How to Research and Qualify Government Opportunities
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Review the opportunity before allocating capture capacity. Establish eligibility and competitive context, document the decision, and retain the evidence so later outcomes can test the original judgment.
Developing
Start here. Build the foundation.- 1
On the monitoring cadence, review the applicable official procurement and forecast sources. Record the source, review date, agency, notice, and expected timing; the opportunity should be traceable before a formal solicitation appears.
- 2
Before assigning capture work, verify vehicle access, set-aside eligibility, and relevant past performance under the applicable requirements. Record the eligible path or needed teaming arrangement; without a credible path, document a no-bid decision.
Proficient
Build consistency and rhythm.- 3
Before the pursuit decision, research incumbent, funding, program history, mission priorities, competitors, and agency contact. Cite authoritative evidence, mark unknowns, and assign their owners and dates so unsupported assumptions do not become facts.
- 4
Before approving spend, assess competitive position, agency access, fit, resources, and win probability against the shared scorecard. Support each judgment with evidence and record bid, resolve unknowns, or no bid with its rationale.
Mastered
Operate at the highest level.- 5
After each win-loss review cycle, compare early scores across completed pursuits. Revise a question, threshold, or weight only for a pattern supported by named outcomes; otherwise record why the current criteria remain appropriate.
Common Pitfalls
Avoid the common failure modes.- Pursuing every matching notice. Check eligibility and position before assigning capture resources.
- Scoring optimism as evidence. Cite each basis for the decision or mark it unknown.
- Leaving no-bid rationale undocumented. Record the evidence and decision at the gate.
- Rewriting criteria after one outcome. Look for a cross-pursuit pattern and retain the standard when evidence does not support a change.
- Ignoring completed-pursuit evidence. Compare early judgments with outcomes before the next criteria review.