Author: Eliza Carbines

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APMP ANZ Bid & Proposal Conference 2024: More Wins, Less Effort

The APMP ANZ Bid & Proposal Conference 2024 is coming up on 28-30 May 2024 at the Sofitel Brisbane Central. Over two days we will deliver interesting talks and share plenty of ideas – our content is geared to inspiration, creativity, innovation and growth.

The conference will include:

-Key note speaker presentations covering global, industry and procurement trends.
-Debates and workshops on issues that impact the industry and our members.
-Opportunities to highlight best practice including masterclasses and case studies.
-Fast-paced formats that present sales-cycle information that is fun and interesting.
-Opportunities for facilitated and informal networking.
-On Day 1: APMP Foundation training and Certification and a Welcome and Supporter Evening.
-A Gala Dinner with APMP ANZ Awards being presented.

We can’t wait to see you! 

Whether you are a seasoned professional, just starting out on your proposal, or connected to the sales cycle process, the conference will provide you with invaluable insights to make an impact on your industry, company, career and wellbeing.

Key Dates

-Registration opens: August 25, 2023
-Early bird registration ends: December 31, 2023
-Standard registration begins: January 1, 2024
-Conference begins: May 28, 2024

To register, please visit the registration website for APMP ANZ Bid and Proposal Conference 2024.

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APMP ANZ Member Survey May/June 2023

We are pleased to present the findings of the APMP ANZ Member Survey for May/June 2023. The survey was issued by direct email to 575 members and designed to understand member preferences, expectations and areas of focus to deliver enhanced value, targeted initiatives and tailored content for our community.

Approximately 157 members responded to the 21 questions providing approx. 27% rate of response. The survey achieved great engagement across our member base. Participants were geographically dispersed, representative of a good cross section of cities and regions within Australia and included a significant number of participants from Southeast Asia.

Recommendations and future initiatives:

  • Support members in their pursuit of certifications over the next 12 months. Also, proactively address the concerns and barriers expressed by members who do not plan to pursue certifications.
  • Understand the nature of the relationship with the APMP Body of Knowledge.
  • Modify our webinar offerings to better align with member expectations.
  • Tailor our newsletter schedule to align with member preferences.
  • Enhance conference experiences by securing an even mix of impactful keynote speakers and facilitating networking opportunities.
  • Make informed decisions regarding providing conference recordings as an additional resource for our members.
  • Explore partnerships with universities, consultancies, and industry associations to provide valuable resources and expand career development avenues.
  • Incorporate insights on work-life balance and strategic bidding support into our initiatives.
  • Evaluate opportunities for internships, international benchmarking and collaboration with business chambers to further enhance members’ professional growth.

Further, we commit to re-survey members annually to keep track member of preferences and insights.

Snapshot of results

Note – Question 21 of the survey asked participants if they would like to provide more information outside of this survey on areas of their membership that matter most.  21 members agreed to be contacted. The Committee will be in touch during July and August 2023 to close out the second part of this survey. Any significant findings or trends will be published to this page.

Other locations of members: 1x China, 1x Indonesia, 2x Pakistan, 16x Philippines, 4x Regional NSW, 1x Regional QLD, 1x Regional WA, 1x Thailand

Q20. If you would like us to consider any strategic partnerships of potential interest, please provide details.
Our interpretation of the types of partnerships we should actively seek are broadly:

  • Project managers
  • Universities
  • Procurement associations
  • Marketing associations
  • Government bodies
  • Local business chambers
  • Jobs/careers opportunities (recruitment/industry)
  • Technology providers
  • Business development/leading consultancies
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APMP Me – December 2020

We are delighted introduce the second member of our APMP-Me series  Guy Dennis, NZ Bid Manager at WSP. 

The APMP-Me series will shine a spotlight on our members and their career journeys to develop and expand on their professional skills, and getting APMP certified.

How long have you been a member of APMP?

I have been involved since 2016.

How did you hear of the APMP and what made you join?

Four of our original team attended Shipley “Winning Proposal Strategy” training in our quest to check what we were doing in the proposal world with best practice. The last slide had further information/resources including the APMP web site. We joined the next week..

How has APMP enriched your career?
APMP has allowed me to develop the people in our team, arm them with good resources, give them confidence that what they do is valuable and focused on what we were not doing. In addition it has introduced me to a network of Proposal Professionals who I have found to be very supportive of one another.

How does your profession reflect in your day to day life?
I find the profession reflects in my day to day life by: always being punctual; listening for what is required; asking is there a better way; not being afraid to speak up and thinking about our business offerings from our client’s perspective.


What is your most memorable proposal?

