Writing Proposals Selling yourself at every opportunity

This toolkit has been produced by for the purpose of inviting you to develop your understanding of proposals. In this page you will uncover; what a proposal is, what types of proposals there are, what proposals are used for and who reads them. There are several tasks for you to undertake. You can complete this as a workshop or use it as a starting point 'toolkit' to build upon. This is not an exhaustive list and there is an expectation for you to use this as a first step to develop your proposal writing skills and adapt the content for your own needs.

Understanding the function of a proposal is key to being able to write a successful document. A proposal is a way to communicate your ideas to someone who doesn't know you, your work, your intention and your capability. The purpose of writing a proposal is to convey your ideas and allow the recipient the opportunity to fully understand what you can offer. It's a way for them to establish facts and make a clear judgment based on their own selection criteria. A proposal should be comprehensive information about 'something' you plan to action. A proposal outlines what the 'something' is, the process and resources you require to get it to where you want it to be. That said, the proposal should envisage the goal of the 'something' proposed.

Those making decisions based on proposals will have an idea of what they are looking for. This selection criteria can be formal or informal, after all you may choose to send a speculative proposal to an organisation or individual who have no calling for one. This is an unsolicited proposal. You may decide to do this if you are looking to work with someone specific, want to pose a business venture or opportunity to an entity, or you may want to change the way something is. The majority of the time, you will probably write a proposal based on a request for one. An organisation wanting a response to their opportunity, a number of people who are eligible to take part to show them what they have so they can provide the opportunity to the best candidate. It's a communication method.

Either way, the content is largely the same. The proposal should be clear, concise and be like a good bikini; revealing enough to want to see more, but sensible enough to cover all your important parts!

PROPOSAL

1. A plan or suggestion, especially a formal or written one, put forward for consideration by others

Why might you need a proposal?

The following opportunities have applications or proposals attached to them and are a way for organisations to see a lot of talent, skill and understand capability. In order to make selections, organisations will view a number of proposals to enable them to select individuals who meet their selection criteria. If you think of it in this way, you can understand the importance of conveying your message clearly.

Some proposal types include, but are not limited to;

• Open Call
• Exhibition (Solo or group)
• Residencies
• Employment
• Selling work
• Representation
• Engaging an agency to collaborate
• Funding: Grants, Awards, in kind, Resources
• Research
• PhD

A quick google search of Art Opportunities will offer up many results. Here are a few great ones. Have a look through some of the opportunities and notice how they differ. Some have a set outline for writing a proposal. Some provide a document where you simply fill in what is needed. Some have accompanying lists whcih you should always adhere to. Some are a little more vague. The key thing to remember is, there will be multiple people trying to speak to these organisations with their proposals. You need to stand out for all the right reasons. Do what they say, give information as requested. Make it easy for the reader to understand you from the offset. You can be creative, just convey your message based on the perspective of the reader.

Have a look at some of these sites, and get a sense of what each opportunity looks like. Ask yourself, Who is the organisation? Are you eligible? What do they want to know and see? Who will read your proposal? What language do they use? Is there a structure to use?

The key to writing a successful proposal is to give the receiver what they need to make their decisions. When you identify an opportunity, research what they want which means establishing if you're a good fit for their opportunity. you can do this by researching the organisation, the selection criteria, and reading everything very carefully. A great way to be ready for opportunities is to have some content ready for your proposal. You already know key things that the proposal will require. You know who you are, you know what your practice is and you know what you're interested in. Start a document now using the Things of writing small sections (Artist Statements etc) whcih you can include in your applications. Think about conveying your message clearly. your audience and write these segments based on clarity, understanding and if you're not sure, get a third party to read it for you.

However, I can't stress enough the importance of tailoring each proposal to the agency you plan to work with. It shows consideration and awareness and careful preparation. So please do have some text to hand, but please do make sure you tailor each correspondence to the opportunity and requirements. You wouldn't send in the same job application for a retail opportunity as you would for an Artist residency, it's the same thing. Make sure the reader knows you are there for their opportunity and you're serious.

There are some good guides here.

