The Vermont Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication is pleased to present How to Respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) Part Two on April 8, 2008.

How to Respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) Part 2 covers taking the proposal from capture planning to proposal development.

The predominant reasons for losing proposals include the following:

• a failure to listen to the customer
• an unawareness of inherent weaknesses
• non-compliance
• poorly executed strategy and win themes
• underestimation of the competition
• a failure to properly integrate a risk mitigation plan or strategy

A winning proposal is backed by the tools, processes, and proven techniques to successfully address these issues. In this presentation, Mike will discuss these best practices and how to use them to develop better proposals.

The speaker

Mike Kozikowski, President of the Vermont STC chapter, brings more than 25 years of proposal development and management experience to his current position as Director, Proposals at General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products in Burlington, VT. From 2004 through 2007, he chaired the General Dynamics Corporate Proposal Working Group, which explores best practices in proposal development. He’s currently a member of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP).

Who should attend: proposal and grant writers, especially those working with government requests for proposals.

When: Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Time: 5:30 P.M., networking; 5:45 to 7:30 P.M., presentation
Where: GE Healthcare, (formerly IDX Systems Corporation), 40 IDX Drive, South Burlington, VT (directions below)

Admission: Free to STC members; $15 for nonmembers or free with a first-timers coupon available at http://www.stc-vermont.org/ . Free for members of The Professionals Collaborative (TPC).

RSVP: RSVP to Patty Myers at patricia [dot] myers [at] ge [dot] com or at 802-859-6685.

Directions:
From interstate 89, take exit 13 to highway 189/Shelburne Road.
Follow highway 189 to the end and turn left onto Shelburne Road/Route 7 South.
Turn left at the light onto IDX Drive. (Talbots will be on your left and Lewis Motors will be on your right.)
Turn right into the GE Healthcare parking lot.
Go straight and park in Visitors’ Parking or nearby.
Walk across the circular drive and come to the main entrance in the fully glass-fronted part of the building. You will be greeted there.