Interpretive Planning

So you want to land a great consulting job. You’ve seen an RFP (request for proposal) that looks like something you’re perfect for, and now you have to convince the potential client of the same thing. There are a few things you can do to improve your chances, although you should always use your best judgement in putting your best foot forward. Here are my top ten tips:

1. Follow directions. If the RFP includes specific instructions on how to prepare and deliver your proposal, follow them, to the letter. Don’t assume you know what the client wants more than the client does, just pay attention to what’s been requested and simply follow directions, especially if the client has asked for you to avoid overly complicated or expensive presentations of your material.

2. Write clearly, concisely, and accurately. Avoid redundancy – most clients do not make selections based on how thick your proposal is. Proofread carefully to avoid errors – no one wants to hire someone who doesn’t care enough to provide a meticulous product even in the proposal stage.

3. Be honest. Represent your work fairly and represent only your work (not the work of employees or subcontractors who may no longer be working with you).

4. Provide accurate contact information. If you’re using old letterhead or boiler plate information that has out of date email addresses or phone numbers, your potential client may not be willing to track you down.

5. Even if the client doesn’t ask for it specifically, identify who will serve on your project team by name and if your team includes subcontractors, include a letter from the subcontractor that indicates his or her interest in the project. This helps clients know that the proposed subcontractors know they’re being included in the team.

6. Provide references that can be contacted and include a few that can speak to your ability to resolve conflicts, not just those with whom you worked seamlessly. Allow your client to get a balanced view of your work style and results.

7. Identify and provide details of the specific tasks that you will do. If there are any limitations to what you can or will do, state that as well. Don’t ever surprise your client after the selection has been made or deliberately mislead your client about your abilities or willingness to perform specific tasks during the selection process.

8. Call attention to the details of your proposal if they are relevant. For example, if you are responding to an RFP from an environmental education center, use recycled products and earth-friendly inks in your proposal and mention that you have done so.

9. Mention any certifications you hold and awards that you or your products have won, including whether your products have helped previous clients receive funding or win awards (here’s a good reason to become certified or to enter NAI’s media awards contest each year).

10. Only reply to RFPs for which you are qualified. Don’t waste your time or the time of your potential client. Call and ask questions if you are unclear about the project requirements. It’s time well spent to find out if you should make the investment in producing a proposal.

As you begin to prepare your proposal, put yourself in the shoes of your potential client. Let your work style and commitment to excellence shine through in the quality of your proposal and your success rate should greatly increase.

One of the many ways in which contractors find out about what projects are available is the time-tested “Request for Proposal” or RFP. Generally speaking, an RFP requires the respondent to provide both a technical (process recommendations, samples of work products, etc.) and a cost proposal (sometimes embedded in the technical proposal as a budget or sometimes separated out and submitted in a sealed envelope to be opened after selection is made based on technical qualifications).

There are a number of options for those who are considering the solicitation of proposals from contractors – RFQ can stand for “Request for Qualification” for which the respondent provides only background information and perhaps work samples. It can also stand for “Request for Quotation” for which the respondent provides only a dollar amount for the work (usually used for low-bid awards and NOT recommended for interpretive planning projects).

Any of these options (and a variety of others, such as simple purchase orders) can be mixed and matched to a certain extent depending on the needs of the client for a particular project and the policies that govern contracting for the client’s organization or agency. Generally speaking, non-profit organizations have more latitude in how they approach a solicitation than government agencies, but even government agencies have some flexibility depending on the specific region, district, or individual contracting office’s interpretation of the rules. It never hurts to ask your powers that be what alternatives you have in preparing a solicitation, so that you are more likely to get the types of responses you’re looking for.

The best RFPs are simple, clear, and concise. They should include: a brief description of the project and the organization responsible for it; pertinent background information (has a plan already been started by staff? are there mitigating factors such as schedule or budget? how much assistance can be provided by client staff or other resources?); work products (deliverables) expected; instructions for how to put the proposal together (work samples, resumés of key personnel, references, process steps, cost, etc.); contact information for someone who can answer questions; selection process; evaluation criteria; and delivery instructions (date and time due, street address for delivery, etc.).

