LIFT Associates - SBIR Proposal Consultant
. . . specializing in SBIR proposal development
Proposal Schedule
Managing The Development Process
Proposal Schedule
Many potentially winning proposals fall victim to the inevitable crunch of time. On the last day, well-deserved nervous breakdowns and wild rides to the Fed-Ex office that would do Mr. Toad proud are legendary. When you are up against the deadline, the idea of a "quality edit" is little more than a fanciful fantasy. Moreover, once the proposal leaves your hands, things can happen. Packages can get routed to the wrong location; the driver can fail to make delivery by the stipulated time; weather can close an airport and /or ground delivery trucks. There's nothing quite like the feeling associated with having a critical proposal disqualified, because some freakish circumstance prevented it from being delivered on time.
The best advice is to submit at least two business days in advance. If for some reason, the first package does not arrive; there is time for a second to be sent. Backing up from there, it is possible to generate a timeline like the one shown below. Notice that the proposal is developed "inside-out." That is, the work breakdown schedule and cost proposal are completed before the bulk of the writing is begun. There is good reason for this. Experience has shown that until the story line, the technical objectives, and the costing are self-consistent, the writing process is terribly inefficient. On the other hand, once everything holds together, the proposal almost writes itself. If you haven't developed a proposal like this before; give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Proposal Schedule
Proposal Overview
Proposal Number: ______________________
Due Date: ____________________________
Ship Date1: ___________________________
Agency/Opportunity: ____________________
Topic Number: ________________________
Proposal Title: ______________________________________________________________________
Proposal Leader: ________________________________
Principal Investigator: _____________________________
Proposal Team: _____________________________________________________________________
First Development Phase
Story Line Verbally Briefed to _________________________ by: ____________________
WBS Outline and Milestones to ________________________ by: ____________________
WBS, Schedule and Costing Data to ____________________ by: ____________________
Technical Objectives to ______________________________ by: ____________________
Second Development Phase
Draft Technical Proposal to Proposal Team by: ______________________
Abstract and Commercial Potential (Form B) to ______________________ by: ____________________
Technical Reviews back to Proposal Leader by: ______________________
Technical Proposal Ready for Publishing by: _________________________
______________
* Lead time is a minimum of two business days prior to due date, unless otherwise exempted.
LIFT Associates
Launching Innovative Future Technologies
