Business Ethics Feed Government Records of Past Performance

Previous discussions at this site have emphasized the importance of maintaining a solid past performance rating to meet award criteria used by every federal agency when granting small business contracts.

Your Past Performance Record

We have also highlighted the importance of maintaining solid ethical business practices in dealing with customers and industry partners.

Maintaining an Ethical Company Image

This article will discuss the practical aspects of achieving the above, the associated challenges and how not meeting them can jeopardize your industry reputation and business success.  

IGNORANCE ON POLICY AND REGULATORY MATTERS IS NOT AN EXCUSE

The small business faces a front-end-loaded and ongoing learning challenge in understanding the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Unallowable Costs, Organization Conflict of Interest (OCI) many other similar policies the federal government invokes. 

A continuous learning process must include evaluating the impact of these requirements, developing consistent processes and systems to meet and maintain them or risk poor ratings on proposals, audits and performance; even the denial of an invoice payment.

In short, the government has the right to audit, examine and approve your internal operations for conformance to the law before granting a contract or paying a bill.  These are not preferences by contracting officers.  They are federal contracting laws.

The astute small business learns the law and incorporates compliance in its business practices.

CONTRACTING PERSONNEL IN ACQUISITION ROLES HAVE VARYING LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE & PROFESSIONALISM

The US Government and its prime contractor cadre form a massive professional base.  Although they conduct training in policy and regulation to their acquisition professionals, these professionals are rotated frequently and/or encounter contracting authority as only one role among many in their principal professional endeavors.

Government Contracting Roles

Small business systems are unique to a company.  Documenting them and conveying their compliance to regulations in a clear, lucid way to auditors, agency buyers/contracting officers and other government customers is a vital part of avoiding misunderstandings regarding compliance issues.  

An additional concern with prime contractors is protecting intellectual and proprietary data, such as rates and factors, while participating in the assist audit process used by the government to avoid risk of undesirable disclosure from one firm to another.

If, during the course of marketing, proposing and negotiating government contracts with government and prime contractor personnel, a small business encounters lack of professionalism, misunderstanding of the regulations or defiance of them, the occurrence must be escalated to higher authority with tact, judgment and the long term objective of not only obtaining new business, but staying in business. 

Managing Government Teaming Relationships

DISCLOSURES ARE MANDATORY

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)  52.203-13 in 2008 made mandatory that contractors must disclose past, present or pending violations of contract law to the government.   Not adhering to this requirement can be costly in terms of poor past performance records, legal expenses and financial judgments.

FAR 52.203-13 (3) - Mandatory Disclosure

The Truth in Negotiations Act

TRAINING IN GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS IS A GOOD INVESTMENT

As fast as things move these days if we don't train and communicate effectively we are running very high risks.  The modern era in which we live demands that training be sophisticated, interactive and responsive to changing times. It should evolve out of core company processes and contain feedback mechanisms.

Some training will be global, such as policy, corporate ethics and human relations. Other training will be specialized, such as changes in law, company policy or technology by functional areas.

Principal among the topics at the head of the list for generic training in the art of something would be "Communicating Effectively" to employees to customers, to regulators; both orally and in writing.

Small Business Company Trainng

SUMMARY

Small business must evaluate regulations then communicate and enunciate a company ethics policy and processes that insure compliance with laws and regulations, training personnel on them in the process.

In doing so, disclosures will then be positive and the business will not become the subject of negative press releases by a government agency. (Examples below)


Portrait of a Crooked Government Contractor

Star Power And The Military Industrial Complex

Work Authorization Is Key To Contract Management Process

The execution of a contract (signing by both parties) is a key benchmark in government contracting. It triggers several events such as the start of the period of performance and the delivery schedule time period. Execution begins a billing period start date, and contractual obligations by the government and the contractor.

Establish an internal document to your company that contains the pertinent data for the contract and assigns it a unique contract identifier in your business system. This is necessary for billing and cost collection purposes as well as government audits. 

Astute government contractors do not allow effort to proceed or cost to be incurred on a particular contract until such a document is generated, signed, approved and distributed by a company official assigned the duty of releasing the contract for performance. 

Such documents are commonly called "Work Authorizations", "Release Orders" "Production Release Orders" or a similar term to benchmark the new business and begin performance, accounting, and time and materials accumulation on the contract. 

Any cost or supplier commitments prior to a signed contract are considered pre-contract costs by the government under FAR and require special authorization by the PCO under the contract. They cannot be billed until the contract is signed. Incurring pre-contract costs without authorization is high risk for the contractor. 

Any work or supplier commitments outside the scope of the current contract documentation are also high risk without a negotiated contract amendment adding the scope of work to the contract or government authorization for the use of designated management reserve.

Sarbanes Oxley regulations and other recent government laws regarding corporate responsibility have made control of work authorization and record keeping important factors. Keep in mind that a small business past performance record begins when a contract is signed.  This record is maintained by the government and is updated as deliveries and performance occur. 

