RFP Writing & Management
We write proposals that score well, and we write the solicitations that make scoring possible. For nonprofits, businesses, districts, agencies, and universities on either side of the table.
Proposals and applications won for clients
Secured for clients through proposals and grant applications
Most Firms Do One. We Do Both.
Writing a winning response and writing a solicitation that can be scored fairly are two halves of the same skill. Having done both makes us better at each.
Proposal Development
We write the response, manage the compliance matrix, and hit the deadline. You stay focused on the work you are bidding to do.
- Narrative, staffing plans, and budget narratives
- Past performance and capability documentation
- Every required form, tracked to a compliance matrix
- Portal submission and deadline management
Solicitation Development
We write RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs that attract qualified bidders and produce responses you can actually compare against each other.
- Scope of work and clear deliverable definitions
- Evaluation criteria and scoring rubrics
- Timeline, Q&A process, and bidder communications
- Evaluation support and award documentation
We Bid for Ourselves, Too
We have written more than a hundred winning proposals and applications for clients, in education and well outside it. Some of those awards are confidential.
So here is the part you can verify independently. Every cooperative contract Studiously holds was won the same way: reading a public solicitation, deciding it was winnable, and writing a compliant response against a deadline. Eight awards across five cooperatives, each one checkable with the issuing body.
A number you cannot check is worth less than one you can.
Which is why every contract listed here is our own, not a client tally.
Engage Milepost, awarded by the City of Roseville
We wrote the response. Engage Milepost won the contract.
Parklife, awarded by Dallas Parks and Recreation Department
A municipal solicitation outside education entirely. We wrote it; Parklife won it.
Four Stages, Starting With Whether to Bid
The first stage is the one most firms skip, and it is the one that protects your budget.
Go or no-go
We read the solicitation before anything else and tell you honestly whether it is winnable. A clean no saves more money than a losing bid.
Capture and positioning
What the evaluator is actually scoring, where you are strong, and what has to be true for you to win it. Written down before drafting starts.
Write and assemble
Narrative, staffing plan, budget narrative, past performance, and every required form. We track the compliance matrix so nothing is missed.
Submit and follow through
Portal upload, deadline management, clarifications, and the post-award handoff. Debriefs on losses, because the next one is scored by the same people.
Four Situations We See Most
Nonprofits bidding on public contracts
You have the program and the track record, but no one on staff has eight uninterrupted hours to write a compliant response.
Businesses entering the public market
Selling to districts and agencies is a different sport than commercial sales. We know the forms, the scoring, and the portals.
Agencies and districts issuing an RFP
You need a solicitation that attracts qualified bidders and produces comparable, scoreable responses instead of a pile of brochures.
Universities and research offices
Subcontract proposals, consortium bids, and the compliance documentation that has to accompany them.
We Will Tell You Not to Bid
Roughly speaking, the fastest way to lose money on public contracting is to respond to solicitations you were never positioned to win. An incumbent with five years of performance history, a scope written around a competitor's capability, a scoring rubric that weights something you do not have.
We read the solicitation first and say so plainly. If the answer is no, you have paid for half a day instead of three weeks, and we will tell you what would have to change for the next one to be worth pursuing.
Per Proposal or On Retainer
A single response or solicitation runs as a fixed-scope project with a flat price, quoted after we have read the document. Organizations bidding regularly work on retainer, with hours that roll across twelve months so a quiet month is not wasted.
Nonprofits and businesses can engage us directly with a simple agreement. Districts, universities, and agencies can purchase through a cooperative contract with no separate solicitation.
Send Us the Solicitation
Half an hour, no cost. Send the RFP you are looking at and we will tell you whether it is worth your time before you spend any of it.