Having an idea to better the area you work can be a little scary. There's the excitement over the prospect of making a change for the better, but then the thought of rejection or failure.
In order to best show an idea to upper management in hopes of support and funding I would research my idea and try to find evidence based practice that backs up why my idea would be successful. I would then discuss my idea with my peers and get further input on how others feel it may or may not work.
Finally, to present to upper management I would use the ideas of Rupen Sharma (2010) by avoiding information overload, interactive communication, and push and pull communication, all of which require participation from the audience. I feel an in person meeting would be most successful.
Also, according to Joe Garecht (2014) ,"A better strategy is to, as often as possible, make your first a non-monetary ask." Because of this I would try to find a way to implement my idea without funding and show its success, this would make it more easy to fund a project they have already seen working.
References:
Garecht, J. (2014). How to Ask Anyone for Anything.
Sharma, R. (2010). The Road to Better Project Communication Management.