Many people tend to love putting graphics in their proposal. They give color and help alleviate the endless onslaught of words. But like everything in the proposal, we need to ask if they’re necessary. Sometimes charts and diagrams that appear straightforward to the writer, are impossible to decipher by the evaluator. Having a set of fresh eyes look at them is a good step to ensure the message you’re sending gets through.
The captions are there to help the reader understand the graphic. What exactly do you want the reader to take away? The caption should help send that message. Many proposals feature the ubiquitous “Organization Chart” of their company. Often, the caption merely states, “Organization.” Duh.
The caption could be used to explain why the company is organized in this manner. Clear communication lines, reasonable span of control, etc. They allow you to use captions, so use them to your advantage.
I recommend that anything vital to the reader’s understanding of your proposal be communicated in both words and graphics. It’s a good starting point. Since graphics take up a lot of precious space, they might be removed during the final edits, in which case they’ll need to be replaced by ultra easy-to-understand language.