Perhaps the first step in even deciding whether you want to make your move into government contracting is understanding what needs government agencies have and how (and if) your company or organization can meet those needs.
Governments announce their needs for products and services by creating a Request for Proposal, or RFP. An RFP is an agency-specific, detailed description of what a government wants to buy, whether office supplies, landscaping services, or a caterer for an important event. Governments and private companies use RFPs to initiate procurement, usually through some kind of bidding process.
That's where your proposal comes in. You write a proposal in direct response to an RFP, telling the agency exactly how you plan to meet the need.
The three core qualities of any successful government proposal is it must be:
And the way to determine if your proposal is relevant, responsive, and compliant is by reading and understanding the Request for Proposal.
Consider this course the pre-requisite to every other government contracting course you will ever take. When you are done with the RFP 101 course, you will know: