Market-Led Proposal Advisory · New Zealand
Market-Led Proposal Advisory in New Zealand
Before you spend good money and resources developing your unsolicited proposal, find out whether it has a realistic chance of progressing.
A good project is not necessarily a good Market-Led Proposal.
Why This Matters
I have reviewed and assessed more than 20 Market-Led and unsolicited proposals from the public-sector side.
Serious proposals.
Credible proponents.
Experienced international teams.
Ideas representing billions of dollars of potential investment.
And I watched most of them fall, one after another.
Not necessarily because they were bad projects.
Not because the infrastructure was not needed.
And not because the teams were not capable of delivering it.
They failed because they were not prepared to meet the very high thresholds required of a Market-Led Proposal: Public interest. Exclusivity. Value for money.
That distinction matters.
I know how frustrating that is
While working on the public-sector side, I could assess proposals, identify their weaknesses and understand why they were unlikely to progress.
But I could not advise the proponents.
I knew that changing the payment mechanism, the financial component, the risks transferred, adding minimum revenue guarantees, etc. the proposal could have a chance. But I could not tell.
I could see the good idea inside the proposal. The benefits for the public. But also, the missing argument, the unsupported assumption or the misunderstood criteria that would probably stop it from progressing.
Teams had already invested enormous amounts of time and money. Then they were told no. Often, just because the proposal had not made a sufficiently compelling case for the Government to take it forward.
I would like to save you that frustration.
A great idea is not enough
Market-Led Proposals are an exception to normal competitive procurement.
You are asking the Government to consider your proposal directly and, potentially, negotiate with you without running an open competition.
The bar should be high.
Your proposal must do more than demonstrate that the project is useful, innovative or financeable.
It must explain:
Why is this project in the public interest?
Why should the Government consider it now?
Why are you the only party capable of delivering the proposed outcome?
Why is direct negotiation justified?
Why does your proposal provide value that the market could not match?
Why is this a better option for the Government than its realistic alternatives?
Most proposals answer the first question.
Far fewer answer all of them.
Fail one critical criteria and the entire proposal will very likely fail.
The Assessment Framework
The three questions your proposal must answer
01
Public Interest
Why does the proposal serve the interests of the Government and the community?
This requires more than describing the benefits of the asset. The proposal must align with government objectives, policies, priorities and wider strategic outcomes.
The project may be valuable.
But is it a priority?
And is it a priority now?
02
Exclusivity
The most difficult bar to pass — and for good reasons.
Why should the Government negotiate directly with you?
Teams often misunderstand this part of a Market-Led Proposal.
Having a good idea does not make you exclusive.
Being the first to submit it does not make you exclusive.
Being around and shovel ready does not make you exclusive.
Having an experienced team does not make you exclusive.
Needing just a small grant does not make you exclusive.
In fact, some are exceptions that put you out of having any chance. Just check this in New Zealand, for example.
Your proposal must demonstrate why you are the only party capable of delivering the proposed outcome, or why the particular combination of rights, assets, technology, contractual arrangements, funding and value you offer could not reasonably be replicated through the market.
If the Government can achieve substantially the same outcome through a competitive procurement process, you may have a good project.
But you probably do not have a viable Market-Led Proposal.
03
Value for Money
Why is the proposal a good and responsible use of public resources?
Value for money is not simply a low construction cost or an assertion that the private sector carries the risk.
It includes the complete commercial proposition:
- scope
- cost and affordability
- risk allocation
- programme
- economic benefits
- funding and financing
- expected returns
- government support
- deliverability
- comparison with realistic alternatives
The numbers matter.
But so does the story those numbers tell.
Our Support
How we help
We look at your proposal as an evaluator would.
Not as someone trying to validate the work already completed.
Not as someone paid to produce another optimistic report.
We test whether the proposal genuinely has a pathway through the Market-Led Proposal process.
Our support may include:
Early viability assessment before significant expenditure
Stage 0 pre-submission readiness
Assessment against public interest, exclusivity and value-for-money criteria
Identification of critical gaps and likely failure points
Development of the proposal strategy and core narrative
Commercial and financial structuring
Review of scope, affordability and risk allocation
Challenge of assumptions and supporting evidence
Preparation for Stage 1a and Stage 1b
Detailed proposal support through Stage 2
Support during government engagement and clarification processes
Preparation for Stage 3 negotiations and full Stage 3 support
We bring an evaluator's discipline, not privileged information.
We understand the questions public decision-makers need answered, the evidence required to answer them and the difference between an interesting concept and a proposal capable of surviving detailed scrutiny.
Start before you write the proposal
The best time to contact us is before you assemble a large team and begin spending heavily.
We will tell you directly whether we believe the proposal has a realistic chance of progressing.
If it does not, it is better to know early.
You may need to change the project, strengthen the proposition, pursue a different procurement route or stop spending money on the wrong approach.
If the proposal does have a credible pathway, we will help you understand what must be demonstrated and how to build the case properly from the beginning.
We cannot guarantee that a proposal will progress.
Nobody credible can.
But we can help you avoid predictable mistakes; challenge weak assumptions early and materially improve the quality and credibility of your submission.
Get In Touch
Before you commit the team, the time and the money — let's talk.
Tell us briefly about your project. We will tell you whether we think there is a credible path forward.
All initial enquiries will be treated as confidential.
Common Questions