Fischler Graduate School of Education & Human Services

Fischler Graduate School of Education & Human Services

Programs in Instructional Technology & Distance Education (ITDE)

1750 NE 167th Street

North Miami Beach, Florida 33162-3017

Programs in Instructional Technology and Distance Education

Assignment Evaluation Form

Study Area (Courses):ITDE 8012

Due Date:April 19, 2004

Student Name:James L. Mowery

Faculty Name:Dr. Michael Albright

Today’s Date:April 18, 2004

Assignment Number/Title: Assignment 2/ Proposal for ITDE Unit

Faculty Decision:Next Response Due:

Additions Required

Rewrite Required

Approved/Grade: ______

Below Standard

Midterm Examination

Final Examination

Comments

1

Introduction

New business opportunities are the lifeblood of our company. Our company’s challenge is to prepare proposals that will win those opportunities for our company. We have a tremendously talented and motivated management group and equally talented and motivated employees. But we often find ourselves in a situation where the managers and employees want to capitalize on a business opportunity but do not have enough experience preparing proposals to properly prepare the proposals that will win that business opportunity. This is especially true in the compressed time lines associated with proposal preparation.

Proposals are a unique challenge. The talented employees and managers who put these proposals together are brilliant at solving problems, but in many cases totally inexperienced in developing and presenting proposals. Proposals must be compliant. That is they must answer every aspect of the Request for Proposal (RFP) from the organization asking for bids. The proposal team must tell the story of why our company is the best company to accomplish the job and it must also be compliant with the RFP.

The four major rules of a proposal are 1) compliance, 2) compliance, 3) compliance, and 4) tell our story. Our managers and employees fully understand how to tell our story, but are often confused and ill-prepared to handle the challenge of compliance. Failure to comply normally results in the RFP being returned without action, and, of course, the loss of that business opportunity. Our story is not heard if we are not fully compliant with the RFP. Our story is also not heard if the proposal is not organized in such a manner that our compliance with the RFP is obvious to the evaluation team.

Training is the key to success, but proposals by their very nature are often time sensitive, and traditional training programs often do not fit into the time schedule. However, there are solutions available that can provide training to proposal teams in a timely and efficient manner.

One concept used by many organizations is the concept of just-in-time training. A challenge presents itself, such as a technical difficulty with a piece of machinery, and the employee dials into a central repository of instruction where he or she is provided the training necessary to resolve the problem at hand. Our company could profit from such a service when proposals to win new business present themselves. In the past we have chosen personnel from throughout the company for the proposal team and flown them to a central location to prepare the proposal. At those locations it has often been a learn-by-doing experience with few experienced proposal managers or coordinators on hand. Almost all the personnel on the given team are well-versed in the knowledge needed to design a program to accomplish the business opportunity, but they are inexperienced in the vital area of ensuring proposal compliance.

Developing a proposal support unit that would service all organizations throughout the company would maximize our ability to tell our story and maintain the high degree of compliance necessary to ensure our proposals are not disqualified or judged negatively. Although we are confronted by numerous new opportunities, the staffing of a proposal support unit would have to be quite large to support all RFP preparation activities. Building such a support team and having them ready to travel to different locations as our business units prepare proposals is not cost effective, which is the reason we do not currently support smaller proposals. However, there is a solution.

We are proposing that we build a Proposal Support Unit – Distance to support these smaller proposal opportunities. The proposal support unit would be quite a bit smaller than a traditional support team in that it would apply distance education principles and techniques. Such a proposal support staff would end our policy of support for major projects only and apply their winning expertise to all projects.

In the past our failure to support these smaller opportunities has led to many missed bids, which, over time, has resulted in a major loss of revenue when viewed across the company. A new proposal support unit would solve this problem by supporting smaller opportunities with just-in-time training and coaching through the application of distance education principles and techniques. Our talented teams developing the proposals for smaller opportunities would be able to learn quickly by contacting the Proposal Support Unit — Distance and learning the lessons of compliance early in the proposal development cycle. This process would maximize their ability to tell the story, remain compliant, and win the business.

A note on compliance may be in order at this point. Although we have had very few proposals rejected for failure to comply, we have had many proposals that were judged unfavorably by the proposal evaluation teams because they were too hard to follow. One “after-action” comment was, “It seemed it was all there, but it was just too hard to determine.” Compliance is more than answering all aspects of the RFP, it involves providing the evaluation team with a clear picture that demonstrates compliance simply and concisely. Our business units do an excellent job of delivering quality products and services, but they need technical support when it comes to designing, developing, and portraying a hard-hitting compliance matrix that tells our customers, “Wow, what organization! They gave us exactly what we asked for.” A well-organized proposal that answers all aspects of the RFP clearly shows our understanding of the customer’s needs and provides a very positive impression of our company.

