Preparing a Proposal

1. Preparing a Proposal EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project Prof. DCHopkins DCHopkins@Eng.Buffalo.Edu

2. Proposal Requirements A proposal provides sufficient information to persuade the reviewer that the proposed work represents an innovative and profitable approach to an important engineering problem. The proposal will be evaluated on • the technical approach having a reasonable chance of meeting the topic objective, • the approach being innovative, not routine, • the proposer’s capability to implement the technical approach, i.e. has or can obtain people and equipment suitable for the task.

3. Proposal Table of Contents • Cover page • Abstract • Technical Content • Identification and Significance of Problem • Technical Background • Technical Objectives • Work Plan • Statement of Work, Time Line and Deliverables • Related Work • Commercialization Strategy (EE402 optional) • Key personnel • Facilities and Equipment • Subcontractors and Consultants • Cost Proposal (Budget)

4. Proposal Format • Proposal Cover Sheet • Title of project • Date proposed • Label it as a “Proposal” • “Submitted to:” name, address, phone, fax, e-mail • “Submitted by:” (as above) • “Abstract” • Give an abstract of the proposed project. Discuss anticipated benefits, potential for commercial applications and profit. The Abstract is often the first cut in selecting proposals for funding

5. Proposal Format (con’d) • Layout and Format • Use 1” margins all around • Place name of group in header left • Title in header right • Page number in footer center • Date in footer right • Use Arial 10 pt or Times 12 point • Number all pages consecutively. • The technical proposal begins on page 2 or 3. • Submit softcopy in MSWord (.doc) or Adobe (.pdf)

6. Technical Content • “Identification and Significance of Problem or Opportunity” • Define the specific technical problem or opportunity addressed and its importance to the company, customer, government, etc.(Know your audience.) • Do Not include the solution in the problem statement • “Technical Background” (optional) • Provide a short technical primer if you think the readers requires such • “Technical Objectives” • List your objectives to solve the problem • Distinguish between goals, objectives and tasks • Include questions the work will try to answer

7. Technical Content (con’d) • “Work Plan” • This is a substantial portion of the total proposal. • Give shortoverview of what is planned and work approach • Provide an explicit, step-by-step description of the approach: • “Statement of Work” (SOW) • provide hierarchical detailed list of tasks • “Time Line” • Show estimated start and stop times for Tasks • Only show the first and second levels of Tasks • Numbering follows the SOW tasks • see following examples • Describe how and where the work will be carried out • Use the SOW and time line for weekly/monthly updates.

8. Example Task List (SOW) 1.0.   Circuit partitioning for power and control 1.1.      Evaluate present company ballast designs for Sub-Miniature Dimming Ballast (SMDB) 1.1.1.      Establish benchmark and performance parameters for lower power operation. 1.1.2.      Investigate separating starter and continuous-power lamp drive functions. 1.2.      Develop alternate electrical and packaging approaches (include power and signal ASICs) 1.2.1.      Evaluate resonant transition, hard switching and class-E electrical topologies 1.2.2.      Evaluate higher frequency effects on substrate technologies 1.3.      Evaluate Digital Communications 1.3.1.      Evaluate IR transmit/receive size reduced circuits for applications to CFL 2.0.   Select SMDB product approach 2.1.      Develop SMDB product profile 2.1.1.      Review present fixtures forms 2.1.2.      Determine fixture constraints on physical SMDB product form 2.2.      Assess which topology would be the best for this market place. 2.2.1.      Perform electrical and physical modeling, design and simulation with proprietary tools 2.2.1.1.    Determine optimum inductor / transformer specifications 2.2.2.      Perform thermal design and simulation 2.2.3.      Perform cost tradeoff analysis to determine least expensive approach 2.3.      Documentation 2.3.1.      Develop CAD level documentation 3.0.    Prototype Design and Evaluation 3.1.      Select contract manufacturer for circuits 3.1.1.          Survey NYS companies as first and second source suppliers

9. Example Time Line

10. Technical Content (con’d) • “Deliverables” • Describe expected outcomes of the proposed work or what product(s) will be delivered • This is often one of the most important sections • (Think big picture and value of your deliverable) • “Related Work” • Describe significant activities by group members directly related to the proposed effort and how these activities interface with the proposed project • Describe the state-of-the-art and compare the proposed effort. The reviewer must be persuaded of the proposer's awareness of the state-of-the-art in the specific topic. • End Technical Content Section

11. Commercialization Strategy (optional) • Describe your strategy for potential commercialization of the deliverable(s) • Provide information on the market need the product will address and the size of the market. • What is the first application of your product? • Who will be your customers • What is your estimate of the market size (mkt sales $/year)? • How much money will you need to bring the product to market • Who are your competitors • What is your advantage over your competitors?

12. Key Personnel • Identify key personnel who will be involved • Include information on directly related education and experience. • A concise resume of the primary contributors

13. Facilities and Equipment • Describe available instrumentation and physical facilities necessary to carry out the effort. • Items of equipment to be purchased (as detailed in the cost proposal) shall be justified • State whether or not the facilities need modifications to meet environmental laws and regulations of federal, state, and local Governments for, but not limited to, the following groupings: airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials. (For EE402 – assume they no modifications are needed)

14. Subcontractors and Consultants Involvement of subcontractors or consultants may be appropriate • If such involvement is intended, it should be described in detail and identified in the cost proposal. • A minimum of two-thirds of the effort, as measured by direct and indirect costs, must be carried out by the proposing group, unless otherwise approved

15. Cost Proposal (See Example Budget Form) • Sufficient information should be provided to understand how the proposer plans to use the requested funds • List all key personnel by name and number of hours dedicated to the project as direct labor. • Justify special tooling, test equipment and materials • Cost for travel funds must be justified and related to the needs of the project. • Cost sharing is permitted.

16. Example Budget Form From New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposal requirements. See http://www.nyserda.org/791attd.pdf

17. End of “Preparing a Proposal”