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Technical Writing for USAID Proposals

8.5

(26 ratings)

·

10 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Learn the process for writing responsive, compelling, and technically rich proposals in response to USAID solicitations.

Hosted by

Jordann El Dorry, Susanne Barsoum, and Joanne Moore

Proven technical writers who are ready to share their secrets for success

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

USAID business development managers and directors

02

Technical staff or project managers looking to write proposals

03

New Parters looking to work with USAID

By the end of this course you will

Understand the role

Describe and explain the role of a technical writer

Learn proven practices

Explain best practices and tested methods for successfully writing USAID proposals

Become a skilled writer

Write a technical approach for a USAID proposal as lead writer employing best practices

Know which jobs are for you

Identify technical writing jobs that are a suitable match to your skills

Gain confidence as a writer

Demonstrate a level of confidence, and a healthy fear, of technical writing

Meet your instructors

Jordann El Dorry

Jordann El Dorry

Prior to joining Keylime, Jordann was a successful business development director at Chemonics International, one of the largest USAID implementing partners. During her 10 years at the company she consistently exceeded corporate win rate and sales targets. With years of writing technical proposals under her belt, she is excited to share some of the tools and strategies she employs to make the process a little less painful and a lot more fun!

Susanne Barsoum

Susanne Barsoum

After a career as a BD Director at Chemonics International, Susanne is building 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 (IPs) Chemonics International (contractor) and Population Services International (NGO), 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

8.5

(26 ratings)

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

        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

Course Schedule

2-3 hours per week
  • Tuesdays

    9:00am - 10:30am EST

    We will meet once a week for live classes over Zoom.

  • 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.

Course syllabus

01

The Role of the Tech Writer in Capture

We'll cover what exactly a technical writer should be doing during the capture phase and how to maximize your prep time.

02

Reading an RFP and the first 48 hours

Here we'll cover what milestones should be achieved in the critical first 48 hours of a live bid. Participants will also learn how to effectively read and analyze an RFP.

03

Fundamentals of Outlining

Participants will be immersed in the foundational skill of outlining - why we do it, when we do it, and how to construct general and detailed outlines.

04

The Background & Context Section

We'll learn how to maximize these introductory sections to frame your problem statement and proposed technical solutions.

05

General Approach

Participants will gain an understanding of the components of a strong general approach and strategy, including project logic, win themes, methodologies, and more!

06

Detailed Approach

We'll dive into the various types of detailed approach sections and best practices for crafting these complex sections.

07

The Review Process

Reviews can be intimidating! We'll cover what to expect and how to manage proposal reviews as a technical writer to get the feedback you need to succeed.

08

Ask a Contracting Officer

Our favorite session! Participants will have an unstructured Q&A session with a USAID Contracting Officer.

09

MEL for Tech Writers

What do you need to know about MEL as a technical writer? We've got the answers.

10

Persuasive Writing

Participants will hone their persuasive writing skills and learn tactics for concise and compelling writing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Technical Writing for USAID Proposals