THE ASSOCIATION OF PROPOSAL MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS
Background
The APMP is the professional body that defines and supports best practice in the areas of bids, proposals and business acquisition. The APMP has defined a set of competencies that are required in order to become a proposal management professional.
The APMP ontology
The APMP ontology describes a multi-level hierarchy that can be seen in Figure 2.5.
It can be seen from Figure 2.5 that the ‘APMP Framework’ is made up of six ‘Syllabus Group(s)’, each of which is made up of one or more ‘Syllabus Area(s)’, each of which is made up of one or more ‘Competence(s)’. The syllabus groups and their associated syllabus areas are described as follows:
The ‘Information Research and Management’ syllabus group is made up of the following syllabus areas: ‘Information Gathering’ and ‘Knowledge Management’.
The ‘Planning’ syllabus group is made up of the following single syllabus area: ‘Schedule Development’.
The ‘Development’ syllabus group is made up of the following syllabus areas: ‘Opportunity Qualification’, ‘Winning Price Development’, ‘Teaming Identification’, ‘Proposal Strategy Development’, ‘Executive Summary Development’, ‘Storyboard Development’, ‘Requirements Identification’, ‘Compliance Checklist Development’ and ‘Outline Development’.
The ‘Management’ syllabus group is made up of the following syllabus areas: ‘Storyboard Review Management’, ‘Kick-off Meeting Management’, ‘Review Management’, ‘Proposal Risk Management’, Proposal Progress reporting’, ‘Final Document Review Management’, ‘Production Management’, ‘Lessons Learnt Analysis and Management’ and ‘Proposal Process Management’.
6. The ‘Behaviour and Attitude’ syllabus group is made up of the following syllabus areas: ‘Communication and Persuasiveness’, ‘Quality Orientation’, ‘Building Strategic Relationships and a Successful Team’ and ‘Decision Making and Delegating Responsibility’.
Each of these syllabus areas has a number of competencies defined in a simple table format with a ‘Syllabus Reference’ and ‘Description’. Each of these competencies may be held at one of three ‘Level(s)’, as follows:
The APMP ‘Foundation’ level indicates that an individual can act as part of a proposal or bid team. They will be able to follow processes and use tools as well as understanding the basic principles and approaches to work.
The APMP ‘Practitioner’ level indicates that an individual can run and manage a bid or proposal within an organisation. This includes being able to tailor any approach to a specific project, for instance to address the needs and problems of a customer response.
The APMP ‘Professional’ level indicates that an individual can drive the continuous improvement of the proposal or bid management processes within an organisation.
The APMP framework also includes a simple process that may be followed to achieve professional accreditation.
Discussion
The APMP is one of the lesser-known, but arguably more mature organisations. It holds a number of high-quality events, has an extensive and impressive membership (and list of sponsors) and has developed a rigid process for accreditation. This process is very good, but some argue that putting a definitive requirement on the number of years’ experience required can be off-putting to some people, particularly high-flyers who consider themselves to be on a fast-track to accreditation.
The APMP also fills a gap that is not covered in any detail by any of the other frameworks mentioned here. The whole area of proposal management is one that is often overlooked but is, arguably, one of the most important aspects of the business to get right. After all, if an organisation does not win any bids, then it will have a severely restricted income.
Accreditation
The APMP specifies a formal process of examination, self-assessment and interview that allows a candidate to pass through the three levels of competence to full, recognised professional status. The actual process and its requirements are summarised very neatly in Table 2.1, taken from the APMP website (see APMP).
| Foundation | Practitioner | Professional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referee required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of years prior experience required | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Tests | Basic knowledge of best practice | Application of best practice | Advocacy of best practice |
| Type of assessment required | Multiple choice examination | Online self-assessment | Reference, presentation and interview |
| Continuing education unit required per two-year period | 20 | 40 | 40 |
The APMP also offers two levels of membership, which are ‘Member’ and ‘Fellow’, each of which comes with its own set of designations.