Riding The Wave: TxDOT Proposals Explained

Sep 3

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Why the “Wave”?

TxDOT is one of the largest contractors and issuers of contract work for all industries in Texas. TxDOT issues RFPs in quarterly “waves” or groupings of projects.

With an average of 75 responses to any given RFP, TxDOT needed to manage its resources and budget for procurement while helping responding firms with their own RFP submittal planning. There wasn’t a regular cadence for TxDOT RFPs in the past, with RFP issuances seemingly coming at random. Without knowing when TxDOT RFPs would be released, firms found it impossible to plan resources and budget for RFP responses. As a compromise, TxDOT started issuing quarterly RFP project “waves” in September, December, March, and June. The response period is a short 21 days from RFP issuance to proposal due dates. Click here to review the 2025 TxDOT waves.

Why are TxDOT Proposals Such a Challenge?

Responding to TxDOT proposals is complicated, time-consuming, and expensive because of the high proposal volume, short turnaround times, and highly technical content requiring the dedicated attention of senior technical staff.

1. Technical Responses Create Resource Challenges

The competition for TxDOT work is stiff, to say the least. Firms large and small are chasing the same projects with vastly different resource pools. Firms often rely on their most senior, and thus most expensive, resources to write RFP responses to stay competitive. Some firms are responding to up to seven proposals in a wave. Assigning the best and highest-paid resource to these proposal efforts is an expensive endeavor.

2. Be Technical, Yet Persuasive

RFP responses are designed using prompts developed by the selection committee. Selection committees develop desired RFP response criteria using scenario prompts and evaluation scoring relevant to the proposed project. The committee looks for specific content in each response to help evaluate which firms get shortlisted. Answering these scenario prompts requires highly tailored, technical content that is also persuasive, compelling, and concise.

3. A Diverse Audience

TxDOT selection committee members are a diverse audience in age, experience, and technical knowledge, with an average tenure of five years. Responses need to speak to every level of the selection committee.

4. Compliance Is Key

Ensuring compliance with TxDOT's requirements is crucial to avoid getting disqualified (DQ’ed). Simple errors, such as not signing a required form, using an outdated version of a form, or exceeding the page limits, can easily result in a proposal being rejected. It's essential to double-check that all forms are accurate and up-to-date. Attention to details like page limits, correct typefaces, and font sizes is vital. Firms often need to strategically edit their content to ensure it is not only relevant and compelling but also fully compliant with TxDOT's submission guidelines. Avoiding these common pitfalls can make the difference between getting shortlisted and being disqualified.

The Best Way to Ride the Wave

Partnering with a well-rounded extended proposal team can streamline the TxDOT RFP development, ultimately saving you time, and allows your technical staff to spend their time on the portions of the RFP with the highest value.

How do we do that? Our proposal professionals run the proposal development process from kick-off to send-off, so you don’t have to. We stop the wheel spinning and help you streamline your process and elevate your content by:

Running meetings
Setting content and production schedules
Managing resources
Ensuring deliverables meet requirements
Delivering documents on time.

Making the Process Faster and Easier

HDB will guide your team in creating a proposal response that clearly delivers your firm’s message in an engaging and readable way. We will assign the best resource to contribute to each proposal development stage and conduct strategic editing for consistency and impactful message delivery that complies with page limits. The HDB proposal professional will foster alignment between technical and marketing team members, assist in drafting a solid proposal outline, and manage the content development process.

How Do We Get It Done Together?

3-4 Months Out from the Wave

Start the process with a consultation call with HBD about three to four months before the wave.

Start the process to get on our client list. HDB capacity is limited. Getting an MSA executed early to make sure when you’re ready to engage us, we can get right to work!

1-2 Months Before the Wave

Conduct an internal Go-No Go on your TxDOT Proposal List. For tips on developing a Go-No Go process, contact HDB to schedule a pre-RFP call. We will discuss your TxDOT pursuits and which pursuits you want HDB’s involvement. HDB will guide your team on what RFP tasks should be done ahead of time to streamline the process.

RFP Released

We roll up our sleeves and work alongside your team for 21 days to develop the proposal(s).

Phased Approach

HDB’s Red-Yellow-Green proposal phases keep the proposal on target.

Red Phase: This stage focuses on collaborative content and messaging development. We suggest starting the phase one month before the expected RFP release.

Yellow Phase: When the written content is 80% complete, we begin the transition to design layout. Developing a proposal design that is inviting to the selection committee and engages them in the content.

Green Phase: The proposal document has taken shape and complies with the TxDOT requirements. Typically, edits at this stage are minimal and reserved for disqualification flaws.

To catch the wave, timing is everything!

Adding HDB as an extended team resource is easy.

Schedule a free consultant call. We will dive into your proposal challenges and targeted TxDOT pursuits.
HDB will craft a plan for your TxDOT pursuits, with involvement customized to your needs.
Win work without stressing over the proposal process.

Are you ready to take the first step? Schedule a consultation call with the HDB team today.