You should begin your internal project management record on each contract by attaching all the necessary information for your performing organizations and support functions to begin doing their jobs. 

A copy of the contract should accompany the internal release to key functions in your enterprise. The master should be filed in your central files. Some companies perform work authorization electronically. The government is moving in the direction of electronic record keeping as well.

Marketing to Achieve a Small Business Set-aside Government Contract

Marketing is one of the greatest challenges for the small business federal government contractor. We have previously discussed the federal government marketing process at the following articles:

Insights to Succeed

Small Business Government Contract Marketing

Customer Relations

Techniques for Product Development

This posting will address sculpting a government contracting business opportunity to the point where it becomes a sole source or small business group-designated set aside procurement.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Small business group-designated procurement is far more frequent than sole source contract awards.  Agencies must prepare special justifications for sole sourcing and those most frequently approved are for Hub Zone and Small, Disadvantaged [8(a)] firms (see table below).

Small business group designations are beneficial to firms who hold them by enhancing the probability of an award through agency restrictions on prime contractor bidding to only those who hold the group designation. Others may bid as subcontractors to the prime but the prime small business contractor must be capable of performing at least 51% of the total effort in terms of work scope, hours and dollars.  

 

In either sole source or group-designated marketing, an agency making the buy must be convinced that sufficient capability exists in a single company or in the small business designated group community to set a contract aside. The agency must be convinced early – before a formal procurement announcement is published on SAM Contract Opportunities  

Marketing to achieve a limited competition under a small business group designation or eliminate competition under a sole source contract assumes the marketing enterprise has one or more of the following federal government set-aside designations:

DESIGNATION                                                         TARGET

Small Business                                           (Group Set Aside Potential)

Small Woman-Owned Business                 (Group Set Aside Potential)

Small Veteran-Owned Business                 (Group Set Aside Potential)

Small Disabled Veteran-Owned Business  (Group Designation Set Aside Potential)

Small Hub Zone Business                          (Sole Source and Group Set Aside Potential)

Small Disadvantaged Business 8(a)          (Sole Source and Group Set Aside Potential)

Federal government procurement is further classified under the SBA Small Business Size Standards in terms of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code, number of personnel and/or annual sales. To determine whether a firm qualifies for a given bid, note the NAICS for a given solicitation and download the SBA Small Business Size Standards the Box Net “References” Cube in the right margin of this site.

Part of the sole source or designated group set aside marketing task is to suggest to the agency the NAICS Code (hence the size standard) for a prospective procurement.

Registering to bid government contacts and establish sole source and group designations may be achieved using guidance in the below articles:

Small Business Set-aside Designations

Registering Your Business For Government Contracting

Hub Zone and Small Disadvantaged Business 8(a) designations are lengthy certification processes. The remaining designations in the above table are self-certifying at the above government contract registration web site, and are verified by site surveys and bid vetting for each solicitation prior to contract award. 

EARLY REQUIREMENT TARGETING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN SET ASIDE MARKETING

Effective set aside marketing reaches the agency decision makers with technical, budget and schedule authority before a synopsis of the requirement is posted on SAM Contract Oportunities. 

The objective of this form of targeted marketing is to get concurrence from the government to set the program aside sole source if the company has an 8(a), or Hub Zone Certification or reserve it by one of the above group designation classes to eliminate the prospect of full and open competition involving large business.

• Become known to targeted agency personnel by visiting their program offices and meeting the decision makers.  Bring a capability statement:

         Your Capability Statement for Government Contracting

• Present your qualifications openly, objectively and specific to their needs.  You must determine what those needs are through market research, trade magazines, research on what they are buying on SAM Contract Opportunities, as well as postings on their web site that are future-program oriented.

• Subscribe to periodicals like "Washington Technology" and other trade magazines.  Observe agency trends and analysis that impact your market segment.  There have been set aside programs marketed by small companies through acquainting agency management and technical personnel with capabilities they were not aware existed in the small business community or fulfillment of needs they in fact did not know they had.

• Pay particular attention to SAM Contract Opportunities "Sources Sought" or “Requests for draft RFP Comment”  on programs that have yet to be formally solicited. Obtain an appointment to present your capabilities to the decision makers (not the gate keepers).  Be courteous to contracting officers but understand they are not the individuals who make source selections. Understand that once the requirement is formally published on SAM Contract Opportunities the gate closes on informal visits to the customer and the competition begins in the form of proposals by competitors.  It is too late at that point to set the program aside for a sole source or a small business designation if it has not occurred by the publication stage.

• Cultivate teaming relationships with other firms in your industry and look for early opportunities in agencies, not only to prime a program but to bring a team of qualified contractors in lesser roles to fulfill them with you or join a team being led by a more experienced firm:

         Small Business Government Contract Teaming

• Understand the small business start up past performance challenge and work to meet it:

         Understanding the Past Performance Challenge

• Attend small business outreach events by agencies and prime contractors.  Stay attuned to who is attending and research their needs and requirements.

