1. Clearly state the problem the gave rise to the research work: (WHAT):

State the decision difficulties in Family Planning.

Outline the service pressures and opportunities as they relate to the proposed decision support system.

2. Set the scientific background: (WHY):

State how does previous AI R&D relate to the clinical problem, with critical review of relevant literature.

Outline the proposed engineering path.

Set an evaluative framework for the work.

3. Project plan and impact: (HOW):

Outline the cost and time map of the work.

Speculate on clinical impacts of a range of outcomes.

Even short initial approaches for research funding should clearly present a WHAT, WHY and HOW. I think that Dr M would have been better to send us a link to the article that he mentions but does not cite.