Field notes from the work.

Practical strategy on campaigns, advocacy, and winning Texas government contracts — written for the people who actually have to make the decisions. No fluff.

Featured · Procurement

How do small vendors actually win Texas ISD RFPs?

It comes down to four things: matching the scoring rubric line by line, building credible past performance, pricing to the budget signal, and submitting clean. The vendors who win aren't the cheapest — they're the ones who answer exactly the question the district asked.

Gavin Nicholson8 min read

Procurement

What does it cost to bid on a Texas government contract?

Registrations, bonds, insurance, and the hours a competitive proposal actually takes — and how to budget for it.

7 min readStrategy

Procurement

5 reasons small vendors lose Texas school district RFPs

Wrong rubric focus, missed addenda, weak past performance, a thin executive summary, and wired specs.

7 min readStrategy

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