Guide
How to write a winning IT proposal for a government tender
A practical structure for government IT proposals, from the executive summary to the method, team, evidence and price, written for small firms without a bid team.
A public sector proposal is not a sales brochure. It is an exam paper, marked by people with a scoring guide. That changes how you should write it.
Plan before you write
Spend the first day planning, not writing.
- Build a compliance matrix listing every requirement and question, with its weight and page limit.
- Write your win themes. Two or three reasons the buyer should choose you, such as "we have done this exact migration for two other provinces" or "our team will be the people you meet, not a bait and switch".
- Decide who writes what, with internal deadlines that leave two days for review.
- Collect your evidence: case studies, CVs, certifications, references.
A structure that works
Follow the buyer's structure if they give one. If they don't, use this:
- Executive summary: one page that tells the buyer you understand their problem and why you are the safe choice.
- Understanding of the requirement: their problem in your words, including the risks they may not have spelled out.
- Approach and method: how you will deliver, phase by phase. See describing agile delivery in a bid.
- Team: named people, their roles and relevant experience. See CVs for tenders.
- Experience and case studies: two or three examples close to this work.
- Plan and timeline: milestones and what the buyer gets at each.
- Risk management: the top risks and how you'll handle them.
- Price, in the format they ask for.
Write to the scoring
For each question, look at what the top score requires and write to that. Our guide to how tenders are scored explains the usual scales. Use the answer structure in this guide for every question.
Make every claim specific
Evaluators can't score adjectives. Compare:
We are a highly experienced team delivering innovative solutions.
with:
Our team rebuilt the permit system for a city of 150,000 people in 2025, cutting average approval time from 21 days to 9.
The second gets marks. The first doesn't.
Lower the buyer's risk
Public buyers are more afraid of failure than they are excited by innovation. Show:
- You've done it before, for someone like them.
- The named people have done it before.
- You have a plan for the things most likely to go wrong.
- You're financially stable enough to finish the job.
Review like an evaluator
Leave a full day for someone who didn't write the bid to score it against the published criteria. Then fix the weakest answers, check every mandatory requirement, and run through the submission checklist.
Common questions
How long should a government proposal be?
As long as the buyer allows and no longer than you need. If there are page or word limits, use most of them on the highest-weighted questions. Exceeding a limit can mean the extra pages are not read.
Should I use the buyer's template?
Always, if they provide one. Changing the format can make your bid non-compliant, and evaluators find it harder to score.
Do graphics help in a tender response?
A clear timeline, team chart or process diagram can help, as long as it is readable and labelled. Check that images count towards page limits and are allowed in the answer boxes.