It's up to you to decide what works best.

Task 1

Find an opportunity online, this can either be something you would like to apply for by means of a proposal, or something you find which has no relation to your work and is just for practice. Save it as a document so it can be reviewed later.

1. Start by reading through the guidelines and extract the key criteria the agency are asking you to provide.
2. Make a plan. Map out how you meet those criteria, this could be through a drawing, spider diagram, post its or an online platform; whichever way works best for you.
3. Briefly write a notated document which outlines the information you will submit or provide that you believe meets the criteria asked for by the agency.

Deciding on the content:

In my own experience, which by no means is definitive, I can tell you what works well. I have worked as a Curator, an Art Producer and I have been on numerous section panels. This has involved me working with students, Artists, Designers etc. to produce an event which meets certain strategic aims. These aims change dependant upon what strategies have been decided on by the key stakeholders. As an example, a gallery I led in my last role at Manchester School of Art, the Vertical Gallery strategy was to;

• Ensure all students are represented fairly
• Enable students to achieve their ambitions
• Give visibility to the courses and highlight the diversity of practices within them
• Allocate space according to need but also ensure the spaces are used to their best potential
• Make visible the (Key Performance Indicators) KPI's to establish coherence with the School philosophy
• Support students and staff and advocate for their collective voice to be present in the final event
• Feasibility of the proposal - is it achievable in the timeframe
• What is unique or interesting about a particular proposal and work
• Students understanding of Health and Safety, Legal and Ethical considerations and impact to the audience
• Establish student capability to ensure success, identify any support needs and fairly meet them where possible
• Provide support where ambitions could be met with some development opportunities
• Allocate funding on the basis of need, parity, access and diversity

When students send in proposals, I think of these points before I make final decisions. In order to do this well, I need a certain amount of information. Of course, because I was in an education setting with an emphasis on supporting students professional development, I would often be more forgiving where possible and appropriate. If more information is needed I get in touch with the students and ask questions. However, it's not uncommon to receive 100's of proposals for one opportunity. Consider, when the workload becomes heavy, those who haven't followed the instructions, or who haven't been clear will inevitably get put at the bottom of the pile. In order for me to fairly assess each person, I need to make a decision on the proposal alone. Therefore the proposal is often the only opportunity to make an impact and have a positive outcome. Outside of educational settings, I think it's fair to say, people won't be and often can't be more forgiving.

This is true of any professional organisation. If you don't meet what they are looking for, you won't get any follow up.

The golden List at a glance;

• Name & Contact details
• Context - About you, why you’re writing, what you do
• Summary of intention
• Statement of intent - Proposal
• Visualisation - Aesthetic, Images, drawings (to scale or indicated dimensions)
• Specifics - Dimensions, materials, activity plan, business model, length of film, market research…
• AOB - Links to websites, production/project timeline, project specific information, Equipment/Resource considerations, Budget implications, Proposed budget, Action Plan, Installation plan, Mitigation of H&S, Ethics considerations.
• Conclusion

Let's break this down.

Consider not every proposal you write has a box you need to fill, the above list is standard for you to provide. It may be that there are more considerations you need to include which your practice is deeply rooted in, for example. If you run workshops, does there need to be a paragraph about the engagement process covering ethics? Can you provide this in other ways to keep word count down? Links to websites, documentation etc.

• Name and Contact details: Self explanatory and you would be surprised how many people forget
• Context: This is an introduction to you, your practice and can include how the opportunity is beneficial to your work leading in to
• Summary of Intention: This should be a sentence or 2 which provides the reader with an established sense of what you are proposing in a simple format. It's a hook, and to get more of a sense of the work they will read on.
• Statement of intent - The proposal in depth. What the work/project is, how it's been developed, what research it involves, why it's relevant, what led you to this point etc
• Visualisation: If you have images that's great but if the work doesn't exist (which is fine), what other ways can you show what it looks like?
• Specifics: How big is is, What's it made of, How many components is it made from, What can you show you have considered everything?
• AOB: This is really about you, what other information would be good to back up your proposal? What do they need to see?
• Conclusion: This could be where you write why it would be beneficial to win the opportunity, or a simple sign off. The opportunity guidelines, advert, text and tone will lead you.

