Collaboration is a powerful way to increase the chances of being successful in competitive bids on contracts, responding to RFPs (Request for Proposals) or creating opportunities. I have been collaborating on projects and in my business since 1997 and have engaged in collaboration on contracts more than once.
Collaborating on Costs
One of the first times I did a large-scale contract collaboration was about 27 years ago. One of the nonprofit organizations that made numerous referrals to my company (Hammond International Inc.) collaborated on hosting a community conference to bring Dr. James T. Reese to the community to speak on stress management.
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Dr. Reese was an FBI profiler and had a significant history speaking on stress and trauma. By collaborating with an organization, we were able to get grants and sponsorship to help cover the costs of the event and provide training to the community organizations and professionals that they may not have otherwise been able to access.
Fast forward again to 2024. In both my businesses, Raise a Dream and Hammond International Inc. collaboration is a foundation in our business. In fact, at the time of writing this post, I have worked on 3 large project proposals (responding to government RFPs) with several of my collaboration partners.
The lesson learned is that there are many ways to collaborate both in your business and on projects. Collaboration can give you a competitive advantage. Choose the right collaboration partner and make a bigger difference together.
Collaborating on Proposals
That first community event collaboration inspired me to pursue others. Fast forward a few years. The provincial government had a RFP out for a company to facilitate a community needs assessment and develop a program for municipalities to increase tourism and economic development. I was invited to the contract project team to facilitate the community sessions. This project had four different consultants on the project (each of us owning our own business), which made the proposal much stronger than if the lead had simply issued the proposal with her own company doing all the work. This contract led to many others and I was able to collaborate with my friend on many different government contracts and large projects.