Preparing
an ATP Proposal
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.
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
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 1-
Total Staff Hours Used in Preparing an ATP Proposal
Figure 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 2 -
Total Cost of Preparing an ATP Proposal
Companies
seeking to partner with the Advanced Technology
Program (ATP) submit proposals to the ATP. Proposals
must be for the development of innovative technologies
that could not obtain private funding due to
the high technical risk and that have the potential
to produce widespread benefits to the economy
and society. Proposals are evaluated for technical
and economic merit in a rigorous competitive
review process. |
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 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 cost was $12,500 (see Table 1).
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 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 1).
Table 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 |
Non-
awardees |
Total
Staff Hours |
75th
Percentile |
440 |
200 |
280 |
280 |
280 |
360 |
200 |
Median |
280 |
120 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
25
th 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 |
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 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
only one-tenth of Awardees say that they prefer a single
stage process.
Figure 3 -
Preferred Submission Process for Awardees and Nonawardees
 Date
created: February 2, 2005
Last updated:
August 10, 2005
|
