Proposals: Solicited Vs. Unsolicited

Regardless of whether they are real-world or research-based, proposals can be either solicited or unsolicited.  

Solicited Proposals

Solicited proposals are those written in response to an advertised Request for Proposals (RPF), which do exactly what their names suggest and also provide parameters or guidelines for the documents, even to indicating how long the documents must be, what fonts can be used, and what sorts of questions the document must answer. The figure below shows an RFP from the site Philanthropy News Digest Links to an external site., but many organizations have sections of their web sites devoted to RFPs. Government entities that oversee infrastructure projects, such as the Virginia Department of Transportation Links to an external site., post such requests.

 

This image shows an example of an RFP for a project that will study human-animal interaction.

 

Sometimes RFPs blend a variety of goals that extend beyond merely funding a project. For example, at Virginia Tech the Office of Sustainability — which focuses on helping the VT community learn “how to live a more sustainable and low-impact lifestyle” — solicits proposals and funds sustainability projects from student organizations through its Green RFP Program. Proposals for such projects are due each November, and during the past funding cycles, a number of projects that you likely are familiar with were approved, including

  • Installation of water bottle refill stations in residence halls and many classroom buildings,
  • Conversion of 32 campus streetlights to LEDs,
  • Creating a wildlife meadow at Grove Lake Pond,
  • Installing low-flow toilets in Hillcrest Hall, and
  • Building covered bike racks at various residence halls and classroom buildings.

While the first goal of this program might indeed be to increase sustainability on campus, it has other goals that are achieved along the way. It directly involves studens in the life of the campus, and it promotes a learning experience.

Requests for Proposals are an efficient way of gathering the best and (hopefully) most cost-efficient ideas for a project that needs to be undertaken. 

Another common example of a solicited proposal is the Call for Papers (CFP) that gets sent out by academic authors seeking to put together a collection of essays or by a professional organization preparing for an annual conference, such as the Institute for Electric and Electronic Engineers Links to an external site. (IEEE). 

Educators, engineers, scientists, physicians, and other professionals often belong to such organizations and perform research in order to keep their respective skills sharp (and gain tenure in academic settings). They are usually on the lookout for CFPs, because publications and conferences provide them with opportunities to share the results of their research. 

RFPs can mean vying for big money or small money, while CFPs rarely involve financial gain but provide a way for scholars to share their work. 

Unsolicited Proposals

Unsolicited proposals are not requested by the person or agency to whom they are addressed — they come, as it were, as surprises.  Yet, that does not mean they are unwelcome, destined to be rejected because they were unexpected. On the contrary, many agencies and organizations actually put out calls for such proposals. Who might prepare an unsolicited proposal and why?  
Unsolicited proposals can actually come from a variety of sources, but they all have one goal in common: they are proposing a project, program, or endeavor that the recipient has not formally requested but might be willing to consider. They are submitted to public and government agencies. 

For example, the US Department of State provides a page of instructions for those seeking to submit unsolicited proposals for a “new or innovative idea submitted to an agency on the initiative of the offer or for the purpose of obtaining a contract with the government.” 

Unsolicited proposals also are found in academic settings and often involve the suggestion of a new program, major, or course. Such proposals take very specific form and must include specific sections, as well as a cover sheet. Course proposals move through a series of checkpoints before they are approved: first, the department, then the college, and up through various university committees.

Now that we’ve established the difference between solicited and unsolicited proposals, we can move on to the two basic types: research and real-world.