Generally there is usually a document called a request for proposals (RFP) which is submitted by a town or organization calling upon members of the community to provide proposals outlining their ideas or proposed plans to solve a “problem” or to enact an idea put forth by the town. At this point project proposals are written and submitted to a board of town members who were appointed to the project. Following a proposal comes a series of meetings, whether that be with the town or only with the board members who then decide which proposal they are going to enact or fund. Although previous genres are not directly represented in our schema we did take into account the information that would be given to people in an RFP for them to be able to iterate back in the proposal. The objectives and the goals sections allow for the writer to address the requirements of the RFP in an obvious and straightforward way.
The direct uptake of our genre is discussion. Because there is rarely just one proposal submitted your ideal uptake would be that post discussion the town or the board decides to go with your project but that is not always the outcome. If they do pick your project you may be issued a project budget or asked to submit a more detailed plan or schedule. This desired uptake is represented in our schema with the plan section of the proposal which would outline initial schedules and budgeting plans.
The biggest way that uptake influenced our genre model is that it is primarily a basis for discussion. A proposal has to be broken down into simple and easy to follow steps that all sorts of people can understand and get behind. With most technical writing it is very important to know your audience so that you can give them the most information possible without overwhelming them or losing them along the way. In most cases though you are typically communicating with fellow engineers or project managers. In the case of public initiative project proposals however you are writing for doctors, stay home moms, bankers and people who may not necessarily have the technical know-how that your discipline relies on to support their ideas.
