Transcript Government Proposal Writing: Best Practices
Government Proposal Writing: Best Practices
Perkins Coie LLP Government Contracts Group Rick Oehler [email protected]
206.359.8419
Eric Aaserud [email protected]
202.654.6205
National 8(a) Association Summer Conference June 17-18, 2014
Richard W. Oehler Eric A. Aaserud 2
Perkins Coie With more than 900 lawyers in 19 offices across the United States and Asia, Perkins Coie represents great companies across a wide range of industries and stages of growth – from startups to Fortune 50 companies.
Listed on Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for 12 consecutive years (2003-2014).
Ranked as a leading firm in Chambers USA, and ranked nationally for Government Contracts.
Law360 Award for Top Government Contracts law firm.
3
Develop a Government Proposal Process Recommend a 7-step proposal development process. Other approaches can work too.
But it is important to have some process in place.
4
Recommended 7-Step Process 1. Plan your procurement strategy 2. Make an informed bid/no-bid decision 3. Form the proposal writing team 4. Establish a schedule 5. Write the proposal 6. Review the proposal 7. Create a quality proposal library 5
Step 1 – Plan Your Procurement Strategy Hold a meeting and invite: People who know the Government customer and the competition.
Technical people who can address whether the company can meet technical requirements.
Legal and/or Management representatives who can address whether the company is willing to meet technical and other mandatory requirements.
6
Strategy Meeting This meeting is early in the process. Why so early? To support an informed bid/no-bid decision.
Gather intelligence for proposal writing.
7
Strategy Meeting At the meeting, evaluate The customer Program requirements and specific customer concerns Company capabilities Likely competitors 8
Evaluate the Customer List names, phone numbers, and email addresses of key personnel. Identify any biases or concerns that they may have.
Describe the company's current relationship, if any, with one or more key personnel.
9
Evaluate Program Requirements and Customer Concerns Rank all express requirements and hot button issues in order of importance and address how the company will address each of them.
What are hot button issues? Key customer issues that may not readily appear within the RFP itself.
10
Evaluate Program Requirements and Customer Concerns Be aware of the Procurement Integrity Act Prohibits the disclosure and receipt of source selection information and a contractor's bid or proposal information.
11
Evaluate Program Requirements and Customer Concerns Avoiding Procurement Integrity Act problems Has the information been made public? E.g., has it been posted at an agency website or Fedbizopps? If so, the information is okay.
Source selection or bid/proposal information is never okay unless that information has been made public or publicly disclosed.
12
Evaluate Company Capabilities Identify the company's strengths and determine how you can make the customer aware of them. Stand in the customer's shoes and identify weaknesses the customer may think the company has. Come up with ways to rebut these weaknesses (real or perceived) and describe clear customer benefits. 13
Step 2 – Make an Informed Bid/No-Bid Decision Solid bid/no-bid decisions require close and honest assessment of facts about your customer, your competition, and the company.
Weigh conclusions reached in Step 1.
Do not rely on gut instinct or over-optimism.
14
Possible "Bid" Decision Indicators You have a good relationship with the customer.
You understand the procurement history. For example, you've reviewed BAAs, RFIs, Sources Sought, etc. that are informative and suggest that your capabilities match up well with the customer's needs.
15
Possible "Bid" Decision Indicators You have performed similar work successfully for this customer or at least another government customer.
Your capabilities are a perfect or near perfect match with the RFP requirements. (Remember teaming partners or subcontractors may help fill gaps in your capabilities.) 16
Possible "No-Bid" Decision Indicators You do not know the procurement history.
Your first awareness of the RFP was reading about it when it was publicly announced. You do not know what the customer's hot button issues are.
17
Possible "No-Bid" Decision Indicators You are attempting to stretch the company's qualifications and capabilities to meet the requirements.
The company has to take exception to one or more RFP requirements.
There is an incumbent bidding and you have no reason to believe the customer has not been happy with that incumbent.
18
Management Involvement
Management should be involved in the bid/no-bid decision. Proposal preparation can be a big commitment and a resource drain. Remember that a contract win may establish challenging long-term obligations.
19
Step 3 – Form the Proposal Writing Team Project leader Select a person with a strong interest in winning (ideally with "skin in the game").
Select a person who can develop, and motivate the team to follow, a well-conceived strategy.
20
Other Team Members Team members should include: A strong technical person responsible for: (1) drafting the Technical Proposal sections to ensure they meet RFP requirements and (2) checking content for technical accuracy. A person who understands the company's pricing with authority to make pricing commitments.
Ideally, one or more members of the Legal and Management Review teams (discussed in Step 6). 21
Step 4 – Develop a Schedule Scheduling tips Develop a realistic schedule of what needs to be done by when. Make sure everyone understands the importance of delivering on time.
Assign sections based on knowledge, experience, and writing ability.
22
Step 4 – Develop a Schedule Scheduling tips (cont.) Include time for review (Step 6).
Include time for reproduction of the proposal and, if necessary, express courier transportation of the proposal.
Include some "float" for contingencies. 23
Step 5 – Write the Proposal Now the writing begins Resist the temptation to skip one of the earlier steps. Going through the process makes things easier and more efficient once the writing starts. 24
Proposal Writing Tips Follow organization and formatting requirements Follow mandatory requirements Outline Emphasize benefits Substantiate claims Keep "cutting and pasting" to a minimum 25
Follow Organization and Formatting Requirements Review the RFP thoroughly.
