How do I collaborate with subject matter experts to get the information I need for a complex proposal?

For a complex proposal, the most effective approach is to treat SMEs as sources of expertise and validation, while you remain responsible for turning that expertise into a coherent proposal. Clear roles, focused questions, and defined deadlines are consistently recommended for SME collaboration.ASAE+1

A practical workflow

1. Start with the proposal requirements

• Break the RFP/proposal into individual requirements, evaluation criteria, and questions.
• Identify which parts actually require SME input.
• Give the SME the exact requirement, rather than a vague request like “Can you help with the technical section?”The Bid Lab™

2. Match each question to the right expert

• Identify who has firsthand knowledge of the technology, operations, staffing, past performance, customer needs, risks, or implementation approach.
• For critical claims, consider getting input from more than one SME so you can identify disagreements or gaps. Multiple perspectives can improve completeness and reveal differences in judgment.SME Qualification Assessments

3. Prepare before you meet

Send a short briefing containing:

• The proposal objective and audience
• The relevant requirement/evaluation criterion
• What you already know
• 3–5 specific questions
• What evidence or numbers you need
• The deadline and expected time commitment

This is much more productive than sending a blank section and asking the SME to write it. The Bid Lab™ 4. Interview rather than delegate writing

Ask questions such as:

• “What specifically would you do to meet this requirement?”
• “What evidence demonstrates that we can do this?”
• “What makes our approach different?”
• “What assumptions are we making?”
• “What could go wrong?”
• “What numbers, examples, or past results can substantiate this?”

A 20-minute conversation can be easier for an SME than asking them to compose several pages. Your job is then to translate their expertise into proposal language. The Bid Lab™ 5. Capture facts separately from interpretation

During the conversation, distinguish between:

• Facts: “We have 14 certified engineers.”
• Evidence: “We completed X comparable projects.”
• Expert judgment: “This approach should reduce implementation risk.”
• Assumptions: “The customer will provide access to X.”

This makes it much easier to fact-check the proposal and avoid turning an expert's opinion into an unsupported claim. 6. Write the first draft yourself

Don't make the SME responsible for producing polished proposal prose unless that's explicitly their role. SMEs provide the technical substance; the proposal writer makes it concise, persuasive, consistent with the solicitation, and aligned with the rest of the response. The Bid Lab™ 7. Send back a targeted validation draft

Instead of “Please review this section,” ask:

“Please verify the three technical claims highlighted below, especially the staffing numbers, implementation timeline, and performance metric. Are they accurate and defensible?” Focus the SME's second review on accuracy and risk, rather than asking them to rewrite everything.The Bid Lab™+1

8. Build deadlines backward from the real deadline

If the proposal is due Friday, don't make the SME's deadline Friday. Build in time for you to incorporate their information, resolve discrepancies, edit, and conduct final reviews. Clear deadlines and roles are particularly important because SMEs often have substantial responsibilities outside the proposal.ASAE+1

A useful SME tracker

The important part is that every SME interaction should have a defined output. “Talk to the security expert” is an activity; “validate our three security claims and provide supporting evidence” is an actionable deliverable.

The request I'd send an SME

Keep it short, specific, and respectful of their time. For example:

Hi [Name] — I’m working on the proposal section covering [topic]. I need your expertise on three specific points:

1. What is our actual approach to [requirement]?
2. What evidence or past experience can we cite to demonstrate it?
3. Are there any technical assumptions or limitations I should account for?

I can send you the relevant requirement and a short draft beforehand. A 20-minute conversation would be ideal, although written answers are also fine. I need to incorporate the information by [date].

Thanks — I’ll handle the proposal writing; I mainly need your technical expertise and validation. That division of labor—SME supplies expertise, proposal lead supplies structure and writing, SME validates the resulting claims—is usually much more efficient than asking experts to author entire sections.The Bid Lab™+1

If you tell me what kind of proposal you're working on (e.g., government RFP, consulting proposal, grant, technical bid), I can also give you a SME interview questionnaire and a proposal-specific tracking template.