Resist the temptation to do the project in the RFP. If you have existing information, let the respondents know that, but allow some flexibility in process among respondents – no two planners or companies work exactly the same way and they may be able to save you time and money if they’re allowed to suggest a process rather than having to hold to a rigid construct that you provide. Having said that, if there are specific meetings that you know must be held, or deadlines that can’t be missed, or work products that you absolutely have to have (such as measurable objectives in a logic model construct), be sure to include those in the RFP.

Because NAI staff will not respond to RFPs in a competitive process, a service we can offer is to review your RFP before it hits the street to see if there are any red flags. There is no charge for this – just send your RFP to me (lbrochu@interpnet.com) and give me a day or two to comment on anything that might put off contractors from bidding or that needs clarification. If you send your distribution-ready RFP to us at NAI, we can immediately send it (or the link to it) to all commercial members so that you get better distribution of your solicitation.

Next week, I’ll address how to respond to an RFP for better success in landing projects. If you have specific questions that you’d like answered related to that, please feel free to comment below.

In economic times like these, you might think it would be easy to have qualified bidders beating down your door when you post a request for proposal (RFP). And yet, sometimes you find yourself having to extend the deadline for another round of possible submissions. These “do-overs” cost both time and money, so how do you avoid them? Understanding some of the reasons why qualified bidders won’t bid may help you get what you need more efficiently.

First, let me make the distinction between bidders and qualified bidders. You may get bidders that you shouldn’t seriously consider, either because they really don’t provide the services or products you’re asking for (even though they may claim to), or because they are in some other way an unsuitable match for your needs (be wary of contractors who comes in way below other bids – there’s probably a reason why they’re working so cheaply).

So why aren’t the qualified bidders showing up? Most good contractors have networks or use tools that help them learn about available contracts – make sure you distribute your RFP widely unless you’ve already narrowed your choices to a preferred short list of qualified bidders. If people don’t know about your job, they can’t bid on it. National Association for Interpretation will help in this regard by sending any notification we receive about an impending RFP to all commercial members (a good reason to become a commercial member if you’re a contractor).

Be clear about the service or product you’re soliciting. Writing an excellent scope of service helps contractors know exactly what you’re after and whether they are qualified to provide that service or product. With any luck, the contractor will be responsible enough to bid only on what he or she knows what to do, and not try to use your contract as on the job training for a new skill set. If the scope of service is unclear about the expectations you have for your project or what you can provide as technical assistance, contractors will either ignore the RFP for fear that you’ll be a confused client throughout the process (not a cost-efficient work effort for them) or you may end up with something you didn’t want because you’ve left leeway for the contractor to interpret your project based on the skill set they actually have.

Don’t demand project work in the proposal. Proposals cost an extraordinary amount of time and effort already without asking contractors to fabricate the work product before they actually have the job. This practice borders on unethical as many clients assume they can use the ideas of a higher-priced and more qualified firm but award the project to a lower-priced and less qualified firm to further develop and implement those ideas. Even if you state your right to do so in the RFP, you may find that qualified bidders won’t touch that request. The better approach, if you want to test run some ideas and your compatibility with the proposed project team before awarding a large project, is to commit to paying two or three short-listed finalists to provide a one or two day charette/interview before final selection. Having paid for the work produced in the charette, you could then reasonably use those ideas regardless of who was selected, and you’ll have the luxury of having seen the project team in action. This approach is well worth it if you have a high dollar project on the line.

Be sure that your project requirements are reasonable. Although you may be able to negotiate a great deal in these troubling economic times, be prepared to pay for the work you need at fair prices. Don’t assume that the contractor can work a miracle at rock bottom rates or according to a schedule that is humanly impossible. Most contractors do not have the luxury of working only one project at a time, which means that your schedule has to fit amongst the schedules for other projects already underway or under consideration. If you specify unreasonable requirements and have no flexibility for budget, work product, or schedule, you may find that qualified bidders will simply take a pass.