Three consecutive tenders for Antarctic New Zealand for the development of Scott Base including Architecture, Building Services and Structures. We put a complex governance structure in place and delivered three compliant tenders on time. We were successful with the structures tender and it was great to hear about the experience our people gained “down on the ice.”


What is the best part of being a member of APMP? 
For me the best part of being a member of APMP is having our team achieve certification goals.

What’s next? 
Recently we have linked up with the WSP Bid leads in Australia and Canada and I’m excited to see where combining our thinking around bid systems could lead particularly in the knowledge management space.
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APMP ANZ Chapter Salary Survey 2020

As part of APMP ANZ’s commitment to deliver valuable resources to our members, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new salary survey project and would like to invite members and industry contacts to participate in the research.

Through this survey, APMP ANZ is looking to provide members with a current benchmark of salary levels in our operating region, as well as measurement of job satisfaction and factors influencing career choices. The results of this survey can assist with career planning, salary negotiations and performance conversations. The salary survey research will be applicable to those located in other regions of APAC including New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

A report on the results of this confidential survey will be shared as a free service to members thanks to our sponsorship from Dalton Handley. The survey link can be accessed here: https://dqube.online/S2/44/apmp_salary_research/

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Call for committee nominations 2020-2021

The APMP Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Chapter is now calling for nominations to serve on the committee for 2021. Positions are generally for a one year term. Being on the committee provides networking and professional development opportunities and allows you to take an active role in advancing the proposal profession.

Preference will be given to nominees who have demonstrated active participation in APMP activities and will be an advocate for our association. As this is an important industry leadership role, volunteers will be expected to proactively contribute to committee activities and fulfil all required responsibilities.

About APMP ANZ

APMP promotes the professional growth of its members by advancing the arts, sciences, and technologies of winning business. APMP is the worldwide authority for professionals dedicated to the process of winning business through proposals, bids, tenders, and presentations. APMP is a non-profit membership organisation founded in August 1989. Today, the Association has 10,000 members and has grown to 28 active chapters worldwide.

The APMP ANZ Chapter was formed in 2008 and is dedicated to increasing recognition of the value of professional proposal development. The ANZ Chapter is for all proposal professionals in Australia and New Zealand, and also for those in the Asia Pacific region where no local APMP chapter currently exists. The chapter has grown to nearly 500 members and won the Stephen P. Shipley Chapter of the Year Award in 2020.

Committee portfolios and roles

Committee portfolios and roles are outlined below. Roles may change subject to the number of successful applicants. Time commitments range from around two hours per week to significant involvement in conferences and key programs.

Chapter Governance

  • Chair and Vice-Chair: lead committee activities and implement strategy
  • Secretary: coordinate committee activities including meetings
  • Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer: manage the committee’s financial health

Membership Journey

  • General Membership/Member Journey Lead: lead the overall membership activities
  • Corporate Membership Lead: work to build corporate memberships
  • Offshore Membership Lead: work to build offshore memberships

Member Connections

  • Communications Lead: lead engagement with members
  • Conference Chair: lead our conference with Conference Subcommittee Members
  • Networking Lead: connect members through regular networking events

Professional Development

  • Certification Manager: promote the APMP certification program
  • Webinars: attracting high quality speakers, program and host webinar events
  • Mentorship Program Lead: lead our mentorship program

Industry advocacy

  • Awards Lead: lead awards program
  • Training and Jobs Board Lead: lead trainer advocacy and jobs board activities
  • Fundraising: seek fundraising opportunities to help finance Chapter activities

Nomination Process

Please provide the following information:

  • Name
  • APMP member number and expiry date
  • Nomination of the role you could add the most value in and reasons for this. Please list any alternative roles you would also be interested in
  • A brief professional profile of no more than 300 words, outlining how you would be an active contributor to the APMP community through the APMP ANZ committee

For more information or to submit a nomination, please email chair@apmpanz.org.

 

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APMP-Me

We are delighted to commence the first of our APMP-Me series with two of our members, Danny Shafar, General Manager – Business Development, Quayclean and Eliza Carbines CF APMP, Director, Tender Relief.

The APMP-Me series will shine a spotlight on our members and their career journeys to develop and expand on their professional skills, and getting APMP certified.

How long have you been a member of APMP?
Since 2004 but the APMP system says pre-1990. I knew it was a long time, certainly during the APMP formative years and well before the ANZ Chapter was formed!

How did you hear of the APMP and what made you join?
My company at that stage engaged Shipley Associates to provide some training. So I heard of APMP through Shipley.


How has APMP enriched your career?
Through conferences and networking and the APMP Journal. I have attended all the conferences in Australia since they began.  It is great to hear about bid development from an international perspective.


How does your profession reflect in your day to day life?
I am a very rational and organised person. I like to plan everything. For example when I go on holiday I have a planned itinerary of my whole trip.  

