Writing government proposals is one of the surest ways of winning government contacts. Considering that the government is one of the largest purchaser, winning such a contract means that one’s business is assured of demand for as long as the contract lasts. The government proposals are written by suppliers in response to requirements advertised by a government entity. The government proposals are usually competitive among binders, all trying to get the contract to supply goods and services to the government.
Before submitting the government proposals, the submitting corporate entity must consider their ability to supply goods or services that meet the government specifications. As such, the government proposals must proof that the submitting entity is able to meet the government needs, schedule, quality, and cost. To qualify for consideration, the entity submitting the government proposals must meet the government criteria for businesses in different categories. In the United States, government proposals are used by different government department and agencies to check the possibility of purchasing a product or service. The government proposals are therefore not considered as legal offers and are even subject to negotiations.
In an attempt to win government contracts, many contractors lower their costs considerably to stay competitive over other binders. However, this does not always work to their advantages since the government considers the government proposals that are more likely to offer the best value of product or service as opposed to low price. For transparency reason, government departments or agencies soliciting government proposals usually state the description of what they intend to purchase, the evaluation criteria, and considerations involve d in evaluating the government proposals.
Government proposals, just like grant proposals have different sections. They include a requirement matrix, where the proposal requirements are paired and the contactor response indicated. The executive summary is the second section in government proposals. This section contains a synopsis, which indicates why the government should purchase the product or service from the proposing entity. The technical discussion section is next in the government proposals offering a detailed narrative of how the proposing entity intends to meet the government requirements and the contract should their government proposals win. The cost volume section is a section in government proposals, where the proposing entity presents the cost involved. This section of government proposals includes calculations of labor costs, the implementation plan and implementation schedule. The final section of government proposals details experiences and performance that the proposing entity has completed successfully in the past. In most cases, the government proposals will require the submitting entity to conform to AS9100 assurance plan.
Overall, government proposals are used to get suppliers for large government purchases. The government proposals allow government and business contracting officials to bargain the details of the contract before the finals awarding of the contract. Issues such as product or service price, delivery schedule, the technical requirements, the type of contract to be awarded and the terms of contract are discussed before the final issuance of the contract. The level and intensity of the discussion however depends on how complexity of the purchase requirements.