There are certainly other reasons why contractors won’t bid (maybe they’ve heard that you’re a client who isn’t great to work with for another whole set of reasons), but if you can provide a great RFP and get it out to those who should be bidding on it, you should be able to find the perfect match to help you get the perfect results you’re looking for.

One of the most valuable tips I can share about getting through the interpretive planning process painlessly is simply to document every conversation. Sounds easy, so why don’t more people do it? If you don’t currently have a system for documenting conversation, experiment with a few simple ways to do this. First, make sure the right people are having conversations.

Every project should have an assigned project manager. Given that the project usually involves both client and contractor, that means the client team needs a project manager and the contractor team needs a project manager. The project managers should be the only ones who are cleared to make decisions that might affect the outcome of the process. Project managers should talk directly to each other, not to each other’s staff or subcontractors. Team members (staff or resource specialists on the client side, and staff or subcontractors on the contractor side) should be talking directly to their own project manager. Occasionally, project teams may share information directly with each other, but at no time, should any information sharing be considered a decision to move in any specific direction without project manager approval.

During the course of the project, conversations will take place in a variety of ways: as review comments, face to face during planning sessions or review meetings, over the phone, or by email. For any conversation that is not already in writing, make a habit of following up the conversation with a written note (email is fine) that captures the content of the conversation and details any decisions that have been made. The note should say something like “this is what we talked about . . . if you have anything to add or edit, please do so within the next 24 hours and let me know what those changes are. If you’re ok with everything here, just send me a quick reply that lets me know you got this message.” Either party can take the initiative to do this – just makes sure it gets done.

Now you have documentation to support your next moves. If you run into problems later, you can go back to your documentation and figure out the solution much easier than relying on your or someone else’s memory or interpretation of the conversation.

This simple act can save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, as well as keeping the project on track and all project partners well-informed and happy. Without the documentation trail, assumptions get made, mistakes get blamed on others, and disagreements can derail the project, sometimes with disastrous results. Good communication is the key to success in any project process, but to keep everyone on the same page, get it in writing.

One of the frequently asked questions I get is “if my client wants to change things that have already been approved, do I have to do that?” or the converse “if we request changes, isn’t the contractor liable for those changes?”

The answer, of course, is it depends on the situation. And more specifically, the wording in the contract. Generally speaking, I highly recommend putting a cover sheet on any submittal (if the contractor doesn’t take the initiative to do it, the client should). On the cover sheet is a simple grid. The grid has four columns:

Column 1 – Identify what product is being submitted (first draft, second draft, final draft, etc.)

Column 2 – Approved as is. If you like the submittal and are ready to move ahead to the next step, then date and initial this column with the initials of the person who has authority to approve submittals. The only person who should be putting his or her initials here is the one designated as the client project manager and who has legal authority to sign and approve things at any stage of the process. Once you sign this box, you’re saying the work is good, you plan to pay for it, and it’s okay to move forward. You cannot change your mind later without paying for additional services from the contractor.

Column 3 – Approved with changes as noted. If you generally like the submittal but there’s a few tweaks to make, you might date and initial this box. What this means is that the contractor should incorporate the review comments you provided in the next submittal, but it’s okay to move forward as long as those changes get taken into consideration. If the contractor doesn’t make the changes with the next submittal, then you would definitely want to use the Column 4 box next.

Column 4 – NOT approved. If you really don’t like the submittal, and believe it needs substantial changes before being accepted, sign this box. Send the work back and do not pay for it until it meets your standards and you can feel good about signing in Column 2 or 3.

If you sign in Column 2 or 3 and then a few submittals later, change your mind and decide you want to go a whole new direction, then your contractor would be on solid ground to require additional services money and a change order before proceeding. But if you sign in Column 4, your contractor needs to get the work right before going ahead or getting paid.

