Proposal Process (was Proposal Writers)

[KENNETH MAUM <usempe8p -at- IBMMAIL -dot- COM>]

Thanks for all the feedback. John P., I was the one you originally sent the
message to and I have it on file. I get the impression that most people who
responded, with one exception, get involved when the direction is set and it
needs to be put on paper. My experience is very different. I have been working
on defining a process for responding to proposals, coordinating the responses
and trying to get the management to make actual decisions. Our basic problem
is that the managers try to reserve decisions for later in the writing
process, when they really need to be made before writing begins. I've tried to
build these decision points into our response process and I am now trying to
develop some tools to make sure that they actually happen. Anyone else facing
silimar situations? P. S. It's not that the management is completely
ineffective; we're all just new to cometing for business in this way. We have
a government contract that, until recently, just got renewed each year without
much thought. The environment is changing and we are trying to change with it.

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html