If you're a student of proposal writing, check out APMP-NCA's Graduate Pathway Program. There are valuable opportunities to expand your education, network with peers and gain insight from proposal mentors along the way. For more information on this program, please email ProfessionalDevelopmentCoChair@APMPNCA.org. Originally published February 2020 As a student of proposal writing rather than an active member of the field, it does feel presumptuous to be writing about the topic with a mere two semesters

I remember my first day working in Proposals - it was just me and one other person and we split all the work 50/50. Together, we made up the proposal manager, proposal coordinator, capture manager, editor, graphics artist, and every other role needed in between to create our finished masterpiece of a proposal.  We were both in our first role when it came to responding to RFP’s, and thinking back, how we could’ve used a

FOMO is real if you didn’t attend CBDC last week… It was THAT good, for those of us wanting to begin the new year with a renewed focus on capture and business development excellence. However, if you missed out—fear not. Here, we break down the highlights and key takeaways from CBDC and give you a chance to weigh in on what you want to see from your local APMP NCA chapter.  This year’s all-virtual conference

A huge thank you to all of our readers, new and old, who stay up to date with our weekly blog, Pens Down - we look forward to sharing so much more the rest of the year! A look back at The Executive Summary It’s been a few weeks since we’ve started this new weekly format, and I thought it would be fitting to take a look back at our humble beginnings as a bi-monthly

Three Ways Proposals Are Like Building a House Happy 2021! After a challenging and rocky 2020, I know so many of us are looking forward to new beginnings and a smoother year in 2021. I’m definitely no exception. In fact, my fiancé Kevin and I are in the process of building our dream home. But it wasn’t something we set out last year planning to do—we just kind of—fell into it.  As you know, safe,

I’ll Get In Shape After This Proposal, and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves The Number 1 Lie The number 1 lie the general population tells themselves at the beginning of each new year: This year I will finally get in shape. I’m going to be a new person starting January 1!  The number 1 lie people like us tell ourselves is: I’ll get in shape as soon as this proposal is over! Staying healthy during

New Year, New Universe - Working and Living in a Distanced World Maybe not everyone, but I’d say a good majority of us would agree that 2020 was just not the best year. There are silver linings to find for sure, such as our advanced 21st century technology that saved the day and let a huge swath of the population keep working while also safely quarantined. Not just our profession, but the national workforce was