• Make a point to be present at bidders' conferences for existing solicitations that you may not choose to bid but which may lend insight into the agency needs and prime contractor relationships in the future.      

SUMMARY

As a small business becomes known in the federal government contracting community, successful marketing of sole source or group-designated business becomes easier, but it is always a challenge due to the need for taking early action in windows of opportunity.  Find those windows and communicate capabilities to the decision makers and industry team members who can help you.  

If you are eligible for any of the designations discussed in this article, make small business set asides or sole source procurement a key element in your marketing plan. 

Baseline Management in Government Contracting

It is in the long term interests of astute contractors to assist in contract baseline management. The only way to achieve such an objective is through sound technical, cost and schedule definition and control via an iterative process with the government. This article will address that process.

SOLICITATION AND STATEMENT OF WORK BASELINE

If you are selling a straight commercial product off the shelf, the problem of baseline management is minimal, assuming your product meets the specifications required and you deliver on time. Is is during development programs for new products or service contracts involving labor supplied to the government that lack of definition and poor communication are high risks. The initial benchmark for managing this risk is in the government solicitation and statement of work.

A wise customer farms the preliminary draft solicitation and statement of work out to prospective bidders and requests comment. A wise supplier is constructive, yet critical in pointing out weaknesses in the document.

Part 1, Section C, is where the technical specifications and statement of work are located in the solicitation and will reside in your negotiated contract.Without a well written Statement of Work (SOW) and associated supplies and services specifications there is unacceptable risk in the future contract and is it exceptionally high risk to bid or contract the job. Both the contractor and the government must come to an understanding regarding the scope of effort to be performed. That understanding is conveyed in the SOW and confirmed in the specifications referenced therein. A good SOW should have the following principal attributes:

* Clear identification of the products, services, skills, materials and performance factors required to complete the contract

* A description of the conditions under which the contractor will be required to perform and any related environmental or location factors

* Specific references to product specifications that govern an acceptable product or services performance outcome and delivery acceptance

* A schedule for the contract that identifies discrete delivery dates for products and specific start and end dates for supporting labor.

* A precise description of government furnished material or facilities required and when it will be made available to the contractor.

If your customer does not provide the above, offer a revision to the document during the comments period, during your proposal or during negotiations that represents a version to which your company will commit. Do not let the fact the program is competitive sway you from the facts. Signing off on a poorly written SOW results in a difficult contract to manage, a high probability for disputes during the contracting period and a poor past performance record you will have to deal with in the future on other jobs.

You should also do a complete review of the Contract Line Item (CLIN) Structure in the solicitation and cross foot SOW requirements to insure the scope is covered by the CLIN'S.

Please see the following article on how to perform this analysis:

Contract Line Items - The Heart of Your Contract

NEGOTIATION BASELINE

The following article discusses the standard template for negotiations through which government contracts generally pass:

Government Contract Negotiation

During the audit, fact-finding and subsequent negotiation steps, a growing definition of the contract occurs and a clear understanding between you and your customer evolves. If you find the process slow and unknowns frequently surfacing, that is a barometer of future difficulty unless the issues are resolved. Technical work scope, schedule, cost and terms and conditions regarding inspection and acceptance as well as payment provisions are especially sensitive.

CONTRACT AWARD BASELINE

Signing the contract represents full agreement on the proposal and conclusion of negotiations. Award is the benchmark baseline for contract performance.

BASELINE MAINTENANCE - THE CHANGES CLAUSE

During the period of performance on a development or services contract, effort does not always go as planned. The article on Earned Value Performance Measurement (EVMS) at this site is one technique to control this situation:

Earned Value Mangagment

Not all programs warrant EVMS or have the funding to perform that type of control. The simple rule of thumb is that the changes clause in your contract allows you to request additional funding and schedule relief, as well as a modification to the SOW if you are being driven by customer directed work scope change events to depart from the baseline to which you committed at contract award.

To the extent you do not remain sensitive to this provision, on a firm fixed price contract you will lose money. On a cost plus and time and materials type contract you will consume funding at a higher rate and faster than the contact baseline anticipated and your customer may or may not be able to provide additional monies when the ceiling amount on the contract is reached. At that point in time it is too late and everyone is disappointed.

The above occurrences are collectively known as "Scope Creep" in project management circles.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUDGET AND FUNDING - (Limitation of Funds and Funding Exposure)

Many federal contracts are funded incrementally, usually based on the government fiscal year that runs from 1 October to 30 September. Although the government may negotiate dollar price ceilings for cost plus and time and materials contracts or firm, fixed total price arrangements, the contracts themselves may be incrementally funded, particularly if they extend over two government fiscal years.

