APMP’s Bid & Proposal Consultant members can gain the recognition they deserve and connect with potential customers like they never have before in the industry’s new APMP Consultants Directory which launches today, July 31, 2019.
The new Consultant’s Directory is an online publication to help APMP members find and hire qualified professional consultants for their next bid and proposal. In addition to serving the needs of APMP consultant members, the new APMP Consultants Directory will serve as the go-to platform for organizations seeking consultants to support their work in business development and winning new business.
“This new directory will help APMP promote the consultant members in the Association — about 10 percent of our membership,” said Ginny Carson, Chair of APMP. “At the same time, it will give the remainder of our membership the confidence to know they are hiring the best and most-qualified consultants to assist in their day-to-day proposal operations,” she said.
Each consultant has to meet the following criteria to be a part of APMP’s Consultant Directory. Consultants must:
- Be a member in good standing with APMP
- Have completed either APMP Foundation, Practitioner or Professional certification
- Have evidence they hold the proper insurance for a consultancy. For example, professional liability insurance.
- Declare staff who are recognized under the consultancy (if they are a larger consultancy firm) and confirm that all staff must meet the above qualifications.
Enforcing these four simple criteria ensures that APMP members know they are getting qualified bid and proposal consultants when they find them through the Consultant’s Directory.
“Promoting consultant members and providing a one-stop resource that APMP members can use to shop for a consultant is important to the consultant/bid and professional proposal relationship,” said Rick Harris, CEO of APMP. “Anytime we can give members confidence through an Association and industry supported program – we’ve done our job.”
Harris also noted that the APMP Consultants Directory would allow APMP to focus and advocate for its consultant community. The Association will use its collective voice to educate, monitor, and advise members about existing or upcoming legislation that might directly impact bid and proposals consultants.
For example, consultants in the U.K. are currently navigating and interpreting an upcoming tax change called IR35 that could result in up to 35% loss in earnings. The law is intended to help the government determine qualified consultants from “disguised employees” that are working inside of companies. APMP is keeping a close eye on the adverse impacts on our consultant members.
Additionally, in 2015, APMP used its collective voice and influence to remove language from the U.S. Census Bureau Draft RFP YA 1323-15-MS-0003 for Multi-Tiered Acquisition Framework for Systems Engineering and Integration that would have restricted or prohibited technical consultants from participating in the RFP unless they were part of the offeror’s team.
“APMP’s influence in 2015 was a huge victory for our consultant members and our industry,” said Carson. “APMP’s collective voice made sure that our consultant members were heard, treated fairly, and their ability to work and earn in this industry was preserved,” she said.
Being a part of the Directory lends power to the collective APMP voice in advocacy. The cost for individual consultants to appear in the APMP Consultants Directory is $25 annually for individuals and $250 for larger consulting companies. The fees cover administrative costs to collect, review, and maintain the consultant’s information and validate the criteria as mentioned above.
To sign up for the APMP Consultants Directory go to https://www.apmp.org/page/PCDNewDirectory. For more information, please e-mail Tony Round, APMP’s Business Development Director, Europe at tony.round@apmp.org.
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APMP is a 501c6 non-profit organization based in Washington, DC and is dedicated to advance the arts, sciences, and technologies of new business acquisition of its more than 8,660 members and to promote the professionalism of those engaged in those pursuits.
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