Preparing a Proposal

EE 494
Capstone Group Design Project
Prof. DCHopkins
DCHopkins@Eng.Buffalo.Edu

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

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 proposers capability to implement the technical
approach, i.e. has or can obtain people and equipment
suitable for the task.

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

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)
EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project
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

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

Proposal Format (cond)
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)

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

 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

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

Technical Content (cond)
Work Plan
This is a substantial portion of the total proposal.
Give short overview 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.

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

 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

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

Example Time Line Weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.0 Circuit partitioning for power and control
1.1. Evaluate present ballast RED: PLANNED
BLUE: ACTUAL
1.2. Develop alternate approaches

1.3. Evaluate Digital Communications

2.0 Select SMDB product approach

2.1. Develop SMDB product profile

2.2. Assess best

2.3. Documentation

3.0 Prototype Design and Evaluation

3.1. Select contract manufacturer for circuits

3.2. Build 100 SMDB prototype circuits

3.3. Define mechanical package

3.4. Evaluate prototype products

3.5. Establish pre-beta product

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

Technical Content (cond)
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

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

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?

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

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

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

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)
EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project
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

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

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.

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

 Example Budget Form
Contract Pricing Proposal Form Name of Proposed Project: Page: 1 of 1
Contractor: ABC "Development and Commercialization of Power
Address: Perimter Road, WestBuilding Line Carrier Controlled Fluorescent Lighting
Elicott, New York 14260 Systems"
Location (where work is to be performed): Agency funding: $ 75,847
(same) Total Project Cost: $ 189,617
Total Cost Cost to Cost-sharing &
Cost Element to Project Agency Co-funding
(% sharing): 40% 60%
1. Direct Materials
a. Purchased Parts $25,000 $10,000 $15,000
b. Other $0 $0 $0
Total Direct Materials $25,000 $10,000 $15,000

2. Materials Overhead Rate: 10% $2,500 $1,000 $1,500

3. Direct Labor Hours Rate/hr

Sr. Electrical Design 312 56 $17,472 $6,989 $10,483 5. Outside Special Testing $0 $0 $0
Card Design 30 29 $870 $348 $522
Electrical fabricate &Test 104 36 $3,744 $1,498 $2,246 6. Equipment $5,000 $2,000 $3,000
Mechanical fabricate 78 32 $2,496 $998 $1,498
Reliability testing 0 36 $0 $0 $0 7. Travel $1,500 $600 $900
Total Direct Labor $24,582 $9,833 $14,749 8. Other Direct Costs $0 $0 $0

4. Labor Overhead Rate % 13% 9. Subcontractors/Consultants

(fringe benefits) Base (3) $3,196 $1,278 $1,917 Hours Rate/hr
Contract Mfg. (TBD) $64,000 $25,600 $38,400
Consultant - Prof. Hopkins 104 130 $13,520 $5,408 $8,112
Consultant - Mech. Eng. 40 100 $4,000 $1,600 $2,400
SUNY Buffalo $0 $0 $0
Total Subcontractors/Consultants $81,520 $32,608 $48,912

10. G&A Expense Rate % 40%

(General & Administrative) Base (3-9) $46,319 $18,528 $27,791

11. Fee or Profit Rate: 0%

(0 for cost-sharing) $0 $0 $0
12. Total Estimated Project Cost $189,617 $75,847 $113,770
From New York State Energy Research and This proposal reflects our best estimates as of this date, in accordance w ith the instructions to proposers.
Typed Name and Title: Signature: Date:
Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposal
January 1, 2004
requirements. See http://www.nyserda.org/791attd.pdf

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

 End of
Preparing a Proposal

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project