A contract may contain negotiated prices or a cost ceiling but also specify an incremental funding value. The contractor is required to inform the government when actual costs incurred plus obligations to suppliers or payroll on a specific contract reach certain thresholds of the current incremental funding specified in the contract (usually 80%). The government is then obligated to further fund the contract. In the event the contract is not funded further, the contractor has the right to stop work before he exceeds the incremental funding.

Some contractors choose to operate on "risk," continuing to perform on a contract while exceeding the incremental funding in booked cost and obligations. The government is under no obligation to reimburse the contractor for amounts exceeding incremental funding.

Nearing the end of a government fiscal year, a contractor may find delays in funding reaching all the way to congress. This situation must be managed with the government contracting officer.

If a contract is not funded to continue and the contractor has performed to date in accordance with all required terms, the government retains the right to terminate the contract for the convenience of the government. This requires a special notification to the contractor from the government and usually occurs due to changes in government priorities. The contractor may then bill the government for all costs and obligations to date, plus any direct and indirect extraordinary costs associated with business disruption, termination administration, employee layoff cost and the like. Terminations for convenience are very expensive for the government. Nevertheless, limitation of funds and funding exposure must be carefully monitored by an astute small business.

To properly manage incremental funding, the business system must be capable of accounting monthly for all direct and indirect costs on each contract, plus commitments to suppliers and employees in the form of open purchase orders and unpaid or un-posted payroll.

Your internal release document should specify the current incremental funding if your contract is not fully funded at award. Further revisions to your release documentation should convey receipt of contact amendments from the government that supply additional required funding to the contract as performance proceeds. Requests for increases in incremental funding are required when the actual booked cost plus commitments to suppliers reaches 80% of the current funding on the contact.

In the event the contact is not adequately funded incrementally by the government, a revision to your internal release documentation should specify a stop work order after you have notified your customer that you plan to cease performance on the contract due to lack of sufficient funding. Notification should be provided to suppliers under your contract with a stop work to avoid their incurring additional costs for which you are not receiving funding from the government. Be specific with a stop work date to these suppliers.

IN SUMMARY - KNOW WHERE YOUR ARE AND WHEN TO SAY "NO"

"Scope Creep" can kill a contract, a customer relationship and a past performance record, all of which are important to your business. Stay in front of "The Scope Creep" by communicating positively with your customer to control your baseline, keeping cost, schedule and technical performance integrated and synchronous.

Six rules of Thumb to control "Scope Creep":

1. KNOW - The contract value and its ceiling amount

2. KNOW - The incurred cost to date and commitments

3. KNOW - The scope of work and whether or not your current efforts are supporting it or some other objectives

4. KNOW - The estimated cost at completion based on where you are at today

5. KNOW - Your customer and who among the customer population is prone to direct out of scope effort.

6. KNOW - WHEN TO SAY "NO" to "Scope Creep" and say it officially in writing to the contracting officer specified in your contract.

5 Principal Factors in Forming a Small Business Federal Government Contracting Company

Individuals and groups often ask what conditions drive the right time to form a small business federal government contracting enterprise. 

They may be working in the venue for someone else. Perhaps they have discovered a need in the civil agencies or defense markets they can fill with a product or service being provided in the commercial sector and feel they could expand into the government marketplace.

A contractor moving from project to project in government contracting as an individual often asks, “Are conditions right to form an enterprise?" 

Starting a government contacting company may seem a logical extension of the work one has done previously so the transition appears easy enough.  What must be learned very quickly is the business planning, marketing and competitive analysis aspects of operating an enterprise, as opposed to single person efforts. 

Industry teaming, having others work for us and dealing as a company instead of a person are all challenges. The adjustments in outlook and in the development of a client base as a company progressing to profitability pose challenges.

This article will suggest factors to consider in determining if the time is right for you to form a small business federal government contracting company. 

1. EXPERIENCE

Small business federal government contracting is not rocket science - to succeed one must take what one does well in the commercial marketplace or what experience leads one to believe one can plan successfully as a commercial enterprise and then apply it in a slightly different manner from a business perspective to accommodate federal government contracting requirements.

Very few companies enter federal government contracting without some commercial experience and success or prior professional employment.  Very few start ups entertain initially contracting exclusively to the federal government without commercial work or other employment to sustain operations while the more lengthy government procurement process is being pursued.

Introducing Federal Government Contracting

2. DEFINITION

There is often confusion regarding the definition of the term, “Contractor” in government work. The term is used in a conflicting manner to describe companies, individuals and business relationships. It has different connotations within corporations as opposed to government agencies, and is often confused with terms like “Subcontractor”, “Supplier” or “Vendor”. 
The article linked below defines the term, “Contractor” and discusses the regulatory factors and practical considerations related to use of the term from a small business federal government contracting perspective:

What is a Small Business Federal Government Contractor

3. STRATEGY

Consider carefully a product or service area in which you have experience and talent as well as for which there is a demand.  Make it in a field in which you would enjoy a long term involvement.  Then give your small business company concept the following test:

1. Do you have a product or service niche in mind?

2. Do you believe you have a market for 1 above and the means to reach it?

3. Are you willing to develop a business plan using the tool kit linked below to validate 1 and 2 above before you launch?

