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NIST GCR 05–873
Customer Satisfaction Findings from the Advanced Technology Program’s
Survey of ATP Applicants 2002
7. Time
and Cost for ATP Proposal
Preparation
The Survey
of ATP Applicants 2002 collected information on the amount of time and cost companies
expended to prepare a proposal for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP).
Respondents indicated:
- the total number of staff hours used in preparing
their ATP proposal
- the total cost to their company in preparing
the proposal
- whether they prefer to submit proposals in a
single stage that combines technical
and business plans, or multiple stages.
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Companies applying for an ATP award devote varying levels of
resources to proposal preparation
- The median ATP applicant
devoted 200 staff hours to their ATP proposal. The total
company cost of preparing an ATP proposal for the median applicant was
$12,500.
- Figure 7–1 shows
the distribution of total staff hours devoted to ATP proposal preparation.
About three-quarters of all applicants devoted less than 240 hours
of staff time to their
proposal. The 2002 applicants devoted less staff time, on average,
preparing their proposals
than did the year 2000 applicants (for whom two-thirds devoted less
than 240 hours).
- Figure 7–2 shows
the distribution of cost to companies in preparing their ATP proposal.
About three-quarters of all applicants spent less than $20,000.
The 2002 applicants spent
less money, on average, than did the year 2000 applicants (for
whom two-thirds spent
less than $20,000).
Figure 7.1.
Total Staff Hours Used in Preparing ATP Proposal
Time and cost for ATP
proposal preparation differs by applicant type
Joint Venture Companies and Single Companies
- Joint Venture lead
companies devoted the largest amount of staff time to proposal
preparation, followed by single companies. Joint Venture partner
companies spent less time.
- Among Joint Venture lead
companies, the median amount of staff time was 280 hours.
Among single companies, the median was 200 hours,
while for Joint Venture partner
companies the median was 120 hours. (See Table 7–1.)
- Joint Venture lead companies
experienced higher total costs in preparing an ATP proposal,
relative to Joint Venture partner companies and single companies.
- The median cost for
Joint Venture lead companies was $35,000. For Joint Venture
partner companies and single companies the median cost was
$12,500. (See Table 7–1.)
Table 7–1. Total
Staff Hours and Cost in Preparing ATP Proposal,
by Applicant Type
| |
Joint Venture
Lead Companies |
Joint Venture Partner
Companies |
Single Companies |
Large/Medium
Companies |
Small Companies |
Awardees |
Nonawardees |
 Total Staff Hours |
| 75th Percentile |
440 |
200 |
280 |
280 |
280 |
360 |
200 |
| Median |
280 |
120 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
| 25th Percentile |
200 |
60 |
120 |
120 |
120 |
120 |
120 |
| Total Cost |
| 75th Percentile |
$62,500 |
$17,500 |
$25,000 |
$35,000 |
$25,000 |
$35,000 |
$17,500 |
| Median |
$35,000 |
$12,500 |
$12,500 |
$17,500 |
$12,500 |
$17,500 |
$12,500 |
| 25th Percentile |
$12,500 |
$7,500 |
$7,500 |
$7,500 |
$7,500 |
$7,500 |
$7,500 |
Figure 7.2.
Total Cost of Preparing ATP Proposal
Large Companies and Small Companies
- Large companies devoted more resources than Small companies to ATP proposal
preparation.
- Comparing total cost, the median for Large/Medium
companies was $17,500, and for Small companies it was $12,500.
(See Table 7–1.)
Awardees and Nonawardees
- ATP awardees devoted more effort to preparing proposals than nonawardees.
- Comparing total cost of proposal, the median cost for awardees was
$17,500, compared
to $12,500 for nonawardees. (See Table 7–1.)
Applicants prefer a proposal submission process consisting of
multiple stages, rather than a single stage
- Overall, applicants
prefer multiple stages in the proposal submission process. Two-thirds
of
awardees and one-half of nonawardees prefer multiple stages. (See Figure
7–3.)
- About one-fifth of
the applicants reported having no preference regarding the number
of
stages.
- However, one-third
of nonawardees reported a preference for a single stage in the proposal
submission process, while about one-tenth of awardees say that they prefer
a single stage
process.
Figure 7.3. Preferred Submission Process for Awardees and Nonawardees
____________________
8. We have combined the response categories “very
satisfied” and “somewhat
satisfied” for ease of
reporting.
Return to Table
of Contents or go to next section.
Date created:
August 1, 205
Last updated:
August 4, 2005
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