Background

Sarpy County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state of Nebraska. To accommodate this boom in growth, the County created the CONNECT Sarpy infrastructure development program. The County anticipates approximately 75 projects occurring over the next six years as part of the CONNECT Sarpy effort. These projects will improve residents’ access and mobility by replacing degraded bridges, improving roadways, and increasing the safety of the existing transportation network ahead of increased traffic volumes.

Ten different developments are currently active or in the planning stages for the West Sarpy County area, and the County anticipates the overall pace and scope of projects will expand in response to increased development in the region. The 180th and Giles Roadway Infrastructure project aims to improve roadway and utility infrastructure ahead of the developments planned for the nine-square-mile area between 168th and 204th streets, Harrison Street to Hwy 370.

Sarpy County is using Alternative Delivery for many of the projects within the CONNECT Sarpy program. With Mission Critical’s nationwide expertise in Construction Manager / General Contractor (CMGC or CM/GC) procurements, Kiewit selected Mission Critical as Pursuit Managers for the Phase 1 Statement of Qualifications effort.

Technical Approach

Located only 25 miles from Kiewit’s corporate offices in Omaha, NE, the 180th and Giles project was a high profile, “must-win” project for Kiewit. Kiewit brought Mission Critical on board before the procurement was released, and we managed the pursuit cycle with Kiewit’s business development team.

Collaborating with larger, multi-national clients brings a set of unique challenges. Larger clients with a strong CMGC portfolio often have set systems of presenting materials, templates, and well-crafted boilerplate language replicated from pursuit to pursuit. As the third collaboration between Mission Critical and Kiewit, our team was familiar with managing and protecting Kiewit’s existing brand elements. Equally important to us was finding opportunities to expand on the firm’s traditional approaches to developing Statement of Qualifications content.

First, Mission Critical developed a narrative wireframe for Kiewit’s review within three days of the release of the documents by the County. With only 30 days to respond, Mission Critical immediately began the copyediting process, personnel interviews, and page development. Finally, our writing team developed unique “best practice” summaries that tied Kiewit’s nationwide roadway, utilities, and CMGC experience to the specific goals highlighted by the County.

Mission Critical’s design group then worked to successfully translate boilerplate content into graphic and metrics summaries instead, following the writer’s adage, “show, don’t tell.” Next, our technical writing group developed an alternative resume format to align personal experience closely with the perceived risks and challenges anticipated on the project. Lastly, our project coordination and compliance teams sourced and vetted everything from quote attributions to OSHA 300 forms to ensure that the final Statement of Qualifications was engaging and compliant.

Impact

Mission Critical created opportunities to expand on Kiewit’s successful proposal brand and avoid the use of boilerplate language. In doing so, we provided avenues to explore firm experience in greater detail and relevance to the County’s goals and stakeholder concerns for the project. As a result, our team created unique narratives that presented experience, capacity, and knowledge. In parallel, we incorporated key risks, approaches, and benefits the County could expect to see in the team’s upcoming Phase 2 Technical Proposal.

Our drive to innovate and expertise in developing technically-focused content was vital to Kiewit shortlisting for this 180th and Giles Roadway CMGC project. Our efforts also positioned Kiewit as a strong contender for upcoming projects within the CONNECT Sarpy program.