Whilst it's good practice to consider this golden list, also consider the opportunity you're applying for, does all of this information need to be in the first proposal? Is it just a general overview they're asking for at this stage. What can be omitted if this is the case?

Word count is important too. If there are no guidelines for you to follow i.e. word count and you send in stacks of information, you may not get understood. Be concise but cover the points needed. You don't want the selection person/team to have to do all the work. Sending in lots of information, images or multiple choices is not what they want to wade through, nor do they have time to do it. You might even end up frustrating them. You do the work, so they don't have to.

I find it beneficial to consider who is receiving your proposal and why they need one in the first place. Think beyond a selection process for a moment, and consider more practical logistics. If you're proposing a 50 foot air balloon for a 20 foot space, it won't work.

Task 2

1. Quite simply, consider who will receive your proposal. Using the internet, find out more about the organisation and how it works.
2. Make a list of everyone who you think might read your proposal from first stage application, through to the end and the work being installed, or award granted.
3. What do they want to see during the whole process e.g. Installation plan, Budget etc.
4. Create a document for reviewing.

Selling yourself:

Inevitably you have been practicing what you do for a while and you will have a good sense of your values and what makes you unique or drives you to do what you do. It is beneficial at this point, and before you submit any proposal to consider what this means to you.

TASK:

Write your elevator pitch.

What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you use to spark interest in what you do. You can also use one to create interest in your work, projects, ideas, or products. A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30 seconds, hence the name.

TASK 3

1. Using the web articles below (quick Google search, these are the first 3 results), and doing your own research, script an elevator pitch. Try saying it out loud and tweak it as necessary.

* You can turn this into a video once it's refined and it could act as a way to gather interest in gaining other opportunities or even sit on your internet platform.

This should be your introduction in any proposal, at any meeting and whenever you are networking. It's not fixed, it can and will change as you develop.

BE PREPARED!

Language

When writing for your practice, consider your audience. There's nothing worse than attending an exhibition and seeing some of the following;

“…A GROUP OF SCULPTURAL WORKS THAT AIMS AT A VOID THAT SIGNIFIES PRECISELY THE NON-BEING OF WHAT IT REPRESENTS…”

“MY WORK CENTERS ON AN INTEREST IN THE UNIVERSALITY OF OUR BIOLOGICAL MAKE-UP AND LANDSCAPE; COMBINED WITH THE COLLECTIVE SENSE OF THE SUBLIME…”

“MY PRACTICE EXAMINES HESITATION AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF DECISION-MAKING, WHERE THE OBJECT IS NEITHER THE OBJECT OF OBJECTHOOD NOR THE ART-OBJECT. IT IS RATHER THE OBLIQUE OBJECT OF MY INTENTIONS. …”

Unless your practice is deeply rooted in this type of language, why would you use it? You need people to understand who you are, how you think and what your goals are. Of course, use words that are sympathetic to your practice, weave them together with other words that do the same job, but consider this is an explanation, narrative and the sole purpose of the text is to communicate ideas. If your intention is to communicate confusion, then this might be for you.

Know your audience and tailor your communication to them, but don't use art jargon, buzz words or words that may exclude the reader. Have you ever felt academic writing does this? It's not you, its the writer! In my opinion there is no need for confusing language where it's not necessary.

What are your thoughts on this?

Example Proposals

Some proposals for you to look at with permission from the creator.

Task 4

You will now have seen lots and have a good basis to start a real proposal. I'm sure in some iteration you have written a proposal in the past. Now I'd like you to do it with again and consider what you've read here.

1. Using the opportunity you found in Task 1 and the plan you made for responding to their request for submissions, start to create a document.
2. Bring in your elevator pitch as the introduction, tweak it if the verbal pitch doesn't read write as a piece of writing.
3. Complete the other sections of the proposal.
4. Once the content is written, think about the layout and the aesthetic.
5. Now review the document as the person who might be reading it.

Other resources