How to Write a Business Plan

Business Plan Samples

If the answer to the above questions is “Yes”, take the actions indicated above, observe the results, and make an informed decision on whether or not to proceed.

4. FORMATION

Executing the below process establishes the firm officially on paper and commits the owner(s) to the enterprise:

For the majority of individuals who are starting single person or no more than 2 or 3 person operations, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) registered with the state and with the federal government is recommended.

It will separate personal assets from company assets and protect them. When product or services sales begin generating revenue an LLC has many tax advantages.  It can be registered as Sub Chapter 'S' for tax purposes and revenue and the expenses can be passed through to personal tax returns, paying no taxes as a company. The double taxation issue prevalent with many of the other types of incorporation is avoided with a Sub chapter “S” LLC. An LLC assists in limits your personal liability for debt and court judgments that may not fall in your favor.

Representing the business as a company allows pursuing financing as an enterprise. You can think of a creative name for your LLC and you can complete the articles of incorporation necessary to bring your enterprise into existence. The term, "LLC" must conclude the name of your company if you decide to form such an organization.

Free instructions for registering in your state and federally with the IRS are available at the Box Net "References" cube in the right margin of this site. You will receive tax and employer identification numbers by registering your business.

A very common mistake is not generating and executing an operating agreement among the founders if there is more than one person involved in forming the company. An operating agreement, is a separate document, not controlled or required by the state or the federal government, but very important to your company.

It should be a simple,  straightforward document  you and the prospective partner(s) can draft  yourselves addressing such  matters as % of ownership, how revenue will  be distributed and other  general matters, as well as who can commit the  company in the form of  credit cards, employment offers and who signs  checks on the company  account and other administrative matters. Buying out a partner should also be covered as well as adding new members if the need arises down the road.

I have seen many enterprises fail or go through terrifically hard times   due to lack of an operating agreement. The parties should sign it after a review by a lawyer. It should then be notarized and made an official   part of the company file. You can download a generic operating agreement at the Box Net "References" cube in the right margin of this site.

It is for an LLC but you could modify it for other types of corporations.  You can feel free to borrow from the sample or supplement it as you see fit. It is fairly comprehensive in order to cover most business situations and there may be elements of the example you feel are not necessary.

5. TEAMING

You will not be able to go it alone.

Evolving niches and industry teaming leading to larger projects as part of multiple company efforts is a necessity in forming a small government contracting business, particularly in the services venue.

Synergism is paramount in teaming with any size company, whether in a lead or subcontracting role. There should be technical, management and market segment similarities between you and any company with whom you are considering teaming. Your prospective team member ideally will not be a direct competitor; rather a business in a related field with whom you share a mutual need for each other’s contributions in pursuing   large-scale projects.

Relationships must be developed with primes and other small businesses that can help you, team with you and keep you in mind as they search for success. That takes time, patience and open-minded, out of the box thinking. It also takes more than a   Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), a teaming agreement (TA) and a proposal   to succeed. It takes dynamic marketing and communication with strong   partners and hard, innovative work. Nice buzz words you say - but it is the truth and you have to find what that truth means to you.

Small Business Government Contract Teaming

SUMMARY

Carefully consider the 5 factors noted above when evaluating the formation of a small business government contracting company. For additional details on any of the factors, please see the free book in the BOX at the right margin of this site.  

Small Business Federal Government Contract Proposal Preparation

A promising solicitation by the government may be a result of your self-marketing efforts or you may have located it at the System for Award Management (SAM), the gateway for all federal government business in excess of $25K.  

It is now necessary to conduct a Bid/No Bid Decision, develop a competive strategy and prepare a winning proposal for a small business federal government contract.

The fact that the government has now converted a project requirement into a formal solicitation means that the funding is available for a contract and the authorities within the government agency have authorized a source selection process.

BID/NO BID DECISION

Government contract proposal preparation is time consuming and can be costly. Meeting the agency Request for Proposal (RFP) requirements with a responsive proposal can be well worth the effort if a winning strategy can be formulated. When considering submitting a proposal to a given government solicitation, conduct a bid/no bid exercise. By going through that process you will begin formulating your win strategy or you will discover that you should not bid this job for lack of such a strategy. The elements of the process are discussed below in the form of questions to ask yourself against topics for key consideration. Affirmative or non-affirmative answers to the topical questions and ability to fill in the blanks below will drive your decision to bid or not bid a solicitation.

