Proposal Planning

Planning before writing saves more time than it takes. In parallel with ongoing capture planning activities, plan and validate your proposal plan before you begin writing new material or tailoring reuse material. If you lack a capture plan, capture strategy, solutions, and price to win, winning will be difficult with too much to do in too little time. Before the bid request arrives, proactively assemble and task a proposal core team to prepare a proposal management plan focused on the primary proposal planning activities. When there is no draft RFP, proposal planning begins well in advance of receiving the bid request. Begin making assignments and developing win themes based on capture/opportunity planning activities. Follow these steps during your proposal planning activities:

• Develop proposal strategy
• Define proposal tasks, detailed budget, and schedule
• Prepare program schedule
• Prepare and update storyboard
• Develop initial proposal outline
• Draft Proposal Management Plan
• Identify proposal team members and assignments
• Hold proposal kickoff meeting

Much more goes into planning a proposal, but to ensure a smoother process be sure to include these things in your planning. Want to know more? Learn more about Phase 4: Proposal Planning in the Shipley Business Development Lifecycle Guide.

Developing a Proposal Schedule

A proposal schedule sets out when the work required to prepare, review, finalize, and submit a proposal must be completed. It connects tasks and milestones with contributor responsibilities so the team understands what is due and when, and it gives the proposal manager a basis for tracking progress.

The schedule should reflect the response the team needs to develop and the people available to develop it. As customer instructions become available, review the plan and schedule against the actual requirements.

How Does a Proposal Schedule Fit Into the Proposal Management Plan?

The Proposal Management Plan, or PMP, is the broader document that brings the schedule together with everything else contributors need to do their part: their assignments, the requirements they're writing to, and how their work supports the proposal strategy. See how a PMP comes together.

Prepare and review the PMP before the kickoff meeting, then use the kickoff to communicate it. Keep it current throughout proposal development and refer to it during regular status meetings.

Make the current schedule accessible to the team so contributors can work from the same deadlines and understand changes that affect their assignments.

What Should a Proposal Schedule Account For?

A proposal schedule should cover the work needed to move from planning through submission. At a principle level, that includes:

• Planning and kickoff: Establish the proposal direction, outline, assignments, and expectations for contributors.
• Content development: Identify when sections and supporting inputs must be ready.
• Reviews and revisions: Schedule reviews and allow time to assess findings, revise content, and check the changes.
• Production and submission: Account for final document preparation, checks, and delivery in accordance with customer instructions.

Connect scheduled work to clear responsibilities. A deadline is useful only when the people responsible understand what they are expected to deliver.

Keep the proposal-development schedule distinct from any program or implementation schedule requested within the response. One coordinates preparation of the proposal; the other describes how the proposed work would be delivered.

Allow Time to Act on Review Findings

Reviews need to be scheduled while the team still has time to use the findings.

For example, a Red Team review assesses a substantially complete draft from the customer evaluator's perspective. Its timing affects its usefulness. An early review may encounter incomplete content; a late review may identify weaknesses that the team has little time to address.

Include the work that follows the review in the proposal schedule. The team needs to assess recommendations, decide what requires action, revise the response, and confirm that important changes have been made.

This gives the review a defined role in improving the proposal before final approval and submission.

Use the Schedule Throughout Proposal Development

The proposal manager should use regular status meetings to compare progress with the plan and identify work requiring attention.

When an input is delayed or an assignment changes, consider the effect on subsequent activities. A delayed section can affect review readiness and reduce the time available for revision or production.

Update the schedule when necessary and communicate the implications to affected contributors. Keep responsibility for the next action clear.

The schedule should remain a working part of proposal management through final submission.

Build Your Proposal Planning Capability

Effective proposal planning requires clear direction, coordinated responsibilities, and a schedule the team can use.

Shipley's Managing Strategic Proposals training helps proposal managers develop the skills needed to plan and lead proposal efforts.

For practical guidance and supporting tools, explore the Shipley Proposal Manager Playbook.

If your team needs help managing an upcoming response, learn about Shipley's proposal management support.