Assembling a Proposal

Proposals in Symphony are assembled by completing these steps:

1. Understand the Symphony Dashboard 

When the solicitation(s) are open to proposals on the Dashboard, users can "Start Submission" or "Continue Submission" to complete a proposal in multiple sittings or review it before submission (See Figure 1). 

• Complete the Company profile using the My Company link before working on a submission.
• Company assets are reusable (See Managing References in My Company).

Figure 1. Solicitations accepting proposals will display the Start Submission button.
The My Company link appears at the top of the Symphony Dashboard. 

2. Leverage the Proposal Overview

The Proposal Overview summarizes the information in Symphony and added to a proposal, such as Team Members, MRCLs, Project Experience, and Business Factors (See Figure 2). 

• The left menu guides users through assembling a proposal.
• Business Factors are automatically added to the scorecard for the Prime offeror and any Teaming Partners.  

Figure 2. The Proposal Overview summarizes assets imported from My Company and added to the Submission.

Links to the Document Library and the SAM data are at the bottom of the Proposal Overview.

• SAM data is pulled directly from the public SAM record (See Understanding the SAM Connection). If there is an issue with the data, update it at SAM, and then give 24-48 hours for the change to reflect in their database. Note: The data in Symphony is for reference use only. 
    
• A request to refresh the SAM data may require a contract modification and a ticket to the help desk outlining the changes. Contact us for a SAM refresh and include the UEI/cage so the official SAM record can be retrieved.  

3. Assign the Proposal Contacts

The Contract Manager and Program Manager assignment occurs in the Proposal Contacts section of each proposal submission. Select self or another registered user from the company (See Figure 3). 

• All users should register themselves (See Registering for Symphony). 
• These positions can only be assigned to users registered in Symphony (See Managing Other Business Users).
• NOTE: Proposal Contacts cannot be changed after the solicitation deadline but they can be changed after the Contract Award.

Figure 3. The Proposal Contacts screen allows self-assignment or selection of another registered user for the COCM or COPM role (also known as CACM or CAPM)

4. Include Company Assets

In Symphony, users can add different team members, MRCLs, or projects to each submission by selecting the specific asset stored in the My Company workspace and adding it to the submission from a drop-down menu (See Figure 4). 

Figure 4. Select Projects created in My Company to add to the proposal.

5. Add Performance Factors

The solicitation-specific Performance Factors are claimed for each project in a submission (See Figure 5.1).

• Performance Factors earn additional points for a proposal (See Figure 5.2). 
• Tags may be entered in the Location in File field when referencing the files that support the claims (See Tagging Documents).

Figure 5.1. The Performance Factors allows users to claim additional scores for each project in every proposal.

Figure 5.2. Select the Performance Factors for additional scores for each project in every proposal. 

6. Upload Submission Documents 

The solicitation-required form(s), such as the SF-33 or SF-30 are uploaded in the Submission Documents section once Q&A is complete or enabled by the Program Office. 

Figure 6. Standard Forms are uploaded in the Submission Documents section of the proposal

7. Review the Document Library

The Document Library in a submission displays all the files included in a proposal (See Figure 7). 

• Users can delete proposal files after submission (See Submitting an Open Market Proposal).
• Symphony may be unavailable when a solicitation deadline occurs so all assets are saved.

Figure 7. The Document Library within a proposal displays the files included before the deadline and submission.

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