On bid writing…
Just over two centuries ago, Carl Von Clausewitz (a Prussian officer) wrote a book titled ‘Vom Krieg’ – ‘On War’ – Which detailed what his experiences of the Napoleonic Wars had taught him about the nature of warfare, for the benefit of those who would be involved with war in the future. With apologies for another War Studies inspired blog, but having recently finished with my first experience of bid writing, I thought I would attempt to do the same albeit for my hypothetical past self.
The first piece of advice that I would give to my past self before setting out on working on a bid is that preparation is key. Whether it is documents to read, data to sift through or best practice to research, there will be a lot of new information to take in. I would tell my past self that ensuring you are organised and able to take notes that are concise, but do not leave anything out at the same time, is vital. When it comes to the actual writing of the bid, you will be constantly referring to your notes and the more you do early on, the easier you will make life for yourself as the schedule continues. You may not be able to recall all the information you have taken in off the top of your head, but knowing where any given piece of information is amongst your long list of notes is half the battle won.
The second piece of advice that I would give is that effective communication is crucial. This could be between yourself and your colleagues, the client or the Authority. The examples of how effective communication can aid in your bid writing are endless. Clearly written clarification questions (CQs!) to the Authority can point you in the right direction. Learning to listen carefully to and respond to the client’s wishes is also vital and, do not be afraid to ask your colleagues questions. They know what they are talking about and parts of the bid that they are working on may have answers that can help the parts you are working on. However, as a note to self, sending a long list questions five minutes before the end of the day probably won’t make you very popular (but luckily Colin is an absolute hero).
The third piece of advice I would give to myself would be to understand that some days bid writing may feel stressful, but that others it will feel very rewarding. Working to tight deadlines, with a lot to get done, needs little expanding upon for where some level of stress may come from. However, other days you will feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Writing a bid is a bit like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, except that the all pieces are not in the box and you need to find them from somewhere else or design them yourself, and there is something incredibly satisfying about watching all those pieces slowly fit together until the finished article is complete.
William Freer