In this episode of the Secret Code to Government Proposal Success podcast series, Ken Blair, President of Blair Associates, provides an early look at the U.S. State Department draft solicitation for the $8 billion EVOLVE contract for IT platforms and support services. On October 25th, the U.S. Department of State made some [...]
PACTS III, as the name suggests, is the third in a series of multiple-award IDIQs soliciting non-IT services and targeted to the SDVOSB community. Previously, PACTS I procured and awarded contracts in four Functional Categories (FCs). These were Program Management, Technical Support, Administrative Support, and Clerical Support. The number of awardees was [...]
All of us – large and small business – get caught having to bid an opportunity where the pre-proposal work was deficient. We were unable to become fast friends with the stakeholders; learn what the preferred solution is; etc. Is it Wired? An RFP drops and you didn’t see it coming. There [...]
In this episode of the Secret Code to Government Proposal Success podcast series, Ken Blair, President of Blair Associates, provides a deep-dive perspective on the NITAAC CIO-SP4 opportunity, and what contractors really need to know about responding to the fast opportunity. Right before the Memorial Day holiday, NITAAC issued its request for [...]
With the Alliant 2 solicitation being shot down by the Court of Federal Claims, this article is for those organizations that thought they had won a seat at the Alliant 2 table only to have the Court win the “all in.” It also provides helpful tips to new bidders. I’m going to [...]
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is looking for a contractor to assist with the development of a “system of systems” to provide a “Total Training System for a full complement of aircrew and maintenance trainers that together, with academic instruction, support the training required to execute weapon system mission(s). Simply said, they [...]
Guest Contributor: Ken Blair As we approach late spring, a young person’s thoughts should turn to the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE). OK, well, maybe not, but let’s talk about this latest opportunity from PEO-STRI. This program was moved under the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) on May 19th to make the procurement [...]
The Four-Phase Collaboration between Project Managers and
Proposal Professionals that Develops Contract-Winning Synergy
Synopsis
This two-part article evolved from my November 4, 2010 presentation at the PMTools in Crystal City. Part One emphasized ( a) why proposal managers/writers and project managers/orals teams must work in concert, not separately as is often the case, and (b) specific guidance enabling Project Managers to improve their presentation skills to make them more effective in leading oral presentations. These oral presentations can be the “tiebreaker” in determining which company is awarded the contract.
In Part Two I outline a four-phase approach which unites the proposal and orals teams to enhance the chances of winning contracts.
