How to win global development projects

Funding agencies award billions of dollars in contracts each year to global development organizations and companies, but pursuing procurement opportunities is a tremendously challenging endeavor, especially for new and less experienced players. What is already a demanding environment is growing all the more difficult to navigate. Bidding organizations are forced to deal with lengthy and burdensome procurement processes, complex and strict bidding requirements, and donor and sector-specific jargon. Meanwhile, as governments tighten their foreign aid budgets, donors are seeking more value and results for less money. As competition intensifies, implementing organizations and suppliers must devise ways to stand out from the crowd. While there is no perfect formula for success, over the years Devex has detected a series of strategies and best practices organizations should adopt to increase their chances of winning more global development contracts and grants. 1. Know your core development service offerings and capabilities. International development is a specialized business. Sure, funding agencies demand and value general crosscutting services, such as project and financial management, but frequently specific sector or country experience is required to win global development bids. Before you begin bidding on development tenders, know what your organization does well and how exactly your services and capabilities can contribute to global development. 2. Understand the evolving global development marketplace. Global development is being disrupted by many of the same powerful forces as other industries — technology, globalization, and entrepreneurship, to name a few. New actors are constantly entering the scene and shifting priorities are a fact of life. What is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funding? What’s the latest in mHealth? How will donors support climate change mitigation and adaptation? Understanding these funding trends can position your organization to talk the talk and walk the walk when approaching donor agencies and pursuing bid opportunities. 3. Customize your business development strategy to fit the market. Formulating a business development strategy is familiar territory for most companies, but in a specialized industry uniquely defined by donors, sectors, and countries, an off-the-shelf BD strategy will simply not do. Winning global development projects requires in-depth, tactical, and forward-looking analysis of which donors are funding particular sectors in each country. To start, an effective business development strategy forecasts donor funding flows at least three to five years out, identifies the primary points of contact within donor agencies both at headquarters and in the field, and details specific strategies for stakeholder engagement and market penetration. 4. Network and build relationships with donor agencies. Donor agencies and officials are often viewed as inaccessible and unapproachable, but this is not always the case. While most donors are careful to avoid any appearance of preferential treatment, especially during the bidding of projects, many donor officials are open to meeting with implementing partners, sharing information, and defining what they look for and expect from partners. Donor agencies are also increasingly organizing and hosting networking events, partnership forums and business opportunities fairs with the explicit intention to foster more collaboration with organizations and companies. Devex also hosts multiple events around the world throughout the year with the goal of connecting donors to partners. 5. Understand the development funding cycle. The international development funding and procurement cycle is far different from that of the private sector. It is also unlike other government procurement cycles. But despite some serious complexity, there is a rhythm to it all that bidding companies should know and follow. For instance, donors are increasingly publishing multiyear funding strategies, typically structured by country, that identify high-level priorities and estimate investments in certain areas. Aligned with those strategies flow what Devex calls pipeline reports which provide more granular information on specific programs and projects. Next come the actual procurement opportunities, such as tenders, grants and open opportunities, that are open for competitive bidding or application. 6. Implement a reliable tender tracking system. In any industry, winning new business requires keeping your finger on the pulse of the market and jumping on opportunities. Winning development projects demands the same rigor, but because there is such a wide range of donors and large volume of projects, opportunities can easily slip through the cracks. Manually checking individual donor websites for posted tenders and grants is a serious challenge. And more times than not catching these procurement opportunities on the day of release is critical to beating out competitors and preparing a winning bid. Devex makes this easy on you through our tender tracking platform which is user-friendly, easily searchable and pushes business opportunity alerts directly to your inbox as they are released by funding agencies. 7. Prepare for go or no-go decision-making. The sheer volume of development procurement opportunities requires that your organization is discerning and strategic about which ones to pursue. Developing a quality bid requires resources and time, so be smart about where you invest yours. The first step before pursuing any opportunity is to confirm your organization’s eligibility to bid. For instance, some donors limit eligibility based on a firm’s nationality while others are programmed exclusively for local organizations. Bidding firms should prepare a standard set of criteria and checklist for quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating new business opportunities. A standardized tool won’t necessarily make the go or no-go decision for you, but it will help gauge your company’s chances of winning and its capacity to execute. 8. Develop outstanding proposals. Proposals are the key that unlocks the door to the global development industry. All the great qualifications and relevant experience in the world won’t matter if your organization fails to articulate your competencies and approach in writing. A top quality, professional proposal highlights your organization’s capabilities and qualifications, but aligns them with donor and project objectives. It also must detail precisely how you plan to meet those objectives based on the request for proposal or terms of reference. Remember, proposals need to stand on their own. You will not be in the room when they are reviewed so be clear, be direct, and be persuasive. 9. Focus on personnel, delivery and results. At the end of the day, your success winning global development projects will boil down to your team, your approach to the work, and the results you achieve. This means, among other things, recruiting and retaining high-performing and respected staff, meeting deadlines and hitting targets, monitoring and evaluating results, and operating with the utmost integrity and transparency. Your reputation precedes you in this industry and donors, competitors and partners are watching. So once you excel during that first global development project, others are sure to follow. Check out more funding trends analyses online, and subscribe to Money Matters to receive the latest contract award and shortlist announcements, and procurement and fundraising news.