Mission Statement for the Proposal Support Unit — Distance

“The mission statement for the Proposal Support Unit — Distance is simple and straightforward. The Proposal Support Unit — Distance provides 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-aweek support for proposal development to all organizations within the Federal Sector without travel.”

This support is provided via teleconference, e-mail, phone support, videoconference, or any other method that allows communications at a distance. No travel is involved in this support from this organization. Although support is available around the clock, support must be requested at least one week in advance. Support requests are sent to the Support Coordinator who is a member of this unit. Although no on-site support is provided from this unit, on-site support may be requested from the Federal Sector Proposal Office, which is another proposal support unit that does provide on-site support.

Objectives of the Proposal Support Unit — Distance

The objectives of the Proposal Support Unit — Distance are twofold: 1) to increase the success rate with proposals especially in the smaller proposal market (under $1 million per year), and 2) to increase support for proposal development from its current state of no support in the small proposal market to one hundred percent support regardless of location or time.

The Proposal Support Unit — Distance does not provide support with respect to the technical aspects of the proposal. It is the local business unit’s responsibility to provide content. The Proposal Support Unit — Distance provides compliance support. This support serves to develop a compliance matrix that, when followed, ensures that all required responses in the RFP are discussed in our proposals.

Measurement of objectives is critical to the success of this new organization. The win rate on small business opportunities and return on investment will be tracked and reported weekly at the regular Federal Sector reviews. A minimum of a 25 percent win rate is expected and acceptable while a 50 percent win rate is our goal. Expected profits from wins will be tracked and compared against Proposal Support Unit—Distance operating costs to judge return on investment. Training success will be determined by After Action Reviews (AAR). These AARs will be conducted after all proposal submissions and again after each win or loss. These AARs will be used to judge the value of the support received with an emphasis on the training. The AARs will also be used to determine if the support received was indeed around the clock or whether there were shortfalls.

Upon completion of each weekly Federal Sector review, internal reviews will be conducted and action taken to capitalize on the experiences gained. After each AAR action will also be taken to improve performance and correct deficiencies.

Proposal Support Unit — Distance Organization and Staffing

The Proposal Support Unit — Distance staff has three support teams, all three of which are identical, and a communications support team. The Support Coordinator is the lead. A unit secretary provides administrative support. Each support team has three personnel on it: a team lead/technician and two technicians. The team lead is responsible for the team and also works as a technician. This allows each team to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and still provide for some quality of life. Because some teams will support proposals that are more difficult that others, team members may be assigned to one of the other teams as required. The communications support team has three personnel on it, which again allows the team to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and still have some quality of life.

The communications team sets up all communications support requirements needed to support the proposal. Communications support includes teleconferences, videoconferences, Webex, FTP sites, and any other requirements necessary to support the proposal development.

The organization of the Proposal Support Unit — Distance is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1- Proposal Support Unit—Distance

Duty Descriptions

The Proposal Support Unit — Distance, Support Coordinator reports to the Director of Proposal Support, Federal Sector. The Support Coordinator is responsible for managing all aspects of the unit’s support to proposals. This includes managing the proposal support schedule, assigning and tailoring teams to support proposals, managing the team budget, and training new hires.

The Support Team Leads are responsible for managing all aspects of the support of assigned proposals, including personnel. This may include around-the-clock support through weekends, holidays, and other periods of time. They are responsible for quality of work, team member training, and providing communications requirements to the communications team. Team members are responsible for assisting business units in ensuring compliance with the RFP. As such they review the RFP, review the business unit’s draft compliance matrix, input suggested changes, and provide recommendations throughout the development of the proposal.

The Communications Team Lead is responsible for managing the communications support for both the proposal support teams and the business unit proposal teams. She also manages the personnel required to support those units. This may include around-the-clock support through weekends, holidays, and other periods of time. She is responsible for quality of work, team member training, and providing around-theclock communications. Communications team members are responsible for providing the communications support.

The secretary maintains the overall schedule for proposal support, administrative support to the Support Coordinator, and other duties as assigned by the Support Coordinator.

Plan of Operations

When a federal business unit becomes aware of a business opportunity, they contact the Support Coordinator. The Support Coordinator requests a copy of the RFP, reviews the RFP, determines support requirements, and assigns resources to the business unit’s proposal development team. He assigns a team leader and that team leader contacts the business unit’s proposal team lead. The business unit prepares a draft compliance matrix and forwards it to their support team lead. The support team lead reviews the matrix and sends it back to the business unit’s lead and schedules a coordination meeting. The coordination meeting can be a simple telephone call using speakerphones, an audio conference, an audio conference using Webex, a videoconference, or some other communications means to ensure all the correct personnel can participate in the conference. The compliance matrix is then discussed, corrected, and finalized. With the compliance matrix solidified, the teams begin the preparation of the proposal. The support team’s role then shifts to format and document control. The support team ensures that it has the latest version of the proposal for scheduled reviews. As the proposal is developed it will require reviews by pink and red teams. As small proposals have limited budgets, the support team sets up the electronic review plan, which may include audio conferences, videoconferences, Webex, and any other communications appropriate for the review. No travel will be required. During the review, the business unit proposal team is available to respond to pink and red team queries. At the end of the review the support team is responsible for setting up the “after-action” session, which will allow the pink and red to team to provide their input to the business unit proposal team. When the proposal preparation has been completed, the support team prepares the final documents for the business unit proposal team lead’s final review. Upon completion of his review and the application of corrections, the support team delivers the proposal to the customer.

