TArticles tagged with: govcon

Presentation available – Proposal writing and the eight-second attention span

APMP Maple Leaf Chapter Webinar Replay

In this updated presentation, Lisa Pafe reprises her highly rated SPAC 2017 presentation and shares how to modernize your proposal writing (relevant for all proposal managers and writers). A 2015 Microsoft study found that digital distractions have resulted in the average person having an 8-second attention span, less than a goldfish! A 2016 Harvard Business Review article stated that bad writing is the biggest productivity buster. Yet, we still write proposals the old-fashioned way, as if our evaluators have unlimited time and focus. This webinar discusses how to modernize our proposal writing to win in the digital age, using persuasive, attention-grabbing techniques such as calls to action, exceeding expectations, and clearly relevant writing. Click to download the slides! Click to watch the on-demand webinar! Your Speaker: Lisa Pafe, Vice President (VP) at Lohfeld Consulting Group, CPP APMP Fellow and PMP, has 25+ years’ capture and proposal experience. She is President … Continue reading Presentation available – Proposal writing and the eight-second attention span →

How strong is your business ecosystem?

A consistent win rate requires all components of the business to work in harmony

Achieving a consistently high proposal win rate requires a highly capable bid and proposal team, in addition to a strong business ecosystem consisting of contracts, finance, human resources, recruiting, technical and project management, communications, partners, and suppliers. If one or more of the components of the ecosystem is weak, your bid can fail. For example, your proposal might fail if your pricing department is unable to produce a cost competitive proposal, recruiters are unable to identify highly qualified key personnel, or project managers do not receive good customer references. A consistent win rate requires all components of the business to work in harmony. Consider using this check list to determine how well the business units within your company work together to support winning bids. Executives Are executives able to guide the pipeline so only bids with a significant win rates are pursued? Do executives invest time and money in market … Continue reading How strong is your business ecosystem? →

DHS FLASH 2.0: Should you invest in this procurement?

DHS announced last summer that they are considering issuing FLASH 2.0 in FY18

After the Department of Homeland Security cancelled the $1.5 billion Flexible Agile Support for the Homeland (FLASH) procurement May 26, the vendor community was irritated, and rightfully so. This Small Business (SB) set-aside, procured through the DHS Procurement Innovation Lab (PIL), required time, money, and expertise to undertake a technical challenge. Bidders had to demonstrate specialized skills in the incremental Agile software development methodology with rapid prototyping and better user interfaces. Numerous protests and a cancelled procurement After 111 companies applied for a spot on this IDIQ through a process that included limited written proposals, a three-minute initial video, and a four-hour live technology demonstration, DHS made 11 awards that were quickly the subject of 35 separate protests by 10 bidders. Protests centered around numerous mistakes made in the evaluation process. When DHS subsequently cancelled the procurement after six months, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) dismissed the protests. Industry outcry … Continue reading DHS FLASH 2.0: Should you invest in this procurement? →

Opportunity Alert: NOAA NEMITS IDIQ

A $2.5B+ IDIQ identified as a Top 10 Small Business (SB) Opportunity for FY 2018

If you pursued the Department of Commerce (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NOAALink program, whether successfully or unsuccessfully, over the course of its 9-year acquisition history, be aware that NOAALink 2.0 has been laid to rest. At the August 30, 2017 NOAALink Executive Industry Council Quarterly Meeting, the agency announced the birth of a new multiple award 10-year IDIQ vehicle, NOAA Enterprise and Mission IT Services (NEMITS), to replace the existing NOAALink contract as well as the originally proposed NOAALink 2.0. Deltek has identified this $2.5B+ IDIQ as a Top 10 Small Business (SB) Opportunity for FY18. NOAA is currently reviewing responses to a June Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD) Request for Information (RFI) issued on behalf of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and conducting outreach to agency program offices to finalize requirements. Current status of NOAALink The NOAALink Core IDIQ has been a highly successful vehicle for … Continue reading Opportunity Alert: NOAA NEMITS IDIQ →