Technical Writing for USAID Proposals

4.2 (56)

·

5 Weeks

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Cohort-based Course

Learn the process for writing responsive, compelling, and technically rich proposals for USAID.

Course overview

Write winning proposals

Taught by master proposal writers with dozens of winning USAID bids under their belts, this class takes participants through each section of the technical volume to write compelling, winning proposals. Let us show you how to become a great technical writer!

Who is this course for

01

Business development teams that want to win more USAID proposals

02

Experienced writers who want to level-up their skills with proven best practices

03

New Partners looking to work with USAID

04

Technical staff who want to meaningfully contribute to proposal development

By the end of this course you will

Optimize your time

Knowing what to do and when to do it is key. We'll teach you how to maximize your time during the capture phase and how to break down the proposal into manageable pieces once it is live.

Understand proven best practices

To put it simply, you'll learn what works in writing winning USAID bids. Our course is grounded in tested methods for successfully writing USAID proposals that have been honed over decades.

Outline like a champ

You'll learn how to outline for success, a foundational skill for any writer. Through instruction and hands-on exercises and activities, you'll sharpen your ability to outline responsively and be in complete compliance with solicitations.

Level up your writing

You'll learn the secrets to making your writing more persuasive and compelling.

This course includes

10 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

16 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

6 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Jan 21—Jan 26

    Jan

    21

    Session 1 - The Role of the Tech Writer in Capture

    Tue 1/212:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

    Jan

    23

    Session 2: Reading the RFP and the First 48 Hours

    Thu 1/232:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

Week 2

Jan 27—Feb 2

    Jan

    28

    Session 3: Outlining

    Tue 1/282:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

    Jan

    30

    Session 4: Background and Context

    Thu 1/302:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

Week 3

Feb 3—Feb 9

    Feb

    4

    Session 5: General Approach and Strategy

    Tue 2/42:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

    Feb

    6

    Session 6: The Detailed Implementation Approach

    Thu 2/62:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

Week 4

Feb 10—Feb 16

    Feb

    11

    Session 7: The Review Process

    Tue 2/111:00 PM—2:30 PM (UTC)

    Feb

    13

    Session 8: Persuasive Writing

    Thu 2/131:00 PM—2:30 PM (UTC)

Week 5

Feb 17—Feb 18

    Feb

    18

    Session 9: MEL for Tech Writers

    Tue 2/181:00 PM—2:30 PM (UTC)

Post-course

    Feb

    20

    Session 10: Ask a Contracting Officer

    Thu 2/201:00 PM—2:30 PM (UTC)

    The Role of the Technical Writer in Capture

    1 item

    The first 48 hours and reading the RFP

    4 items

    Outlining

    2 items

    Background and Context

    3 items

    General Approach and Strategy

    3 items

    Detailed Approach

    2 items

    The Review Process

    1 item

    Persuasive Writing

    5 items

    MEL for Tech Writers

    1 item

4.2 (56 ratings)

What students are saying

Meet your instructors

Jordann El Dorry

Jordann El Dorry

Prior to joining Keylime, Jordann was a successful business development director at Chemonics International, USAID's largest implementing partner by volume. During her 11 years at the company she consistently exceeded corporate win rate and sales targets, bringing in more than $600 million in USAID work. She is excited to share some of the tools and strategies she employs to make technical writing a little less painful and a lot more fun!

Susanne Barsoum

Susanne Barsoum

After a career as a business development director at Chemonics International, Susanne founded Keylime to make business development more fruitful for everyone through courses like this one. She has worked on hundreds of proposals with a strong win rate. Susanne finds proposal writing the most challenging and intellectually stimulating proposal role. Her experience and networks are primarily in the Middle East, but she has also worked and lived in Nigeria and Haiti, and done assignments globally.