How many times can you reasonably ask for changes (Column 4)? If the contract doesn’t specify otherwise, then my rule of thumb has always been three. If a contractor can’t satisfy you with three attempts for the same submittal, there is a serious breakdown of communication going on and chances are good that no one is ever going to get satisfaction. It may be time to terminate the contract and salvage what’s left of the budget by working with someone new. Having said that, every attempt should be made to communicate clearly what needs to be changed before taking that drastic step. Writing clear review comments can be a big help toward that end.

Review comments that say “it just doesn’t feel right somehow,” or “I can’t put my finger on it, but I’d like something different here” do not help your contractor satisfy your request. Ambiguous statements make your contractor have to guess at what’s in your mind, so practice giving constructive comments that are specific and measurable. For example, “we need to cut the word count to below 150 on this panel,” or “I asked for a fine art illustration and you provided a cartoon approach – please provide what was originally asked for,” or “our objective is to get people to take action on a local conservation issue – the exhibit plan as it stands will not elicit that action. I need an exhibit that specifically provides a call to action and introduces people to opportunities to take that action. Let’s talk about options and ideas if you don’t have something in mind.”

Keep your contract handy – it should contain a clause(s) that will specify who is responsible for making changes and at what point that responsibility shifts to adding services and additional payment. Be clear with your paper trail on what’s been approved, what changes are needed, and what will be paid for and when. As long as everyone understands the ground rules going in, your contract should run smoothly.

Continuing the thread of the discussion from last week, we were looking at some of the realities that must be faced by those who are hoping to become interpretive planning consultants. Last week, we briefly touched on skills and payment – this week we’ll look at competition and travel. Please understand that any of these could be a far more extended conversation – I welcome your specific questions.

Competition – It’s a dog eat dog world out there. Competition gets tougher when the economy shrinks for two reasons – more people trying to do the work as they get laid off their other jobs and agencies cutting project budgets right along with staffing budgets. That’s not to say that work cannot be had. It just may be tougher to get, which is not the best environment for a new consultant to break into the business. To get and keep a competitive edge, pay attention to details. Have a graphic designer help you establish a corporate image, even if you’re going it on your own. Looking professional with letterhead, business cards, website, and the like is critical. Preserve your reputation as a qualified and knowledgeable individual at all costs – strive to come in under budget and before deadline with every project, even if it means you take a hit on some projects. Your clients need to love you not because you’re just fun to be around, but because you are truly helping them solve a problem. Keep up your professional development and networking – be seen at national and international events. It’s money well-spent.

Travel: Think about the consulting opportunities within a 50-mile radius. My guess is that unless you live in a major metropolitan area, they may be few and far between. That means you are likely to have to travel to your work. Before taking on this responsibility, have a very frank discussion with your family about the implications. If you have small children, think about the impact of missing school events, birthdays, and other momentous occasions. You will not always get to choose when you travel since you will often be forced to meet your client’s preferred schedule, not yours. Travel, while it has its rewards, is also physically, financially, mentally, and often emotionally, demanding. Depending on where you live and how much you need to work (what take-home pay you need), you may be on the road 25 to 40% of your time to make a living this way. And I can promise it won’t all be pretty. There will be times when you are sick and all alone, forced to stay in roach motels, running through airports to catch flights with no food for hours on end, crammed in between large or obnoxious people on planes, and much much more. Only you can answer whether it’s worth it.

There’s more, obviously. And there’s some really good stuff about a career as an interpretive planning consultant. Just don’t jump into it because you think it’s an easy way to turn a buck while you’re waiting on that dream job to materialize. Take a good hard look at your skills and your goals, and learn more about the realities of going it on your own – you’ll be glad you did.

Lately, I’ve been inundated with a number of requests for information about how to become an interpretive planning consultant. I can only imagine this is the result of hard economic times, as most of the people who are asking the question go on to tell me they’ve been RIFed (Reduction in Force) or their entire department has been eliminated and they no longer have gainful employment. This is hard to watch and harder still to give advice about. But I’m going to attempt the latter and maybe that will help in some small way.

