EEE 4997 Capstone

Preparing a Proposal

EEE 4997 Capstone Project

EEE 4997 Capstone

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 proposer’s capability to implement the technical

approach, i.e. has or can obtain know-how and equipment suitable for the task.

EEE 4997 Capstone

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

•  Facilities and Equipment •  Cost Proposal (Budget)

•  FORMAT: You can use our final report template

EEE 4997 Capstone

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”

–  Provide a short technical primer

•  “Technical Objectives” –  List your objectives to solve the problem

•  Distinguish between goals, objectives and tasks –  Include questions the work will try to answer

EEE 4997 Capstone

Technical Content (con’d) •  “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.

EEE 4997 Capstone

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

EEE 4997 Capstone

Example Time Line Weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.0 Circuit partitioning for power and control1.1. Evaluate present ballast RED: PLANNED

BLUE: ACTUAL1.2. 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 Evaluation3.1. 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

EEE 4997 Capstone

Technical Content (con’d) •  “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 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

EEE 4997 Capstone

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 (Professional)

EEE 4997 Capstone

FOR PROFESSIONAL PROJECT PROPOSAL

There are some additional key points •  Commercialization strategy,

•  Members and each member’s, responsibility/expertise, and

•  Subcontractors and consultants.

EEE 4997 Capstone

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?

EEE 4997 Capstone

Who is who •  Identify key personnel who will be

involved •  Include information on directly related

education and experience. •  A concise resume of the primary

contributors

EEE 4997 Capstone

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

EEE 4997 Capstone

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.

EEE 4997 Capstone

Example Budget Form Page: 1 of 1

Contractor: ABC Address:

Elicott, New York 14260Location (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/hrSr. Electrical Design 312 56 $17,472 $6,989 $10,483Card Design 30 29 $870 $348 $522Electrical fabricate &Test 104 36 $3,744 $1,498 $2,246Mechanical fabricate 78 32 $2,496 $998 $1,498Reliability testing 0 36 $0 $0 $0 Total Direct Labor $24,582 $9,833 $14,749

4. Labor Overhead Rate % 13% (fringe benefits) Base (3) $3,196 $1,278 $1,917

Perimter Road, WestBuilding

Contract Pricing Proposal Form Name of Proposed Project:"Development and Commercialization of Power Line Carrier Controlled Fluorescent Lighting Systems"

5. Outside Special Testing $0 $0 $0

6. Equipment $5,000 $2,000 $3,000

7. Travel $1,500 $600 $900

8. Other Direct Costs $0 $0 $0

9. Subcontractors/ConsultantsHours Rate/hr

Contract Mfg. (TBD) $64,000 $25,600 $38,400Consultant - Prof. Hopkins 104 130 $13,520 $5,408 $8,112Consultant - Mech. Eng. 40 100 $4,000 $1,600 $2,400SUNY 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 $012. Total Estimated Project Cost $189,617 $75,847 $113,770This proposal reflects our best estimates as of this date, in accordance w ith the instructions to proposers.Typed Name and Title: Signature: Date:

January 1, 2004

From New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposal requirements. See http://www.nyserda.org/791attd.pdf