A. Customer:

Do you know this customer? Yes __ No ___
Does this customer know you? Yes___No ___
Do you have any idea of the available funding for which the customer has obtained authorization? Yes___No ____
Specify the marketing contacts which have been made with the customer thus far:
Date:
Contact:

B. Supplies and Services:

Specify the supplies and services to be delivered in the prospective contract:

Line Item (s):
Description:

Are the supplies and services in the RFP Statement of work a good match for what the company sells? Yes ___No ___
Is the RFP Statement of Work specific enough to identify risks? Yes____No ____
Is the RFP schedule specific enough to determine the delivery requirements? Yes____No____
Can the delivery schedule in the RFP be met? Yes ___No _____
Specify the delivery schedule for the prospective contract:

Line Item:
Delivery Date:

C. Contract Type/Value/Start/End Date:

Does the proposed contract type (FFP, CP, T&M, etc) suit the nature of the work? Yes___ No ___
Specify the contract type for this program: _______________.
Are there any unusual terms and conditions specified in the government RFP? Yes ____No___
Specify any unusual terms and conditions: ___________________________________________

What is the Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) value of the prospective contract? $___________.
What is the anticipated start date of the contract? ________.
What is the anticipated end date of the contract? ________.

D. Company Strengths:
Is this prospective contract for effort in which the company has strong skills? Yes____No ____
Specify the strengths the company will utilize in meeting the product specificaton or statement of work:


E. Company Weaknesses:

Are there any company weaknesses in meeting the product specification or statement of work? Yes ___No ___
Specify any weaknesses for which the company must compensate and manage associated risks:


F. Teaming Arrangements (If any):

Does your company plan to team with other companies in the performance of the prospective contract? Yes ___No ___
Identify the other team member companies:


Will your company be a prime or a subcontractor? Prime___Subcontractor ____
Have NDA's and Teaming Agreements been executed? Yes____No ______

G. Competition:

Is this a sole source set-aside procurement to your company? Yes____No____
If this is a competitive procurement, identify the prospective competition and their associated strengths/weaknesses:


H. Win Strategy:

Identify the proposal features and themes which will be utilized in the proposal as descriminators to win this program:

Management:



Technical:



Cost:


I. Proposal Budget:

Estimate the man hours and dollars for proposal labor, any travel expenses, shipping, packaging, samples and other expenses associated with preparing the proposal. The government does not reimburse the contractor for proposal preparation under the subsequent contract. Proposal expenses must be included in the cost center overhead or G&A and accounted for as marketing expense allocated across the cost center or the company.

Labor Hours __
Labor Dollars $______
Material _______
Travel _______
Reproduction _______
Samples (if any) _______
Packaging/Binding/Ship _______
TOTAL $_______

J. Bid/No Bid Decision:

If you can answer "YES" to at least 5 of the questions under paragraphs A through D above, it is likely you should bid this procurement.
If the answers to 7 of the 10 "YES" or "NO" questions under paragraphs A through D above are "NO" it is unlikely you should bid this procurement unless the answer to G is "YES". Even then, examine your answers and carefully review whether this business is suitable for your company. If the answer to E is "YES", it is unlikely you will bid this procurement successfully unless the answer to G is "YES". Even then, determine how you will overcome the weaknesses you have identified in your company associated with doing this work before you decide to bid it. Carefully compare the competitive analysis under Item G to the win statagy under H before you make your final decision.

K. Decision:

BID _____
NO Bid _______

YOUR PROPOSAL

You have decided to bid a prospective project. You have downloaded the RFP from the government agency and the clock has started on the proposal due date.

Visit the federal government on line certifications and representations web site and complete the standard information there, which can be utilized for all federal agency proposals. Certifications and representations are required for virtually every proposal submission. That web site is at:


System for Award Managment (SAM)

The following information addresses the proposal process. It is from an independent consultant named Deborah L. Kluge, who is a specialist in proposal writing and consulting. The below is an extract from Deborah's Web site.

If you are preparing a FAR Part 12 Commercial Proposal, certain elements of this material may not apply, but you are encouraged to utilize the information and the checklist to insure you have covered all the bases.

"THE RFP

Read it once, then read it again. And again. Experienced bidders know that several readings of an RFP are necessary for a complete understanding of what is required.
Learn what the lettered sections of an RFP are (e.g., Section B refers to your pricing, Section C is the scope-of-work, Section K contains Representations and Certifications, Section L provides instructions to the bidders, Section M specifies the bid evaluation criteria, etc.). The titles of the lettered sections are generally the same in every RFP.
Be aware that information critical to your bid may be scattered among many different sections of an RFP.
Put the RFP in a 3-ring binder for easy use as a reference document. You might also want to insert dividers in front of each important section for quick reference.
Use small "Post-It"™ notes at the edge of a page to mark important pages or paragraphs. That way, you can find them quickly.

