What are the fundamentals of Proposal Development and Costing?
Stephen RobinProject Analyst Trainee| Ministry of Works and TransportArima, Ari, Trinidad and Tobago
Concerning project proposals? What is the structure, context and crucial information required in developing a proposal? What are the key points when developing a proposal in a private firm versus government/ministerial project? Also, what are the formal and informal methods used to estimate costs for a proposed project? Saving Changes...
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Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
It will depends on your audience. Basically a proposal has to answer the same five questions you will answer when you create the project plan. Those are: what? when? how? who? how much it cost?. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Stephen,
proposal development is a project in its own right. You have a (short) timeframe, a (limited) budget and the scope is determined by the customer and your capabilities.
It starts with a RfP - request for proposal and you have to decide if you want to reply to this with a proposal. Many companies can afford only to reply to maybe 40% of RfPs. Imagine you have a win-rate of 50% (which is high), how much proposal cost can you waste? You better select the best chances and you have limited resources anyhow.
If you go forward, you need a team and a leader - immediately, fulltime, working on a stringent phased approach. Maybe going back to the client with questions or to a bidder conference. You need good solution and technical specialists on the team for that.
Costing depends e.g. on scope, proposed solution, risk uplifts, contract types, Ts&Cs, in case of multiyear projects interest, funding considerations, currency exchange risk. Have a coster on the team for that.
Add management reserve and profit and you have a price that is probable way too high (in the light of competition), so go back and cut scope or come up with some clever contractual ideas. Have a lawyer and a good negotiator on the team.
Presenting the proposal is key, the client will want to see the core team you are proposing, and wants to feel that he can trust these. So briefing them well and having an excellent presenter on the team helps. Also doing research on client staff, who decides and what are their interests (CFO, CHRO or CTO have probably different views).
Hope this helps a bit, good luck. Saving Changes...