First, know that this is not new. Every time we have an economic downturn, the ranks of interpretive planning consultants grow. It seems that every one who loses a job related to interpretation, even remotely, decides to hang out a shingle as a stop-gap measure until they can get a “real” job again (I read “real” as “job-with-a-steady-paycheck”). I’m not against this in general terms, but I do hope that people will be realistic about choosing this particular option.

Some of the realities to face: Skills, Payment, Competition, Travel. There are others, but let’s take the first two as a starting place and hit a couple of high points with each. I’ll tackle the next two next week so tune in same time, same place for the rest of the story.

Skills: Being a field interpreter is very different than being an interpretive planning consultant. They are different skill sets, although it’s helpful to have had field experience if you’re hoping to offer advice to clients about how to plan and manage their interpretive operations. If you do not have planning skills (and please don’t ask “how hard can it be?” because it really is more complicated than it sounds), try a course that will get you some background before launching (I recommend NAI’s Interpretive Planning workshop, but of course, I teach it, so may not be an unbiased source). At the very least, buy the book and read it two or three times. Know that not everyone is cut out to be a planner. The world has visionaries and detail freaks and usually the two are not combined into one body, yet a good planner understands both perspectives. Ideally, you should partner with someone who balances your skill set so that you can provide the most complete planning package to your clients.

Payment: Don’t undercharge for your services. But don’t overcharge either. There is a sweet spot where your skill level and what the client can afford intersect and it takes a while to find that magical place. Know that it may be up to a year after you start looking for work as a consultant before you actually receive payment for your first job, so have financial resources at the ready. I usually recommend that unless you’re independently wealthy (or married for money), you need to have at least 18 months cushion in the bank before attempting to live the glamorous consultant life. Initially, you’ll work harder than ever before for less return. It takes time to build up a reputation that will allow you to charge significant sums of money for any given project so that you don’t have to work ten or more projects at a time just to make ends meet.

For more info on charging,  http://interpnet.com/interpplan/?p=33#comments. Also as mentioned on this link, see the Interpretive Planning book (Brochu) for a more detailed discussion of how to determine what to charge (page 47).

“My contractor (architect, exhibit designer, interpretive planner, landscape architect) won’t let me . . . ”

I’ve heard this lament over and over again from disgruntled clients who are afraid of their contractors. It seems they feel bullied by the big, bad experts from out of town who make it clear that the site staff knows nothing. Sound familiar?

Here’s the part where contractors need to cover their ears . . . no wait, contractors need to hear this too. The client OWNS the contract. Hence the use of the word “owner” in most contract language.

There are both rights and responsibilities on each side of a contract and all parties need to respect those to achieve a harmonious and productive relationship. I’ve been both a contractor and a client and sometimes a weird combination of both on the same project (that’s for another blog entry at another time). I know the frustrations that go with being on either side of the fence.

What I’d like to suggest is that you take down the fence and learn how to work cooperatively rather than turning a contract into a competition, regardless of which side you’re on.

Clients need to feel empowered to ask for what they need and be treated respectfully by contractors. They also need to not be afraid to terminate a contract if they cannot get what they need. Every contract should have a termination clause for both parties’ protection. But clients also need to recognize that they hired the contractor for their specialized expertise and should listen to sound advice offered by the experts they’ve hired (“sound” being the qualifier here – don’t trust a contractor’s poor judgement).

Contractors need to recognize that clients own the contract and should expect and receive excellent service from their contractors at all times. Contractors should also recognize that no one will ever know the details of a site’s resources and management as well as the people who work there and should listen to legitimate staff concerns and knowledge of operations. Contractors must understand that some clients will have a lot of experience in managing a contract while others may not and must not take advantage of those who are new to the world of contract management.

Everyone has a role to play in a successful planning process. Occasionally, those roles overlap due to specific skill sets of the players. Ideally, everyone in the process will work towards their strengths and recognize their weaknesses so that the end result is something that spells success for everyone.

Lisa

In our profession, a plan that everyone dislikes for different reasons is a success. A plan everyone dislikes for the same reason is a failure. And a plan that everyone likes for the same reason is an act of God.      - Richard Carson, Pacific Northwest planner and writer.