With April Fool's Day upon us, I wonder, have you ever been fooled by proposal requirements or by an agency who doesn't really know what they want? Most of you have seen how government contracting officers have a really difficult time creating a solicitation that is coherent and makes sense throughout the entire set of requirements. For sure, it must be a tough job. Sometimes, though, a seemingly simple task like matching the instructions to offerors (typically known as Section L) with the evaluation criteria (typically known as Section M) is not so simple.
Mark Twain wrote in Pudd'nhead Wilson: "April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four." Solicitations can make you feel this way sometimes, can't they?
For sure, I've worked on solicitations that were nearly perfect in their requirements. This was borne out by the fact that the entire proposal process had very few amendments and a very small amount of questions and answers. The flip side can be a nightmare. For example, I supported a client late last year on the NASA SEWP V procurement and it was a pretty miserable experience. There were 12 amendments and 1171 questions and answers. Twelve amendments aren't that bad, but 1171 questions and answers for a straight product play are ridiculous. We weren't bidding to build the F-35 Lightning II. This is a pure case of the procurement documents not being very clear.
Don't get me wrong, I love NASA and have done several large, complicated projects with clients for them. However, NASA SEWP V was messy from the start. I was "fooled" from the beginning “as were many others“ into thinking this would be a smooth process. Of course, as an independent contractor, I must roll with the punches. Procurements like this give us a chance to demonstrate our flexibility and creativity. This is where we can shine and make ourselves indispensable to our clients. Like every other challenge in life, this is an opportunity for us to get better.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact me on info@perfblue.com. Thanks!
Attribution
Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894 - Mark Twain
About the Author
Drew Cotterman is the Founder and President of performanceBLUE, LLC, a professional proposal development firm. He founded the firm in 2010 after working in the proposal world for more than 20 years. He provides capture support; proposal development including management, writing, pricing, graphics, desktop publishing, and production support; process training; and employee mentoring.
