Author: Bill Pratt

Want to know what federal evaluators really care about? They’re not looking to be dazzled—they’re looking to check boxes and reduce risk. If your proposal doesn’t map to their evaluation criteria exactly, you’re not getting the award, no matter how clever your graphics are or how long your past performance list is.

This checklist breaks down what federal reviewers are trained to spot. Use it as a pre-submission gut check, because if you don’t find the holes in your proposal, they will.

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✅ 1. Responsiveness to the RFP

• Did you answer every requirement in the RFP, in the order they were asked?

• Are all required volumes, appendices, and certifications included?

• Does your Table of Contents map directly to the Evaluation Criteria?

Evaluator Thought Bubble: “If I can’t find it in under 10 seconds, you didn’t answer it.”

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✅ 2. Technical Approach That Matches the Problem

• Is your solution tailored to this agency—not a warmed-over template?

• Does it reference agency-specific goals, policies, and terminology?

• Are you solving their problem or just describing your process?

Evaluator Thought Bubble: “Do they actually understand what we do here?”

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✅ 3. Credible Staffing and Management Plan

• Are named key personnel qualified and committed?

• Is the org chart clean, with clear reporting lines and roles?

• Does the staffing plan align with the work breakdown?

Evaluator Thought Bubble: “Can this team actually execute what they’re proposing?”

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✅ 4. Risk Management That Doesn’t Sound Made Up

• Is there a risk matrix with actual risks (not just filler)?

• Are mitigation strategies realistic and proactive?

• Did you acknowledge technical, schedule, and mission risks?

Evaluator Thought Bubble: “They either don’t see the risks—or they’re afraid to admit them. Neither is good.”

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✅ 5. Past Performance That Proves It

• Are examples relevant in size, scope, and complexity?

• Did you include specific results, not vague claims?

• Are CPARS or POCs included if allowed?

Evaluator Thought Bubble: “If they’ve done this before, show me. If not, why should I trust them?”

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✅ 6. Compliance and Presentation

• Did you stay within page limits, font sizes, and formatting rules?

• Are headers, footers, and TOC updated and accurate?

• Are graphics legible in grayscale (because yes, some still print them)?

Evaluator Thought Bubble: “Don’t make me work to figure out what you’re trying to say.”

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Final Word

Federal proposal evaluation isn’t a mystery—it’s a scoring process. If your proposal helps the evaluator say “yes” faster and with fewer questions, you’re ahead of the game. Use this checklist to review before submission—and let someone not involved in writing it read it like an evaluator. At GovITWorks, we’ve been in the evaluator’s seat. Let us help you get it right before it lands in theirs.

Let’s be clear—federal executives aren’t sitting around waiting to take your call. Their inboxes are packed, their calendars are gridlocked, and if your pitch doesn’t land in the first 10 seconds, it’s game over. But connecting with them isn’t impossible. It just requires you to approach them like someone who understands their world—not someone trying to sell into it.

Step One: Bring Mission Over Marketing

These folks don’t care about your service catalog or that you were a “leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.” What they care about is mission impact. What are they under pressure to deliver this Fiscal Year? What’s broken that you can quietly fix? Speak their language—policy alignment, performance metrics, audit readiness—and skip the fluff. Lead with outcomes that matter to them, not credentials that matter to you.

Step Two: Do the Homework—Then Show It

You’d be shocked how many so-called experts walk into a meeting with no clue what the agency just got grilled about in a GAO report. Want to stand out? Mention the latest FITARA scorecard, a recent OIG finding, or the agency’s modernization roadmap. Reference it, then connect it directly to the problem you solve. One sentence showing you’ve read more than their homepage goes a long way.

Step Three: Get Referred, Not Just Introduced

Cold outreach is a gamble. A warm intro from someone they trust? That’s gold. Tap your network, former agency colleagues, or even industry associations like AFFIRM or ACT-IAC. If you’ve done solid work before, let others speak for you. A one-line email from someone they know saying, “You need to talk to this person—they helped us fix X,” is 10 times better than a cold pitch with a slide deck attached.

Step Four: Keep It Short, Smart, and Sharpened

Federal execs don’t need a lunch meeting to get to yes or no. Be brief. Be useful. When you do get time with them—on a panel, at an event, or in a quick Zoom—come in with a real point of view and a clear ask. “We’ve helped another large component cut O&M spend by 20%. If that’s something you’re exploring, I’d love 15 minutes to share how.” That’s a lot more compelling than, “We’d like to explore synergies.”

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Want to build real traction with federal leaders? Stop chasing them and start aligning with them. At GovITWorks, we’ve spent decades working alongside the executives you’re trying to reach. We know how they think—and more importantly, how they decide. Let us help you connect the right way.

When you’ve been on both sides of the table—writing proposals and reviewing them—you see the same train wrecks happen over and over. Agencies don’t have time for fluff, and contractors can’t afford to miss the mark. I’ve led federal IT efforts for decades and seen what separates a winning proposal from the ones that get tossed in the first round. Let’s cut through the noise and talk about the five most common mistakes—and how to avoid them.

1. Writing Like You’re Selling to a Corporation

Federal proposals aren’t glossy sales brochures. Agencies want proof you understand their mission, not that you can sling buzzwords. Skip the marketing hype and get to the point: what problem are you solving, how are you solving it, and how will you reduce risk? Your solution needs to sound like it was built from inside their four walls, not dropped in from a vendor’s generic template.

2. Ignoring the Evaluation Criteria

You’d be amazed how many proposals don’t track directly to the scoring criteria laid out in the RFP. This is federal contracting 101—write to the scorecard. If “technical approach” and “past performance” are worth 80% of the points, spend 80% of your space and energy there. Don’t try to be clever. Try to be compliant, complete, and compelling—in that order.

3. Recycling Boilerplate Without Tailoring

If your proposal sounds like it could go to any agency on any day of the week, you’ve already lost. The evaluators can tell when you phoned it in. Tailor your language to the agency’s goals, systems, and challenges. That means referencing their tech stack, aligning with their current initiatives (like zero trust or Agile transformation), and showing you’ve done your homework.

4. Weak Staffing and Org Charts

A great solution without the right people to run it is a fast way to a “no.” Vague staffing plans, mystery org charts, and unnamed key personnel don’t build confidence. Agencies want to see named resources with the right clearances, certifications, and experience—and how they’ll actually be deployed, not just listed. Your bench strength should match your bold claims.

5. Failing to Show Risk Awareness and Mitigation

Pretending there are no risks is a rookie move. Every government project has risk—cost, schedule, integration, politics, you name it. Show that you get it. Include a realistic risk matrix and describe how you’ll mitigate the top three to five threats. A contractor who anticipates problems and has a plan to manage them is a contractor worth hiring.

Final Thoughts

Winning federal work isn’t about sounding impressive—it’s about being credible, precise, and mission-focused. The best proposals aren’t just written well, they’re engineered for the evaluation process. If you can dodge these five mistakes, you’re already ahead of most of the field. If you need a second set of eyes or want to rethink your proposal strategy from the ground up, GovITWorks is here to help.