Reading RFPs
Choose one of the following fields: Business, Health Sciences, or Engineering. Find an RFP in your field. Websites such as FedBizOpps and Proposal Central are good places to look for such proposals. Read through the RFP guidelines to identify the types of information that the organization wants. List these criteria and compare the list to the types of information discussed in this chapter. How is your RFP similar and different from the types of proposal materials described in the chapter? Repeat this process with a second organization’s RFP in the same field. What major similarities/differences stand out between the two sets of submission guidelines? Prepare to discuss these in class as well as compare them against students who investigated RFPs in different fields.
Writing an introduction to a proposal (Group Exercise)
There have been recent complaints from students about limited parking in the school area. The parking lots fill up quickly during certain hours of the day, forcing many students to find parking that is farther away from their designated buildings. Your group has decided to write a proposal for a new parking lot. You must first identify which USF office should be contacted for this kind of request. Then draft an initial introduction to send to this office. Be sure to include research into need, similar parking solutions, and initial budget approximations.