Government Contracting – The Capability Statement

In order to effectively market to any sector described in the previous articles, it is important to have an effective and colorful one page description of the value your company provides to its customers. In the sectors we are describing, we call this a capability statement and it provides the procurement or sourcing teams the information they need to consider your companies merit. We can accurately say it is a corporate version of a resume outlining the key indicators such as the company’s core competencies, past performance, contact information, unique selling proposition, and overall capacity.

At CFR, we developed a formula to ensure that you cover everything on that one page without overloading it. Because the capability statement’s appearance is as important as its content, the content and the layout must be carefully placed and presented so that it is appealing and powerful, all in one. CFR’s formula is called 3C1P and is summarized by Capability, Capacity, Credibility, and Past Performance.

Let’s review the basic essentials of each one so you can start on creating one for your business. Capability is simply what are your core competencies defined as expertise in certain areas of your business model. For example you just don’t do construction; you build according to specs and plans. You just don’t do environmental work; you specialize in certain areas that have certain desired results. When explained in that manner, the work your company does produces immediate value for the reader and value for the end user.

Capacity is defined as your ability to protect the contracting authority with the specific requirements that are being sought. This includes the necessary insurances, ability to bond, the geographic capacity to execute the contract when and where it is defined, the personnel resources necessary, and the financial resources to sustain the contract through its duration.

Credibility is defined as what kind of past performance does your company have in this area as it relates to the experience of the customer you were serving. In the analogy of the resume, this would be the reference part. What do your customers say about the way you executed the work they paid you to perform?

Past Performance is considered when your company has performed “like” scope of work in any other sector. The key thing that is evaluated is size of the projects performed in the past and how close are they in size to the one they are issuing the solicitation for? Secondly, and equal in criteria for evaluation is the scope and how close it is the work performed.