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> It is a proposal as background paper that
> establishes this manufacturer as being credible in their field for their
> client. Their client will buff it up and then send it along to the
> government. Does that make sense?
Sure does. Only thing better would be if the end customer paid you to
produce this study. (Been there!)
I'd say your original questions about methodology and layout are probably
not so crucial. You've written white papers before for other products; this
one should be no different unless there's something specific about the field
that requires adherence to a particular format. I imagine that products that
require regulatory approval (e.g. pharmaceuticals) might have common formats
that everyone uses, for example, but otherwise I think you can use whatever
methodology and format you like.
The question is then one of content, if I understand correctly, so it should
do what marketing white papers do: discuss a burning issue in your client's
field in a slant that *gently* leads the reader to understand that you guys
really understand that issue and its implications for the end customer, and
present your client's solution in *general* terms that *gently* lead the
reader to understand that that solution is the obvious one without
mentioning it by name. ("For generations, one of humankind's pressing
problems has been whole loaves of bread. Bakers prefer making large loaves
for efficiency reasons, but consumers find them unmanageable when trying to
eat them. Some bakers tried switching to small loaves, but faced pricing
pressure because it was difficult to compete with the large-loaf bakers. One
new approach is to apply experimental cutting-edge [sorry!] technology to
slice the bread after baking but before consumption...")
Your client should be able to give you sources for understanding that
burning issue and what the various approaches are to address it, including
the competition's, which the white paper might or might not discuss based on
strategic considerations. I'd say it depends on the nature of the field and
of the end customer's knowledge - i.e. whether they will expect such
discussion and miss it if it's absent. If not, my preference would be to
ignore the competition.
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