Joanne Moore

Joanne Moore

After 13 years successfully working in and leading business development and project management efforts at USAID implementing partners Chemonics International and Population Services International, Joanne started JoMoConsult LLC and has been providing similar consulting services primarily to USAID IPs for nearly a decade. Joanne loves creating and delivering training and sharing her experience, expertise, and epic mistakes all in an effort to support others on their professional journeys

Deborah Aker

Deborah Aker

Deborah has edited around 400 proposals—most to USAID—since 2008. She developed and co-facilitates sessions on persuasive writing for Keylime. She draws on her experience, good and bad examples from proposals, and the insights of communication professionals to help participants unlearn the complex and often over-the-top writing that earned high marks in school. We’ll brainstorm to improve sample text, critique proposal graphics, and share pain points as we seek ways to keep our writing compelling and readable.

Free resource

Tactics to Cut Clutter, Not Content

We've all been there. You're writing a proposal, and you're over the page limit. Maybe by a lot. And a deadline is looming. Don't panic, Keylime Academy's got you covered! Sign up below and get our proven tactics to conserve space and maximize your proposal's score.


Developed by Deborah Aker, an expert editor for USAID proposals and one of Keylime's course facilitators, this guide will help you cut clutter, not content.


Bonus offer: When you download our free resource, you'll also get first dibs when Keylime's Technical Writing for USAID opens up.

Get this free resource now!

Course Schedule

2-3 hours per week

  • Live Courses Twice a Week

    9:00am - 10:30am EST

    We will meet twice a week for live classes over Zoom. The Winter cohort will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the Spring cohort will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  • Homework

    1-2 hours per week

    We'll assign homework each week to put your new skills into practice! You'll get feedback from your instructors on your submissions and will have the opportunity to discuss in class.

See what people are saying

        If you're new to the details of technical writing, this course will give you the right context and helpful tips for breaking the process down.
Anna

Anna

        Jordann and team do a fabulous job of bringing together experts ideas and experiences to this 10 week course held in weekly sessions. Thoroughly enjoyable! Thank you!
Cathy

Cathy

        I really enjoyed how this content was presented and how the course was structured. Having a small group of people over many weeks allowed us to learn together but also the individual homework was really helpful for me to understand how these things were working together and get honest feedback back.
Kate

Kate

        This is a great introdcutory course to technical writing for USAID. The course was effectively structured, the content was compelling, and all instrcutors provided useful examples to reinforce key concepts.
Mark

Mark

        Overall, it was a really useful course and helped delve into very important topics for business development and technical writing in general. The ability to be able to effectively analyze and respond with a compliant and compelling proposal is a real skill. I have been in BD a long time, but this was a really important skill to keep working on.
Krystle

Krystle

        The course provides a lot of great insight into the process, even for someone who is already relatively familiar with the basics of being a tech writer. It was helpful to see how others approach the process.
Allison

Allison

        The course was a great way to brush up on my skills and learn new ones! I highly recommend this course. The teachers are experienced, dynamic, and passionate.
Yassica

Yassica

        I highly recommend this ten-week course from KeyLime Academy for business development folks or technical writers looking to sharpen their skills. I found many of the concepts applicable to writing for other donors as well.
Carissa

Carissa

        I hadn't expected that every sentence would be wise and helpful, but it was!
Betsy

Betsy

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Join an upcoming cohort

Technical Writing for USAID Proposals

Cohort 18- Winter 2025

$2,000

Dates

Jan 21—Feb 18, 2025

Payment Deadline

Jan 20, 2025

Cohort 22 - Summer 2025

$2,000

Dates

June 3—July 3, 2025

Payment Deadline

June 2, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

Stay in the loop

Sign up to be the first to know about course updates.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

Technical Writing for USAID Proposals

Cohort 18- Winter 2025

$2,000

Dates

Jan 21—Feb 18, 2025

Payment Deadline

Jan 20, 2025

Cohort 22 - Summer 2025

$2,000

Dates

June 3—July 3, 2025

Payment Deadline

June 2, 2025

$2,000

4.2 (56)

·

5 Weeks