Proposal Writing

Federal evaluators are inundated with proposals. Imagine receiving a box full of proposals and being asked to review them by Monday. Is this a job you would tackle with enthusiasm or would you figure out a way to get it done as easily and as painlessly as possible? The key to writing federal proposals is to think like a federal evaluator.

Here is a look into how federal evaluators think:

The goal of the better proposal writers I have known is to win 80% of everything they write. This doesn't sound as good as 93% or 97%. But the 80% number is do-able for skilled practitioners in real life.

So how do they prepare a winning proposal?

Now that all Federal appropriations have been passed by Congress and signed by the president, proposal personnel can breathe a sign of relief. Last year business was slow because the gridlock in congress slowed the appropriations process down so much. We expect that this year will resemble 2010, when business was good, healthy and strong.

We are optimistic that the volume of solicitation releases / [...]

Should you write the Executive Summary first and build your proposal to support it, or should you write it last, as a summary of all the material developed in writing the proposal? There are good reasons for taking either approach, but which is best for you will depend on your circumstances and goals.

Perhaps the main reason of writing is to communicate — arguably this is the root purpose of any writing. In order to communicate through your writing, it must be easily understood. In two-way communication — face to face — you can reiterate a point in response to a question, or simply communicate through a raised eyebrow or a confused look. Writing, however, is one-way communication, so you have only one chance to ensure comprehension. Two techniques that you can use to improve your readers’ comprehension are the use of Fog Index and Pace. The following paragraphs describe these techniques.

The present situation for Government contractors reminds me of the introduction to Charles Dickens’ famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.“ Never during my 30 years in Government Programs has there been anything like it. At the same time, we have:

Recently I was working with a client, helping them improve their Executive Summaries. We focused on developing a more client-centered message. We talked about focusing on the customer’s problems first, then showing how solving those problems would deliver a big payback to the client’s organization.