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What is a Good Abstract? What is a Good Proposal?
The following "Heilmeyer Questions"—formulated by George Heilmeyer, a former DARPA Director—are the types of questions that CEROS would want clearly defined and addressed in future proposal submissions.
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Aero Union Marine Systems Corporation
Marine Air-Deployed Rescue Vehicle |
The body of this document is a concise description of suggested procedures for meeting the Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) requirements of the Defense Acquisition System (DAS). A central theme of the acquisition process is that the technology employed in system development should be "mature" before system development begins. Normally, for technology to be considered mature, it must have been applied in a prototype article (a system, subsystem, or component), tested in a relevant or operational environment, and found to have performed adequately for the intended application. This implies a need for a way to measure maturity and for a process to ensure that only sufficiently mature technology is employed. The Interim Guidebook provides an outline of a process and suggests activities for performing TRAs; however, this guidance is not mandatory.
The GLOSSARY: Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms contains most acronyms, abbreviations, and terms commonly used in the weapon systems acquisition process within the Department of Defense (DoD) and defense industries. It focuses on terms with generic DoD application but also includes some service unique terms that others might deal with, and thus require reference. While the GLOSSARY identifies and highlights many terms, it is not all-inclusive, particularly regarding the Services and other organizationally unique terms. For those, the reader must turn to service specific indices and/or local publications. The GLOSSARY contains some jargon and "buzzwords," but on the other hand does not attempt to be a "Dictionary of Pentagon-ese."
Characteristics of Good Research Proposals
- The title is concise and descriptive; it conveys the essence of the proposal. The title is more important than you think.
- The writing style uses plain English and a straightforward writing style; jargon and geekspeak are avoided; acronyms are identified and used only when necessary.
- All directions and guidelines have been followed ( e.g. , format, number of pages, headings, organization).
- Graphics and tables are used effectively – they convey information much more efficiently than blocks of text.
- The significance of the research is clearly identified, and reiterated at appropriate places in the proposal
- The proposal educates, informs, and convinces.
- The need for the proposal is clearly established, preferably with quantified data.
- The research concept, approach, or product is unique and innovative.
- Expectations about the project's results are defined and quantified. Goals are numbers.
- The objectives are well thought out, clearly stated, and address the CEROS mission statement. Relevance matters. What are the benefits of completing this research?
- The scientific or engineering context is provided; i.e. , what is the current state of knowledge? Who has worked the same problem in the past (or present)? Why is your approach and expected result better than theirs?
- Work tasks, subtasks, and schedules are logical and described in detail.
- Methods are identified and explained. Will you use computer simulations, or develop a prototype, or perform signal processing, or analyze field data?
- Collaboration with other interested and capable parties is evident, and includes government agencies, military commands, universities, and commercial firms.
- The proposal contains letters of commitment, preliminary Memoranda of Agreement/Understanding, or letterhead statements of support from others parties
- Budgets are presented by work task/subtask in a logical and orderly fashion; the text and the budget tables are in agreement.
- Subcontractor costs are detailed to the same level as the prime contractor.
- The qualifications of the company and of Key Personnel are clearly but concisely presented.
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