Unit Budget

The overall budget requires an up front investment that will be recouped over the first year of the life of the Proposal Support Unit — Distance. Last year we lost $88 million dollars of business to competitors. It is estimated that at least 50 percent of that business could have been won if our proposals had been in total compliance. With an average profit of 10 percent, this more than pays for the proposal unit in the first six months. Assuming a less than 50 percent win rate, a conservative win rate of just 20 percent would still pay for the proposal unit in the first year (see Table 1). The initial outlay of funds to support the formation of the Proposal Support Unit – Distance would be provided by corporate debt with a five percent cost of money for the year. It is expected that the cost of money and the debt would repaid from the profit generated by the new opportunities won as a result of support provided by the unit.

Table 1. Proposal Support Unit-Cost Recoupment

Cost of Proposal Support Unit (PSU-D) / $ 1,726,500.00
Business Lost in 2003 (No PSU-D) / $ 88,000,000.00
Potential Wins in 2004 with PSU-D / $ 44,000,000.00
Average Percentage of Profit in 2003 / 10%
Average Profit Expected with PSU-D / $ 4,400,000.00
Minimum Profit Needed to Finance the PSU-D / 20%
Profit at 20% / $ 1,760,000.00

The proposal support unit requires the resources of 14 personnel and office space in existing facilities. Table 2provides the budget requirements for personnel, equipment, operating expenses, travel, and facilities. Although existing facilities will be used we are required to show the cost of using that space. The salaries are the majority of the cost and are in line with current salaries for like positions in the area.

Table 2. Cost of Personnel, Equipment, and Facilities

Cost of Personnel / Base /

Company

/

Number

/ Total
Title / Pay / Factor / Required / Cost
Support Coordinator / $ 85,000 / 2 / 1 / $ 170,000
Secretary / $ 25,000 / 2 / 1 / $ 50,000
Support Team Lead / $ 65,000 / 2 / 3 / $ 390,000
Team Member 1 / $ 50,000 / 2 / 3 / $ 300,000
Team Member 2 / $ 50,000 / 2 / 3 / $ 300,000
Communications Team Lead / $ 70,000 / 2 / 1 / $ 140,000
Commo Team Member 1 / $ 60,000 / 2 / 1 / $ 120,000
Commo Team Member 2 / $ 60,000 / 2 / 1 / $ 120,000
Subtotal / 14 / $ 1,590,000
Cost of Equipment
Computers / $ 1,800 / 1 / 14 / $ 25,200
Software / $ 1,100 / 1 / 14 / $ 15,400
Telephones / $ 150 / 1 / 14 / $ 2,100
VTC Facility / $ 10,000 / 1 / 3 / $ 30,000
Internet Support Sites / $ 2,500 / 1 / 3 / $ 7,500
Office Equipment / $ 750 / 1 / 14 / $ 10,500
Subtotal / $ 90,700
Cost of Operations
Duplicating/Printing / $ 2,000 / 1 / 1 / $ 2,000
Software Updates / $ 500 / 1 / 14 / $ 7,000
Internet and Phone / $ 8,000 / 1 / 3 / $ 24,000
$ 33,000
Cost of Travel
Travel / $ 5,000 / 1 / 1 / $ 5,000
Facilities
Utilities / $ 2,000 / 1 / 1 / $ 2,000
Communications / $ 1,800 / 1 / 1 / $ 1,800
Lease / $ 4,000 / 1 / 1 / $ 4,000
Subtotal / $ 7,800
Grand Total / $ 1,726,500

Public Relations Plan

No public relations plan outside of the company is required nor desired at this point, as we would provide a better idea to our competitors. However, a public relations plan inside the company is essential. We propose to use the company magazine to feature a business article about the capabilities of this new unit and how we expect the Proposal Support Unit — Distance to bring in at least $20 million dollars of increased business for fiscal year 2005, which begins in June 2004. We expect that the article can be prepared and ready for the May issue of the company magazine. Most of the article is already written and presents the business case shown in Table 2.

A company wide message from the President of the Federal Sector announcing the Proposal Support Unit — Distance and its support mission, along with contact information for the Support Coordinator, should be sent out at the end of May at the latest. The message should also mention that our goal is to bring in at least an additional $20 million dollars of business for fiscal year 2005 and enumerate goals by business unit based on opportunities lost in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.