When presenting project experience and past performance in a government proposal, it’s important to keep in mind the needs and expectations of the government agency you are submitting to. Project experience and past performance are not the same thing in the eyes of the evaluators.

Project experience is just that, experience of your firm that is recent and relevant to the type of project you are proposing. Past performance is how your firm performed executing similar projects and contracts.

For experience, evaluators look for recency, relevancy, scope similarities and magnitude of your projects. For past performance, they evaluate your ability to maintain cost and schedule, delivery quality projects, manage the projects, your compliance with regulations and small business requirements, as well as customer satisfaction.

When writing a proposal, the past performance section might not have to be the same as your experience section. In those cases, you can use the two sections to highlight several projects and presumably, more capabilities of your firm. Make sure to really read the requirements for the specific pursuit so you can provide what the evaluators want to see. In addition to narrative, past performance is evaluated by providing customer feedback, either by way of a recommendation letter, a customer survey, or for Federal clients, a Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) or providing your CPAR (only Federal contracts have CPARs).

To highlight your project experience:

1. Provide Specific Project Details: Be specific about the project experience you are highlighting, including the project name, the client, and the scope of work. Provide details on the size and complexity of the project, as well as any challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
2. Use Active Voice and Action-Oriented Language: Use active voice and action-oriented language to describe your project experience. Focus on your contributions and achievements, rather than simply listing your role and responsibilities.
3. Demonstrate Results: Demonstrate measurable results from your project experience, such as achieving cost savings, increasing efficiency, improving quality, or meeting or exceeding performance standards.
4. Highlight Relevant Skills and Expertise: Highlight any skills and expertise that are relevant to the government agency’s needs – often found in the scope description of the solicitation. Make sure the projects you showcase include the disciplines and expertise outlined in the solicitation – reinforcing their “relevancy.”

To effectively present your past performance:

1. Select Similar Projects/Contracts: Focus on your past performance that is most relevant to the work you are proposing to do for the government agency. Provide specific examples and measurable results that demonstrate your success in completing similar projects.
2. Use Clear and Concise Language: Use clear and concise language to describe your past performance. Write your narrative following the evaluation criteria to address the elements they will be evaluating (i.e., cost control, schedule management, quality, etc.)
3. Emphasize Quality and Performance Metrics: Highlight any quality and performance metrics that demonstrate your past success, such as on-time delivery, meeting or exceeding performance standards, and cost savings.
4. Provide Supporting Documentation: Provide supporting documentation such as reference letters, customer satisfaction surveys, and PPQs and CPARs.
5. Be Honest and Transparent: Be honest and transparent about your past performance, including any challenges or lessons learned. This will demonstrate your ability to be accountable and proactive in identifying and addressing issues that may arise during project execution. Several solicitations even ask for narratives addressing less-than-stellar past performance evaluations. Take advantage of that opportunity to show how you’ve improved your processes as a result of those challenges.
6. Use Visual Aids: Use graphs, charts, or tables to summarize and illustrate your past performance data. This can make your proposal more engaging and easier for the government agency to understand.

Effectively highlight your project experience and past performance by aligning your narratives with the solicitation requirements can increase your chances of winning the contract. Remember to focus on the needs of the government agency and provide clear, compelling evidence of your capabilities and achievements.