For a complex proposal, the key is to treat SMEs as sources of expertise, not as proposal writers. Your job is to extract the right facts, turn them into persuasive proposal content, and then have the SME validate your interpretation. This approach is consistent with APMP guidance and proposal-industry practice.APMP+1

A practical SME collaboration process

1. Start with the proposal requirement, not a blank page. Give the SME the exact requirement or question you're answering, along with the evaluation criteria if available. Explain what the evaluator needs to see and why the information matters. This prevents the SME from giving you interesting information that doesn't actually answer the requirement.The Bid Lab™+1
2. Identify exactly what you need from each SME. Break the proposal into topics and assign an owner for each. For example:

• Technical approach → Engineering lead
• Implementation → Program/project manager
• Staffing → Operations/HR
• Security → Security lead
• Past performance → Account/project leads
• Pricing assumptions → Finance/pricing

Also identify a backup SME early in case your primary expert becomes unavailable. The Bid Lab™ 3. Send a focused “data call.” Don't send, “Please write the technical section.” Instead, ask 3–7 specific questions such as:

• What are the three biggest technical risks?
• How would we mitigate each?
• What specifically differentiates our approach?
• What measurable results can we substantiate?
• What assumptions must be true for this approach to work?
• What numbers, timelines, or claims require qualification?

Pre-fill everything you already know so the SME only has to supply information that genuinely requires their expertise. The Bid Lab™ The Bid Lab™ 4. Use a short interview for complex topics. For difficult material, a 20–30 minute conversation is often more productive than asking the SME to write. Give them your questions beforehand, let them explain the subject in their own language, and capture the conversation. APMP specifically recommends preparing targeted questions, allowing the SME to direct the conversation, and then having them validate the resulting content. APMP 5. Keep the SME focused on facts and judgment; you own the writing. SMEs often know what is technically correct but aren't necessarily thinking about evaluator needs, narrative flow, or persuasive writing. Your job is to translate their expertise into proposal language.MarketingProfs+1

A useful framework is:

What is it? → What does it do? → Why does it matter to the customer?

That last question is particularly important because technical experts can otherwise produce technically impressive material that doesn't explain customer value. MarketingProfs 6. Write the draft yourself, then send a targeted validation request. Don't say, “Please review this section.” Say:

“I've incorporated your input. Please verify the staffing numbers, confirm the three performance claims highlighted in yellow, and tell me if anything is technically inaccurate.” This makes review much faster and focuses the SME on accuracy rather than rewriting your prose. A second SME review is especially important for numbers, commitments, timelines, staffing levels, and guarantees.The Bid Lab™

7. Give every request a real deadline and explain the consequence. Instead of “I need this Friday,” try: “I need your answers by Friday at noon so I can incorporate them into the draft before Monday's color review.” SMEs are more likely to prioritize a request when they understand where it fits in the overall schedule.ASAE+1
8. Maintain a simple SME tracker. Track:

• Requirement/section
• SME owner
• Information requested
• Date requested
• Due date
• Status
• Draft completed
• SME validation completed
• Outstanding risks/questions

This prevents the classic problem of discovering two days before submission that nobody ever confirmed an important technical assumption.

A good request to an SME

Instead of:

“Can you send me some information about our cybersecurity approach for the proposal?” Try:

“I'm drafting the cybersecurity section for Requirement 3.2. The evaluator wants evidence that our approach protects customer data while minimizing operational disruption. Could you give me:

1. The security controls we would use;
2. How they would be implemented;
3. One or two measurable outcomes from similar work;
4. Any certifications or standards we can legitimately claim; and
5. Any limitations or assumptions I should disclose?

Bullet points are perfect—I will turn your input into proposal language. Could you get me your answers by Wednesday at noon? I'll send the resulting draft back to you for a quick accuracy check.” That last sentence is important: you're asking the SME for expertise, not homework.

