Written by Samantha MacMillan

September gave the APMP ANZ community plenty of reasons to get out from behind the laptop.

Across Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane, bid and proposal professionals came together for a month of networking, conversation and, in Brisbane’s case, a slightly questionable amount of competitive energy over a game of Bid Bingo.

It was also a fitting way to celebrate International Day for Bids and Proposals on 29 September, a day dedicated to recognising the people behind the submissions, pursuits and wins that keep our profession moving.

Because if there is one thing September reminded us, it is that our profession works better when we stay connected.

Celebrating the people behind the proposals

International Day for Bids and Proposals is a chance to recognise the work we do, but more importantly, the people who do it.

Behind every polished submission is a collection of conversations, decisions, late changes, technical inputs, reviews, formatting fixes and probably at least one person asking, “Has anyone actually answered the question?”

It is collaborative work by its very nature.

To mark the day, Nicole McIntyre, Submissions Manager at Built, shared her reflections in More Than the Submission: Celebrating the People Who Make Bids Happen.

Nicole’s piece celebrates the camaraderie, long hours, small rituals and shared effort that sit behind the final document. It is a reminder to recognise the wins and the losses, thank the people beside us and occasionally step away from the deadline long enough to have a coffee, a yarn or, appropriately, some pizza.

Networking is more than exchanging business cards

In a profession where teams are often dispersed across organisations, states and even countries, it can be surprisingly easy to spend most of our time talking to the same small group of people.

That is why local networking matters.

It gives us an opportunity to compare experiences, discover that other teams are wrestling with many of the same challenges, learn how someone else approaches the work and build relationships that extend beyond a single tender.

Sometimes the most useful professional development does not happen in a webinar or training course. It happens when someone says, “We tried this. Here’s what worked.”

September gave us three opportunities to have exactly those conversations.

Adelaide gets together

Our Adelaide community met at The Gallery Rooftop Bar on Thursday, 24 September for an evening of connection with fellow bid and proposal professionals.

A big thank you to Courtney Bennell for helping bring the Adelaide community together, and to everyone who made the time to come along, meet new people and contribute to the conversation.

Local events only work when people show up, and every person who attends helps make the network a little stronger.

Adelaide networkers enjoying the view from the rooftop bar.

Perth starts the day with APMP

On Tuesday, 29 September, our Perth community started International Day for Bids and Proposals with a networking breakfast at Faraday’s.

Thank you to Malcolm Dolling and the Perth networking team for making the event happen, and to everyone who joined us before the working day properly kicked off.

There is something particularly impressive about bid professionals voluntarily networking at 7:30 in the morning. We will assume the coffee helped.

And the branded International Day for Bids and Proposals cupcakes were a big hit too. Because if there is one reliable way to strengthen a professional community, it may just be good conversation paired with excellent cake.

It was a great way to mark the day and celebrate the people behind the profession.

Brisbane brings out the Bid Bingo

Later that day, the celebrations moved east as Brisbane’s bid and proposal community came together to mark International Day for Bids and Proposals.

Alongside the usual conversation and networking, Brisbane tested something new: Bid Bingo.

The result was plenty of chatting, laughing, groaning and the occasional eye roll as attendees recognised some painfully familiar moments from life in bids.

It turns out phrases and experiences that make proposal professionals collectively cringe are also excellent conversation starters.

A huge thank you to Emily Zeitoun, Gemma Fowle and Samantha MacMillan for helping organise the Brisbane event, and to everyone who came along and embraced the experiment.

We are hoping to squeeze in another Brisbane event before the end of the year, so watch this space.

The Brisbane crew preparing to start Bid Bingo

Brisbane Networking Bid Bingo: 50 Bid Phrases that have probably caused a few people in our industry emotional damage

Building the community into 2027

These events do not happen by accident.

Behind each one are volunteers giving their time to find venues, organise invitations, encourage attendance and create opportunities for our profession to come together.

Our Networking Coordinators are already looking ahead to 2027, with plans to continue building local events and creating more opportunities for members to connect.

And that is worth investing in.

Bids and proposals can be intense work. Deadlines are real, workloads fluctuate, and the people around us often make the difference between simply getting through a submission and actually enjoying the profession we have chosen.

So keep showing up.

Attend the event. Introduce yourself to someone new. Share what has worked for your team. Ask someone how they approached a challenge. Have the coffee. Eat the cupcake. Play the ridiculous networking game.

Because strong professional communities are not built through connection requests alone.

They are built through conversations.

More Than a LinkedIn Connection: Why Our Bid Community Matters