Government Project Proposal Writing Tips for Government Contractors

A government project proposal in government contracting usually includes construction bid proposals, or some other projects that have a very defined beginning and ending. When compared to service contracts, this the style of writing could vary.

• The gist of your project proposal is to convince the agency that your company if awarded the contract, will complete the tasks on time and within budget.
• Companies should primarily focus on the what’s, who’s and when’s when writing this level of proposal.
• Unlike many other bidding processes, writing a government project proposal for the federal government means mitigating risk, giving a step-by-step schedule of events, and demonstrating a clear understanding of the requirements.

Government Project Proposal Writing Tips

When you have this type of proposal, you also want to focus on your pricing. For example, in a government bid proposal for construction, the agency looks at your labor categories, the types of material proposed, and the cost associated with the project. Consider the following tips:

• The federal government primarily focuses on cost of the project in comparison to the Independent Government Estimate.
• Government project proposals are evaluated for risk. Therefore, proposals must articulate some level of risk identification and mitigation.
• Detail the anticipated start and end dates for the various phases or schedules on the project (early will add strengths).
• Higher technical scores mean giving more than the solicitation’s minimum requirements.
• When deciding how to write a government bid proposal, you want to assess your overhead and profit.
• You must give a realistic price.

Understand Best Value and Trade-offs

CEO’s should remember the key to winning a government project is to also expect the agency’s best value and trade-off approach. At the end of the day, the best-written project proposal must still have some level of best value. CEO’s must also make sure that they have the right team in place to respond to government project proposals. See information on writing winning proposals and developing your proposal budget and cost.

• Bidders often find that their technical proposal evaluation makes a huge difference at the award and best value.

Avoiding the Most Costly Mistakes When Writing a Government Project Proposal

When writing a project proposal to the federal government, many companies do not take advantage of question and answer sessions. When companies go on a site visit, it is to allow bidders to ask questions that may not be clear in the solicitation. Common problems that throw bidders of out the project include:

• Not writing enough detail to convince the government that you can perform the PWS requirements;
• Relying too heavily on subcontractors, despite clear allowance by procurement regulations;
• Proposal writing for government contracts that do not anticipate problems during performance and therefore losing points for not providing detailed risk assessments and solutions.

An example could be that: Sometimes the government may not be clear about its expectations or might have planned for weather conditions in various geographical locations. 

In sum, writing a government project proposal requires careful planning and a detailed response to issues lurking in the Statement of Work and RFP. See information on how to write a proposal for government contracts. See also information about organizational conflict of interest mitigation plans

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For consulting about the federal bidding process, call our government contracting experts at 1-866-601-5518.