The biggest mistake to avoid

Don't wait until you've written most of the proposal before involving your SMEs. Bring them in early enough to shape the solution, but don't make them responsible for managing the proposal. Clear roles, specific requests, structured interviews, and a deliberate validation pass are much more reliable than repeatedly asking busy experts to “review the proposal.”ASAE+1

If you're managing a large RFP with multiple SMEs, I can also give you a ready-to-use SME interview template + question bank + tracking matrix.

Collaborating with subject matter experts (SMEs) on a complex proposal works best when you treat them as partners who provide expertise, while you own the process of turning that expertise into a clear, compliant, persuasive response.APM+1

1. Start with a clear SME engagement plan

Before contacting experts, map out:

• What information you need
• Which proposal section it supports
• Who owns each topic
• When input is needed
• What level of review or approval is required

Avoid sending a broad request like “Can you help with the technical section?” Instead, assign focused asks such as:

• “Describe the architecture that supports requirement 3.2.”
• “Provide two examples of how this approach reduced implementation risk.”
• “Validate these performance metrics.”

Clear roles and responsibilities reduce delays and conflicting input.LinkedIn

2. Make it easy for SMEs to contribute

Most SMEs are busy and are not proposal writers. Give them structure:

Provide:

• The exact requirement or evaluation criterion
• The proposal question you are answering
• Relevant deadlines
• A template or specific questions
• Examples of the type of detail you need

A good division of labour is:

• SME provides: facts, technical judgment, evidence, risks, and validation
• Proposal team provides: structure, compliance, messaging, and final writing

This avoids asking experts to create polished proposal language from scratch.The Bid Lab™+1

3. Run focused SME interviews

For complex topics, a short interview is often more productive than asking for written content.

A useful structure:

1. Context

• “Here is the customer’s need and why this section matters.”

2. Current approach

• “How do we solve this problem today?”

3. Differentiators

• “What makes our approach stronger than alternatives?”

4. Evidence

• “What examples, metrics, certifications, or outcomes support this?”

5. Risks

• “What claims should we avoid or qualify?”

Take notes, record decisions, and confirm key facts afterward.

4. Connect their input to the proposal’s purpose

SMEs give better answers when they understand the “why.”

Explain:

• Who will evaluate the proposal
• What the customer values
• How their contribution affects scoring or selection
• What decisions depend on their input

Experts are more likely to prioritize the work when they see its impact.APM

5. Establish working agreements early

Agree on:

• Communication channel (email, Teams/Slack, meetings)
• Review turnaround times
• Who makes final decisions
• How disagreements are resolved
• When SME review is required versus optional

For example:

“I’ll draft the section based on your input. I’ll send you only the technical claims and assumptions that need validation. Please review by Thursday so we can incorporate changes before the compliance review.”

6. Ask SMEs to review the right things

Do not ask them to rewrite the entire proposal unless necessary. Ask them to validate:

• Technical accuracy
• Feasibility
• Numbers and metrics
• Commitments and guarantees
• Assumptions
• Terminology

A final SME review should answer:

• “Is this accurate?”
• “Can we deliver what we are promising?”
• “Would an expert agree with these claims?”

OST Global Solutions## 7. Build a reusable knowledge base

After the proposal:

• Save approved answers
• Capture case studies
• Store diagrams and technical descriptions
• Record SME-approved language
• Note lessons learned

Over time, this reduces SME workload because future proposals can start from validated material.Steerlab

A practical SME request template

Subject: Input needed for [proposal topic] by [date]

Hi [Name],

We’re preparing a proposal response for [customer/opportunity]. Your expertise is needed for the [specific section].

Could you help us with:

1. [Specific question]
2. [Specific question]
3. [Specific validation request]

I’ll handle drafting and formatting; I mainly need your technical insight and confirmation that our approach is accurate.

The information is needed by [date] because it feeds into [next proposal milestone].

Thanks for your help.

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For a large proposal, a useful rhythm is: kickoff → SME interviews → draft → targeted validation → final approval. This keeps experts engaged without making them responsible for the entire proposal process.