Present a formal research proposal for our New Boston Housing Authority project, consisting of a written report and a presentation.  Recall the call for proposals that we had used for our project management assignment.  Your proposal must address the general research objectives that we had in that assignment and previous assignments associated with this client. 

Your research proposal must include two phases of research (no more, no less).  For example, you might propose the conduct of an exploratory focus group study followed by a closed-ended mail survey, you might propose a content analysis of open ended questions followed by a focus group study, you might propose an initial TDI followed by a larger IDI study, etc.  The series of two studies that you propose, however, must be supported as the most relevant way of meeting the assigned objective. 

Whatever pair of studies you propose, your proposal should make it clear to our client that these studies would be thorough in answering questions that it had brought to us.  Given that this target audience is less familiar with the research process than example proposals have presumed, your proposal should provide enough details that anyone who is unfamiliar with this project would be able to understand the problem and the proposed research methodology, analysis, deliverables, and costs. 

Since our audience has absolutely no incentive to steal a research proposal for the use of some third party, submit ALL proposed screeners, topic guides, survey forms, or other instruments that would be used in your study as appendices. 

Also submit your internal budget worksheet as an appendix with enough details that our client could understand it.  For your budget worksheet, use costs that we had assumed in association with using university facilities and resources; if you need a cost that we haven't discussed, then ask me to give you one.  A budget that is unrealistic, doesn't make sense, or doesn't match your price quote will have a heavy impact on your grade.  (An uncompetitively high price or a price that doesn't cover costs could get you fired from a real research firm -- or could get me fired from the university if I was made project director.)  Note that I do not need a Gantt table or chart this time; your proposed timeline should make sense by itself.

From past assignments, you are expected to now be familiar with how a research proposal for a practitioner project is formatted.  You will therefore not be provided with a template this time -- this project is designed in part to see if you can tie together insights, skills, and techniques that are needed to do real-world work.  Note that you will be quoting a single price that is inclusive of a two-study project. 

Note that this is an individual project; each student is to submit his/her own proposal.