The Capability Brief

Reposted from an older blog.

It is common for contractors to provide capability briefings to government agencies who may at some point require the type of services these contractors can provide. This is a good business practice and it is beneficial to both parties, to the contractor, but especially to the government.

For the government, capability briefings are part its market research. Good market research leads to a good acquisition plan. A good acquisition plan leads to a precise work statement (the guts of an RFP). And a precise work statement makes it a lot easier to keep the contractor on track during the period of performance. Not only that, but a clear, concise performance work statement resulting from thorough market research and acquisition planning tends to ensure that the government actually gets what it's contracting for. That doctrine holds true whether contracting for product development or for services.

Especially for services.

For the contractor, the capability brief is part of its sales effort which is an integral part of its business development. Contractors, especially small businesses and 8(a)s, frequently give briefings to contracting agencies. These tend to be rather generic. The aim is to demonstrate to a contracting officer that they have certain "capabilities" that may be required somewhere within the government. But contractors especially like to brief their capabilities directly to the buying customer. A good contractor wants to satisfy the customer's requirements. An opportunity for a capability brief helps the contractor achieve that.

A capability brief, being much more informal than formal, is an opportunity for government decision makers to ask questions. And a good contractor loves to answer tough questions. The occasion is also an opportunity for the contractor to gather intelligence about the customer: who the key players are; what the exact nature of their requirement is; what core mission is involved; really a whole list of important things to know from the contractor's standpoint.

So, how to make this happen right?

First, if you're one of the government's key players, the COR, a TPOC, a resource manager, or a member of the requiring activity's leadership, you want to make sure the capability brief gets on your calendar and that you make sure you attend. Too many government officials beg off on attending capability briefs. They're always working on something more important. When their project starts sputtering because an under qualified contractor was hired, it's a safe bet to say that the problem started because key government players were "too busy" to attend the capability brief. Remember, you've got to do your market research and capability briefings are an important part of that research.

Put the capability brief on the organizational calendar. Make sure all the right people are there. Schedule enough time for the contractor's presentation and a follow-up period of Q&A. Have appropriate refreshments on hand and be courteous. Participating contractors may not be the purpose of your business, but they are from a useless interruption of it. Each one is a potential 'partner' that will help you accomplish your mission.

Don't treat the work statement as a top secret document. Don't make the contractor guess what it is you need. But be fair. Whatever information you provide to one competitor, you must be sure to provide to all.

Remember, if you're the government, you are going to select the contractor based upon your evaluation of all proposals received. You'll get better, more accurate, more relevant proposals the more precisely your work statement is written. But that process really starts rolling at the capability brief.

And don't neglect your obligation to provide every contractor who provides you a briefing with good, constructive feedback. Doing so will help that contractor give you a better briefing next time. The way competition works is that the one who loses this time may be a big winner on the next turn.

The government can only benefit from that.