If you don't understand some of the information in the RFP, you can submit written questions to the Contracting Officer.
Some RFPs specify a date by which questions are due. Make sure you send in your questions before the due date or they may not be considered.
Be aware that the Government's response to all submitted questions are distributed to all bidders, usually through a written amendment to the RFP. Although you and your firm will not be identified as the "asker" of specific questions, the way in which you word your questions could provide important information to your competitors. Word your questions carefully to ensure that you don't give away information on your strategy or pricing.
If you call the Contracting Officer to obtain or clarify information in an RFP, be aware that verbal information given to you by the Government is not binding.

THE PROPOSAL OUTLINE

If you have downloaded an RFP from the Internet, you can use that file to begin constructing your proposal outline.
If you do not have the RFP on disk, use a scanner to scan in important sections for use in preparing your outline.
Some people prepare an annotated outline as well as a basic outline. An annotated outline can contain important points from the RFP, as well as your own information on what you are planning to say in each section.
If you prepare an annotated outline, copy your file, save it under a different name, and delete the annotations. The result will be a basic outline which you can use for easier viewing and tracking of proposal sections and subsections.
For each section and/or subsection of your outline, indicate the estimated number of pages that will be written, the person responsible for doing the writing, and the evaluation points.
Put important instructions on the first page or at the top of your outline, so you don't have to rummage through the RFP to find them. These instructions might include: proposal due date and time, number of copies, page limits, font size, page margins, packaging and delivery instructions.

THE PROPOSAL SCHEDULE

Make one and stick to it!
Work backwards from the proposal due date.
You might want to make a separate schedule for preparation of the cost/business proposal.
Make sure you leave plenty of time for copying, binding, and delivering the proposal. Remember, the copier knows that an important document is being copied, so it will break, jam or smudge. Have a back-up plan that includes having extra paper and toner on hand and sending the proposal out to be copied.
Distribute the schedule to all members of your proposal team.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Make sure you are familiar with the instructions in Section L of the RFP.
Study the proposal evaluation criteria and the points allocated to each section/subsection of the technical proposal, as well as the points that are allocated to cost. This information will tell you what to emphasize and where to put your efforts with regard to proposal preparation.
Hold an intial and regular follow-up meetings with your proposal team to discuss strategies, progress and problems.
To the extent possible, your Technical Approach and strategy should provide answers to the following questions: who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Depending upon the instructions in the RFP, your Management Section might contain a discussion on how you will manage the overall project, a discussion on how you will manage and oversee the work of your staff and subcontractors (if any), an organization chart of the project, and position descriptions of project staff.
In your Personnel Section, you may be required to include narrative information on the experience and skills of the staff members you are proposing for the project and/or their resumes.
In your Related Experience or Capabilities Section, you may need to demonstrate that you have performed similar or related work for this or other clients.
Your proposal may have other sections such as an Executive Summary, a discussion of your Understanding of the Problem, Appendices, or other required information as specified in the RFP.

Don't assume that the Government knows your organization's capabilities, staff or the projects you have carried out. The Government is supposed to evaluate only the specific information contained in your proposal. That means it must be written down in accordance with RFP instructions.
Use tables, charts and graphics to summarize information ("a picture says a thousand words") or to break up your narrative.
Check the entire proposal for the following: technical consistency; spelling; page numbering; section/subsection numbering or letting; consistency of appearance of headings, subheadings, font types and font sizes.
Make sure you have filled in and signed all the forms in the RFP that you must return with your bid.
Before and after copying your technical and cost proposals, check to see that each copy contains all pages and that they are in the proper order.

COSTING/PRICING 

You have a technical strategy -- you should also have a costing and pricing strategy!
Don't wait until the last minute to begin gathering cost information that you will need to prepare your cost estimate.
Be aware of and understand the type of contract you are bidding: fixed-fee, cost-plus, cost-reimbursement, time and materials, etc. This will likely affect the way you price your proposal.
Prepare a spreadsheet template or checklist of items to include in your cost estimate.
Make sure your cost estimate is consistent with what you are proposing to do or provide.
You may need to develop some specific assumptions for pricing purposes. If appropriate, you can include these assumptions in your cost/business proposal on a separate page or as footnotes to your estimate. In any event, always document your assumptions so that you can refer to them later and make changes if needed.
Check and re-check your numbers and formulas. Review the hard copy of your estimate to help in spotting errors.
Make sure that your cost estimate can be easily read. Don't use a font that is too small. For guidance on cost and pricing data, please see the following articles:

Cost and Pricing with Credibility

Certified Cost and Pricing Data

IF YOU WIN

Celebrate!
Uh oh -- you now have to actually manage and implement your project.

IF YOU LOSE

You can call the Contracting Officer to arrange an in-person or telephone debriefing to find out the reasons for your loss.
Try not to get too discouraged -- no one can win all the time.
Learn from your experience and apply that learning to your next bid.

