about the proposed activities." http://www.nsf.gov

Art of Writing Proposals (Social Science Research Council)

"To write a good proposal takes a long time. Start early. Begin thinking about your topic well in advance and make it a habit to collect references while you work on other tasks. Write a first draft at least three months in advance, revise it, show it to colleagues. Let it gather a little dust, collect colleagues' comments, revise it again. If you have a chance, share it with a seminar or similar group; the debate should help you anticipate what reviewers will eventually think. Revise the text again for substance. Go over the language, style, and form. Sharpen your opening paragraph or first page so that it drives home exactly what you mean as effectively as possible." http://www.ssrc.org

Basic Elements of Grant Writing
CPB evaluates hundreds of proposals each year for a variety of funding purposes. This publication is an easy guide to the basic elements of grant writing and is offered to assist applicants to CPB and to other funding sources. It offers guideposts to help you through each stage of the process.
http://www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting.html

Elements of a Grant Proposal
A proposal must convince the prospective donor of two things. 1) that a problem need of significant magnitude exists, and 2) that the applicant agency has the means and the imagination to solve the problem or meet the need.
http://www.silcom.com/~paladin/promaster.html

Writing a Grant Application
"Before you start writing your application, do some planning. It generally takes three to six months to write a grant application, and another nine months or so from the time you send it in till you get funded. Check with your institution's business office to see what deadlines they have - you'll need to get their signature before you send the application to NIH."
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/write/write_a1.htm

Short Guide to the Preparation of Grant Applications
This guide is organized according to the major sections of the PHS-398 Grant Application Instructions. Each section is described, and a checklist is provided detailing what that section should cover. In addition, suggestions are included to enhance an application's success. The checklists are not exhaustive, but rather are designed to job their application writer's memory and ensure completeness.
http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/EXTRA/EXTDOCS/gntapp.htm#5

Samples
Website Planning Worksheet
Website Design and Maintenance Agreement

Sample Nonprofit Documents includes examples of "already-written" proposals and proposal templates. http://fdncenter.org/learn/faqs/examples

Request for Proposal (RFP)
GeoAccess also offers a sample RFP for consulting firms that are requesting GeoNetworks analyses from managed care organizations.
http://www.geoaccess.com/accessanalysis/access-analysis-guidelines.htm

Florida Center for Library Automation.
Includes Invitation to Negotiate and RFI. http://www.fcla.edu/FCLAinfo/lms/rfi.html

Harvard University Library HOLLIS II.

While not an RFP this site includes functional needs checklists, evaluation scenarios and project organization.

Howe Library Request for Proposal Hanover NH, RFP for network.

Illinois Library Computer Systems Office Request for Proposals (RFP)

Minnesota Library Information Network Project (MnLINK) Includes links to RFP, information about vendor selection and implementation, etc.

State University of New York (SUNY). Library Automation Migration RFP

University of Alabama Libraries. Request for Information.

University of Iowa. Integrated Library System

http://www.fcla.edu/FCLAinfo/lms/rfpilsjune18.pdf

The University of Kansas. Request for Proposal for a New Integrated Library System.

Universtiy of Michigan. Library Management System (LMS) Evaluation.

Integrated Online Library System
University of Wisconsin Library Automation Task Force.

Includes planning documents, RFP evaluation guides and RFI.
http://www.uwsa.edu/acadaff/library/rfi.htm

RFP for Licensing full text database online access services
Although not a RFP, still very useful as a model for planning

Read More about Proposal Writing:

Articles on writing RFPs, ITTs, Procurement

EU Tender Opening Process

Most Economically Advantageous Tender

Preparing the Format of Tender Criteria

Are you proposing a product or a solution?

Golden Rules before starting your proposal

Request for Proposals (RFP) Resources

Seven Steps toward a customer-centric proposal

Difference between Features and Benefits

Ultimate Proposal Checklist

Three Golden Writing Rules

Get Proposal templates at the TEMPLATE SHOP