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Desk reference

Bid gates as B&P investment decisions

Terms for the first formal gate: what the board decides, and the customer-value triad that must map to evaluation.

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Bid gate

A bid gate is a staged investment decision that authorizes the next tranche of (B&P) effort only when eligibility, readiness, win likelihood, and risk-adjusted economics clear agreed thresholds. The board challenges evidence and owners — not momentum. Apply that lens at every tranche, from early capture spend through final proposal authorization. Portfolio capacity (solution architects, pricing, proposal ops) is finite; compare incremental B&P and specialist opportunity cost with expected risk-adjusted contribution before the chase. FAR 31.205-18 addresses allowability of B&P costs; it does not reimburse each losing bid or erase internal opportunity cost.

Watch for

Don't treat the gate as a pep rally, a reward for customer access alone, or a promise that every technically feasible pursuit deserves a full color-team cycle. Technical capability without a path to award and return is incomplete.

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Why change, why now, why us

A disciplined capture triad separates three customer questions: why change (the problem or opportunity the buyer must solve), why now (the trigger, consequence, or funding/acquisition window that forces action), and why us (a discriminator the evaluation will actually reward). Park the triad beside evaluation factors under FAR 15.304 — if why us cannot map to stated factors and evidence, the pursuit's value case is marketing theater.

Watch for

Don't collapse the triad into why our growth target, why our fiscal year end, or why our logo. A slogans-only triad fails under scrutiny. Why change and why now do not become irrelevant just because an has posted.

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