PROPOSAL PITFALLS - Don't Let These Happen to You!

Failure to follow the RFP instructions regarding organization of the proposal, inclusion of required information, page limits, volumes, etc.
Failure to take evaluation criteria and allocated points into consideration when preparing your response.
Failure to understand and to demonstrate an understanding of the problem (i.e., the reason why the agency is issuing the RFP).
Failure to submit your proposal on the required date and time.
Failure to include all of the information requested by the Agency.
Failure to tailor your response to the specific RFP.
Costs/Prices are unreasonable (too high or too low) or incomplete.
Costs/prices do not provide any detail or breakdown information (if required) for line and sub-line items.
Failure to include specifics of your proposed approach to the project.
Proposal is unprofessional in appearance (e.g., typos, blank pages, unnumbered pages, smudges, no whitespace, sloppy-looking, etc.). This reflects poorly upon your company.
Proposal is poorly written (e.g., information is not presented/organized in a logical manner, proposal is difficult to follow, poor grammar, etc.).
Proposal merely repeats or paraphrases the RFP.
Proposal does not explain how or by whom the project will be managed.
Proposal does not contain RELEVANT information about your firm, its capabilities, and/or its management and staff.
Proposal does not demonstrate that your firm/organization and personnel have the experience and capability to carry out the project.

PROPOSAL CHECKLIST:

1. RFP/DOCUMENTS

Obtain complete copy of RFP
Distribute RFP to appropriate staff.
Review RFP for missing pages/sections.
Prepare questions for submission to Contracting Officer.
Receive and review responses to questions.
Collect, distribute and review pertinent background documents.

2. PARTNERS

Identify partners to participate in bid.
Determine type of partnership arrangement.
Prepare teaming or other type of appropriate agreements.
Receive signed agreements from partners.
Determine each partner's level of effort for project.
Number and type of long-term staff.
Number and type of consultants.

3. TECHNICAL STRATEGY

Hold strategy meetings.
Identify the partnership's strengths and weaknesses.
Identify competition and their strengths and weakness.
Identify ways to differentiate partnership from competition.
Develop strategic themes.
Develop strategy for each component and overall.

4. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

Prepare draft outline/revise as needed.
Identify & select writers for each section.
Determine page numbers for each section.
Determine document format (font, major/minor headings, etc.).
Provide writers with written formatting guidelines/instructions.
Prepare/distribute list of nomenclature, abbreviations, acronyms.
Identify and provide writers with relevant sections from past proposals.
Prepare schedule/identify due dates for draft sections.
Determine review, feedback and editing process for written sections.
Ensure compatibility of software packages and versions.
Ensure compatibility of document transmission via e-mail.
Ensure sufficient quantities of appendix materials are available.

5. PERSONNEL

Prepare packet of materials for long-term candidates.
Prepare personnel checklists/tracking list for candidate documents.
Prepare commitment letter(s) for signature by candidates.
Recruit long-term staff and consultants.
Collect Resumes
Sort Resumes by category/areas of expertise.
Review Resumes
Identify best candidates and alternates.
Confirm candidates' interest/availability.
Obtain additional info from candidates for Resumes, if necessary.
Obtain signed letters of commitment from candidates.
Review personnel checklists for missing items.
Determine format for re-written Resumes.
Re-write Resumes.
Prepare skills matrices.

6. PAST PERFORMANCE REFERENCES

Use RFP format if required.
Update and/or prepare past performance information as needed.
Review for accuracy and completeness."

SUMMARY:

This article has offered guidance as a template to apply to your marketing operations for accommodating federal government contract proposal preparation. Proposals are special, sometimes exhausting projects, but a necessary part of doing business with government agencies. Like many other aspects of business, the more proposals you prepare, the more you learn and the more can borrow from past practice for the next one.

As a final note please read the following carefully. Your proposal data may contain rate information, proprietary data or strategic technical solutions which you would not want to fall into the hands of a competitor. The government does not sign Proprietary Data Agreements (PDA's). The government's obligation to protect your information is covered in the following FAR clause and requires protective markings by you on the title page of your proposal and on each subsequent page.

FAR 15.509 Limited use of data.

(a) A proposal may include data that the offeror does not want disclosed for any purpose other than evaluation. If the offeror wishes to restrict the proposal, the title page must be marked with the following legend:

"The data in this proposal shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than to evaluate the proposal; provided, that if a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of or in connection with the submission of these data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the contract. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in the data if it is obtainable from another source without restriction."

(b) The offeror shall also mark each restricted sheet with the following legend: "Use or disclosure of proposal data is subject to the restriction on the title page of this Proposal."

(c) The coordinating office shall return to the offeror any unsolicited proposal marked with a legend different from that provided in 15.509(a). The return letter will state that the proposal cannot be considered because it is impracticable for the Government to comply with the legend and that the agency will consider the proposal if it is resubmitted with the proper legend.