What is your most memorable proposal?
The most memorable has to be in around 2006. I was working on a big proposal worth 25M in those days. We had five people on the proposals team and we had to deliver the hardcopy proposal by 4pm in a bag to the loading dock.

As luck would have it – our printer/ photocopier broke down. Remember that at this time there was 5MB limit on emails, and no portals etc. We had to then burn to a CD and had a member of our team drive into the client’s loading dock to deliver it – one small envelope. We handed the hardcopy in after our copier was repaired. At least we met the deadline but in a different way.  And most importantly, we won the bid!  

What is the best part of being a member of APMP? 
Knowledge sharing in general. Probably through conferences.

What’s next? 
Get certified – especially now while in lockdown!
How long have you been a member of APMP?

I’ve been a member since 2018 – but more active this year.

How did you hear of the APMP and what made you join?

Through Google for an industry body and through BidWrite.

How do you feel having recently being awarded your Foundation certification? Any handy tips for those out there contemplating taking the exam?
I feel encouraged and proud to be part of an industry body that I think is so important and to represent and advocate in my way. I am also relieved that I finally did it.

My top tip – don’t think about it – just do it. I think it should be a necessity in our industry – not a nice to have. I think of it as not negotiable. For my business I think it is the right thing to do for my clients and for employers. I also think it is a really low cost for the value that you get.

How has APMP enriched your career?
I feel my quality of work has improved and I feel validated now – for my clients and in my work. The knowledge I’ve acquired I can pass to my clients.

How does your profession reflect in your day to day life?
We’re in the middle of landscaping our yard and I’m constantly needing to know what the process is – just like allocating tasks to team members. I need to know who is in charge of what so that I can allocate all parts of the project so nothing is left undone. I am driving my husband mad.


What is your most memorable proposal?

It would have to be on a 250M bid that we had. There were 6 competitors and we were required to respond in an excel spreadsheet. No graphics – so formatting and no persuasion. We created a proper Word document and sent it alongside a PDF as a “bonus.” We were 70% more expensive than a cheaper competitor – and made it to the final 2. The PDF was discussed when we were shortlisted and went for the presentation, so it worked!


What is the best part of being a member of APMP? 
For me, as the sole person in my business – the best advantage with APMP is that I have colleagues. Connecting with APMP has given me my own team and therefore I am less lonely especially now during Covid. You can always reach out to someone for APMP for advice or just to have a chat.


What’s next? 
I am going to do my Practitioner certification by the end of September.

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APMP ANZ Chapter Awards 2020

Important dates

Awards open: Tuesday 18 August 2020

Nomination deadline: Tuesday 13 October 2020

Finalists announced: Early November 2020

Virtual Awards Ceremony: Wednesday 18 November 2020

To view more about the categories and eligibility requirements, click the link below:

 

NOMINATE NOW
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APMP ANZ wins chapter of the year award

The APMP ANZ Chapter has won the 2020 Stephen P. Shipley Chapter of the Year award. This recognition is thanks to our active membership base of winning work professionals and dedicated volunteer committee. Together we are having a positive impact as thought leaders in the proposal industry within ANZ and the Asia-Pacific region.

The Stephen P. Shipley award honours the APMP chapter that demonstrates excellence in chapter sustenance and development through support of APMP initiatives. APMP ANZ was recognised for:

  • Membership engagement initiatives including successful conferences
  • A growing certification program, with 181 members currently holding at least one level of APMP certification
  • Strong membership growth, with ANZ appearing in the top three chapters for the number of new members in a recent membership promotion
  • Regular webinars held with industry-leading speakers
  • Networking events held across a vast geographical area, with 18 events held in 12 locations since 2019
  • Offshore networking events held in Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore
  • Communication activities including a new website developed in 2019 and
  • Initiatives designed to provide more value to members including our recent mentorship program and upcoming salary survey and awards program.

With nearly 30 chapters located worldwide, APMP ANZ was recognised with two other finalists: the APMP National Capital Area (NCA) Chapter in the US and the APMP UK chapter. Congratulations to our fellow finalists.

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Join us for BidX 2020 + Your early sponsorship opportunity

The APMP ANZ Annual Conference will take place on 3-4 March 2021 in Sydney. We are working hard to deliver an even bigger and better conference for you, preparing the agenda and securing some of the industry’s best speakers and supporters.

In the interim, we invite you to join us for BidX 2020 – APMP ANZ’s first virtual event taking place on August 18th. BidX will deliver quality learning and development through a dynamic and interactive online experience. The event program will include a preview of the 2021 Conference speakers, as well as insights from the global bidding community.

REGISTER NOW