Determine and write down exactly what the proposal must contain and how the customer wants it organized.
26
Follow Organization and Formatting Requirements If instructions are unclear, make a request for clarification. Example from a DOD RFP: "Do not insert large bit graphics into your proposal." What is "large"? One meg? Two? Best to be safe and either obtain clarification or size your graphics conservatively to meet any reasonable standard.
27
Follow Organization and Formatting Requirements Pay close attention to "shall" and "must" statements and follow them precisely. Try to comply with "should" statements as well.
For example: "With the exception of Volume III--Cost and Price, proposals should be no longer than 100 pages." Do not read "should" as permission to exceed 100 pages.
28
Follow Mandatory Requirements Some RFPs require offerors to fill out and submit mandatory requirements matrices based on a provided template. Even if the RFP does not require a matrix, consider developing one for your own purposes.
29
Outline An outline is a critical tool in writing a proposal. Beginners often skip this important step.
When you work without an outline, you often end up with a proposal that is disorganized and not responsive to the RFP requirements.
30
Emphasize Benefits A feature becomes a benefit only if the customer values that benefit.
To describe benefits, you must understand what is important to the customer.
31
Substantiate Claims Show (don't tell) why the company has the best solution and understand the customer's needs. Avoid standalone statements such as: "We have substantial experience in and fully understand the solutions required to meet the FBI's needs." This says to the customer, "Just trust us; we know what we're doing," but without providing a basis to trust. 32
Understand the Evaluation Approach Consider the nature of the evaluation contained in the solicitation, such as whether it uses a "best value" approach or a "lowest price, technically acceptable" ("LPTA") approach.
Best value evaluations involve tradeoffs between the price and qualitative aspects of offerors' proposals. LPTA evaluations, on the other hand, focus on the lowest price among offerors that meet the minimum technical requirements. 33
Understand the Evaluation Approach A proposal in response to a best value solicitation should discuss allocation of resources that go above and beyond the minimum requirements (with correspondingly higher pricing).
A proposal in response to an LPTA solicitation should focus on meeting the minimum requirements (at lower pricing).
A failure to recognize and address these differences can result in a lost opportunity.
34
Keep "Cutting and Pasting" to a Minimum Such text is less likely to be responsive to the RFP can send the wrong message to evaluators (laziness, RFP not very important, etc.) 35
Step 6 – Review the Proposal Reviews are critical to ensure a quality proposal.
Conduct Red Team Review, Legal Review, and Executive review.
Leave time for revisions.
36
Red Team Review The leader and team should review the draft proposal in its entirety against a checklist.
Potential checklist items Is the proposal responsive? Does the proposal – Meet the mandatory requirements in the RFP (SOW, specifications, etc.)?
Follow the organizational and formatting "mechanics" required by the RFP? 37
Red Team Review Potential checklist items (cont.) Is the proposal persuasive? Does the proposal – Make a clear case overall for selecting the company over other competitors?
Demonstrate that the company understands the customer's concerns?
38
Red Team Review Potential checklist items (cont.) Is the proposal easy to read?
Can evaluators easily find the information they need?
Is the proposal organized well for easy scoring?
Will lay persons understand the proposal?
39
Red Team Review Potential checklist items (cont.): Is the proposal easy to read?
Are sentences and paragraphs short?
Have you used smaller words rather than larger or multiple words?
Have you written with active voice rather than passive voice?
40
Legal Review Legal Department might ask questions such as: Can the company perform as promised?
Are there any conditions or exceptions that the company may wish to include that are likely to cause elimination from the competition? 41
Management Review Management representative should review. Among issues to address: Are contract performance obligations likely to be outweighed by the value of the contract?
Is the agency likely to be a good long-term customer? Have there been any problems with this customer in the past?
Would an award help further the company's overall goals and strategies?
42
Step 7 – Create a Quality Proposal Library One way to improve efficiency and ensure consistent quality is to develop and update a library of high quality proposal modules.
This library could include, for example, descriptions of such items as: Company management the company's quality control system recent projects past performance references 43
Protection of Proprietary Information Federal solicited proposal protection Long legend for the title page at FAR 52.215 1(e)(1).
Short legend for each sheet the company wishes to protect at FAR 52.215-1(e)(2).
44
Protection of Proprietary Information Federal unsolicited proposal protection Mark title page with the legend at FAR 15.609(a).
45
Protection of Proprietary Information Federal unsolicited proposal protection Mark each page that the company wishes to restrict with these words: "Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal." FAR 15.609(b).
46
Protection of Proprietary Information Why is it important to precisely follow the marking the rules?
Xerxe Group v. United States Xerxe Group submitted unsolicited proposal to Patrick AFB for provision of electrical energy and services.
Proposal was rejected.
PAFB later published an RFI containing Xerxe's proprietary information.
Federal Circuit found: Xerxe complied with FAR 15.609(a) (got the cover sheet right), but not FAR 15.609(b) (forgot to mark each page).
Xerxe's failure was "fatal to its claim." 47
Questions or comments, please call or email: Rick Oehler [email protected]
206.359.8419
Eric Aaserud [email protected]
202.654.6205
120619799 48