Community Intervention Associates (CIA)
- Client: Community Intervention Associates, LLC
- Service: Bid Manager
- Industry: Healthcare
- Location: Richmond, Virginia
Company Bio: Community Intervention Associates, LLC (website) is a leading provider of comprehensive, integrative crisis stabilization and behavioral health services. They are dedicated to promoting healthier individuals, families, and communities throughout Virginia. Established as a mission-focused organization, they work to improve overall well-being by treating mental health care as a vital component of wellness. They operate according to their core principles of compassion, accessibility, and excellence in care. Their team is composed of highly qualified, licensed mental health professionals. Team members include clinicians, social workers, behavioral specialists, and peer support personnel. They are deeply embedded within the local communities they serve. Community Intervention Associates (CIA) maintains strong partnerships with regional healthcare providers. They also work with community service boards, schools, hospitals, social services agencies, and other stakeholders.
“The Bid Lab’s expertise in managing the RFP was instrumental in our success. Their team took the time to understand our services and produced a proposal that showcased our strengths. We’re thrilled to have secured the contract and look forward to making an impact in the region.“
– Kay Dabney, PHR, QMHP-T, Co-founder
Community Intervention Associates Overview
- Assisted with updating policy language to meet procurement requirements
- Collaborated with client stakeholders to organize and present documentation per the solicitation instructions
- Drafted, designed, and developed a response for their first bid with The Bid Lab
The Challenge
Community Intervention Associates (CIA) is a dynamic Virginia-based company dedicated to delivering high-quality behavioral health and crisis response services. Committed to improving community well-being, they knew their services and mission aligned well with the community’s behavioral health authority. So, when the organization issued a Request for Proposals (RFP), CIA realized they had an opportunity to step up and make an impact.
The authority hoped to establish a term contract with a service provider for regional community-based stabilization services. They aimed to ensure that the organization had the capacity to provide daily, 24/7 community stabilization services to all citizens across all the counties and cities zoned within the region. The entity required a comprehensive proposal response that demonstrated the respondent’s ability and expertise in delivering community-based stabilization services, adherence to regional standards, and operational capacity to serve a diverse population.
This RFP presented an opportunity for the CIA to position itself as a contracted vendor in a competitive market. While the CIA had extensive experience providing crisis stabilization services, their team’s day-to-day duties left little time to build the required in-depth, detailed response package. What’s more, the solicitation’s looming submission deadline posed a significant challenge.
So, with a strict submission deadline only three weeks away, the CIA realized they needed more hands on deck. If they intended to submit a detailed, compelling, organized response, they needed to hire an external bid management team. Therefore, they decided to partner with the go-to RFP management experts at The Bid Lab. With our experts on the case, we knew we could help them streamline their proposal process– and build a response they knew truly represented their organization.
The Solution
From the beginning of our partnership, we knew our client had the expertise and resources to exceed expectations and fulfill the services in scope. They are passionate about providing dependable, high-quality services like those sought by the procurement. With our team now on board, they could continue to focus on their day-to-day responsibilities. Meanwhile, our bid management experts jumped into action.
To ensure compliance with requirements and submissions, The Bid Lab conducted an in-depth analysis of the RFP requirements. We aligned the CIA’s capabilities with the requesting entity’s priorities. Upon completing our analysis, we created a list of all required supporting documents we needed to submit alongside our proposal. These supporting documents included a smorgasbord of mandated forms, maps, certifications, licenses, and policies. All required attachments had to adhere to the file format and organizational requirements.
As we drafted a persuasive narrative demonstrating the CIA’s qualifications, innovative service delivery model, and commitment to their region’s behavioral health needs, we also enhanced and refined the content within the company’s policies. During the content enhancement phase, we knew we could optimize the presentation of the company’s policies and procedures. We worked with company stakeholders to present this critical information in easily digestible workflows. Finally, we coordinated meetings with the CIA and facilities stakeholders. We managed revisions to deliver a professional proposal within the deadline.
“The Bid Lab’s collaborative process allowed us to focus on our work while they handled the complexities of the RFP response.”
– Angela R. Love, QMHP-A, QMHP-C, SSGB, Co-founder
The Results of the Engagement
With The Bid Lab’s support, the CIA repackaged their organization’s materials, background, policies, experience and abilities into a proposal-friendly format. They also have an organized and updated content library consisting of licenses, certifications, forms, key personnel information and other useful supplemental materials. With all of their assets readily available in one convenient, easily-accessible location, they can now update, edit, and build on their information as they see fit.
The entire process, from our first stakeholder meeting to the date of final submission, took about three weeks. That’s right: in less than a month, the CIA had a compelling and compliant proposal package, complete with content and design enhancements to help their submission stand out from their competitors. Now, the CIA can use their design enhancements and assets from our client’s content library. We created compliant, compelling, and comprehensive content that the client can reuse in their documentation, client communication and marketing campaigns. Should they decide to pursue future RFPs, they’ll have the necessary scaffolding in place to create a new proposal response.
Most of all, however, they now have the time and freedom to keep their focus on what matters most: their mission. They can continue delivering critical services to individuals in need while knowing they’re ready for any future opportunities that may present themselves. If they decide to once again ask for assistance, we at The Bid Lab are happy to help. Nothing would delight us more than helping the CIA expand its behavioral health services to reach and benefit individuals in need.
Want to Enhance Your RFP Like Community Intervention Associates? We Can Help!
The Bid Lab knows better than anyone that proposals can be complicated. But we also know how to present your procedures, policies, licenses, references, addenda, and other required information in the best light. We’ll ensure your proposal meets compliance requirements. So don’t be afraid to chase the right proposal opportunity. If you need help finding the perfect public or private bid, then you’ll want to check out our RFP search engine, Bid Banana! Yes, it’s true: we help find proposals, too! So, when you’re ready to knock the socks off the bid evaluators and submit polished, compelling, and compliant content, reach out! Contact The Bid Lab for a free consultation today! You can also give us a call at 1-844-4BIDLAB or email respond@thebidlab.com.
