Santa Clara University

A solicited proposal is a proposal submitted in response to a request by a sponsoring agency for research or other services on a specified subject. Government solicitations are generally in the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ) which is sent directly to the University or appears in one of several government publications, such as the Commerce Business Daily. Solicited proposals can be either competitive or sole-source. While most solicitations are formal -- that is, they are presented in writing and in detail -- some agencies request proposals informally. Writing a solicited proposal is generally a straightforward process; most RFP's are specific in their requirements on format, technical content and budget. This is true even in the case of informally solicited proposals.

An unsolicited proposal is whatever its writer wants it to be. Its source is purely the initiative and imagination of the principal investigator. However, its realization as a formal request to a sponsor for support is subject to several factors which should be explored. The principal investigator should ascertain, primarily through preliminary inquiries, the degree of interest sponsors have in supporting the proposed work and the extent to which they can do so financially. The format suggested in subsection C below is typical of most unsolicited proposals. But, the principal investigator should check with SPO to determine if the sponsor has specific forms and instructions for proposals that need to be used.