It could be that they decided to go with someone else, but in case the other guy screws it up they want to keep you on standby without paying you yet.
Often times companies just want to see proposals for the sake of evaluating an idea - they may not have even committed to going through with their plans.
A possible solution: In your proposal, include an offer deadline so that the current offer expires within a certain time (whatever makes sense for your industry). This way you can know with or without hearing from them if they are ready to move forward. If a flat out deadline seems too rude, include a proposed timeline for your project using real dates (we would start on the 1st of March and be done in the middle of May), but tell them that you can only guarantee those dates if they give you the green light within a week, otherwise you'll have to re-check your schedule and give them a new timeline.
Often times companies just want to see proposals for the sake of evaluating an idea - they may not have even committed to going through with their plans.
A possible solution: In your proposal, include an offer deadline so that the current offer expires within a certain time (whatever makes sense for your industry). This way you can know with or without hearing from them if they are ready to move forward. If a flat out deadline seems too rude, include a proposed timeline for your project using real dates (we would start on the 1st of March and be done in the middle of May), but tell them that you can only guarantee those dates if they give you the green light within a week, otherwise you'll have to re-check your schedule and give them a new timeline.