Washington’s Bid for the 2012 Olympic Games: Washington’s Bid for the 2012 Olympic Games October 20, 2002 Alice Ivey Snyder, Ph.D. Director, Proposal Operations, ACS 1133 15th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 alice.snyder@acs-inc.com 202.756.5629


Overview: Overview The Process The Players The Proposal The Outcomes …Interspersed with Lessons Learned & Sample Graphics


The Bid Process: The Bid Process


Lesson LearnedOlympic bids take a long time & cost a lot of money: Lesson Learned Olympic bids take a long time & cost a lot of money


Lesson LearnedPolitics is part & parcel of the Olympicselection process : Lesson Learned Politics is part & parcel of the Olympic selection process


How It All Began: How It All Began Up to and including 1998 Initial area interest generated DC group incorporated Dan Knise named President/CEO 1999 to 2000 Fund raising escalated ($12M) Negotiations initiated between DC and Baltimore for a joint bid


Enter ACS: Enter ACS July 2000 ACS approached for a donation ACS offered proposal center services Proposal work began in earnest Sydney Olympic Games held December 15, 2000 Initial US bids submitted to USOC Bids included: DC, SF, NY, LA, Tampa-Orlando, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati


And Then…: And Then… April to October 2001 USOC officials visited bid sites May 25, 2001 Revised bids submitted September 11, 2001 October 27, 2001 NY, DC, SF, Houston selected as US semi-finalists


The Pursuit Continues: The Pursuit Continues April 2002 Bid addendum packages submitted August 27, 2002 NY & SF selected as US finalists November 2002 NY selected as US candidate city July 15, 2003 USOC submitted NY candidacy to IOC


Finalizing the Prize: Finalizing the Prize May 18, 2004 IOC announced finalists: NY, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris November 15, 2004 Candidate cities submit bid books February to March 2005 IOC visits candidate cities July 6, 2005 Host city for 2012 announced


The Achieved Goal: The Achieved Goal Summer 2012 2012 Olympic Games held Later Host city prepares elaborate report of the Games 14+ years from concept to games


The Players: The Players


Slide15: Lesson Learned In-kind contributions are essential


The Major Players: The Major Players Washington, DC 2012 Earlier known as Chesapeake Region 2012 Coalition Even earlier known as Washington-Baltimore 2012 Coalition 4 paid staff 2 ongoing volunteers Later added 1 Olympian


Major Proposal Participants: Major Proposal Participants Parsons Brinckerhoff HNTB Architecture Brailsford & Dunlavey Jennifer Jordan-Lock Rummel Klepper & Kahl Burson Marsteller ACS


The Rest of the Crowd: The Rest of the Crowd IOC International Federations USOC and bid committee 22 National Governing Bodies Area governments & their agencies Colleges and universities US Navy Private enterprises


Lesson Really LearnedPolitics is woven into every thread of the Olympic fabric : Lesson Really Learned Politics is woven into every thread of the Olympic fabric


The Proposal: The Proposal


Starting the Proposal: Starting the Proposal They said they needed only production assistance Not the case Proposal said to be “essentially written” “Working on it for a year” Document never seen They would provide all necessary staff Few people available to write


The RFP: The RFP Small sheaf of papers Vague and contradictory No unnecessarily elaborate submissions Many obscure details required Myriad unwritten Olympic rules Huge but necessary learning curve “Olympic” is a foreign language Changes before & after submission They forgot sections


Proposal Organization: Proposal Organization Cover letter No table of contents Introduction to each volume Separate executive summary 100+ “guarantee” letters 19 “themes”


The 19 Themes: The 19 Themes Bid city characteristics Legal Customs, immigration Environment Climate Security Medical Official Program Sports Organization Sports Olympism Olympic Village Accommodation Transportation Technology Media Finance Marketing Guarantees


Third Version Requirements: Third Version Requirements Significant modifications of 9 themes (several actually new) International strategies Paralympic Games Self-governance USOC-NGB partnership proposals


Issues: Issues Knise extremely busy with negotiations One person nominated self as #2 in charge Very limited proposal related knowledge Nearly everyone had a “real job” as well Many changes to the RFP


And More Issues: And More Issues Not enough people to do the work Unwillingness to conform to SOPs 26 changes after “go final” Unfamiliar with the concept of “compliant bid” Good treatment begat high expectations Increasingly more sophisticated graphics “Feed me…now!”


ACS’ Role Expanded: ACS’ Role Expanded Proposal Manager 2 FT writers 2 PT writers 1 FT graphic artist 2 FT temp graphic artists 2 FT temp writers/researchers Many PT graphic artists Varied editors & desktop publishers


Unexpected Lesson LearnedResearch of obscure facts is key to a compliant Olympic bid: Unexpected Lesson Learned Research of obscure facts is key to a compliant Olympic bid


Research Obscura: Research Obscura Average temperature for July 20 to Aug 5, 1968 to1997 Temperature by hour Special focus on Garrett Co, MD Number of area public and private buses Total km of area cable Average time in 2000 & 2012 between hotels and venues


Style and Look: Style and Look Followed the RFP 3 ring colored binders Dull 28 lb cream recycled paper Bankers box Color only in graphics Lavish tabs Somewhat formal & conservative in tone and look


Final Statistics: Final Statistics First submittal 3 volumes 800 pages 200 copies Second submittal Same size 75 copies Third submittal 1 volume 40 copies


Lesson LearnedIn for a penny, in for a pound: Lesson Learned In for a penny, in for a pound


Lesson LearnedBook-checking 600 books takes a long time: Lesson Learned Book-checking 600 books takes a long time


The Outcomes: The Outcomes


DC did not win: DC did not win


Lesson We Already KnewBest technical does not equate to a win: Lesson We Already Knew Best technical does not equate to a win


NY won – well, sort of: NY won – well, sort of


Lesson LearnedPlaying by the rules may not be the way to win the Olympic “game”: Lesson Learned Playing by the rules may not be the way to win the Olympic “game”


The NY bid: The NY bid Glitzy Extremely expensive More contemporary and splashy look Promised a great deal 9/11 said to have played into the decision Said to have been not compliant


Lesson LearnedNY probably cannot win but may stay in the running for 2016: Lesson Learned NY probably cannot win but may stay in the running for 2016


Results of the Experience: Results of the Experience Fun but painful Extraordinarily long hours Very little recognition of our effort and expenditure Never over Improved the quality of our own proposals


Lesson RelearnedAll proposals are the same,just different: Lesson Relearned All proposals are the same, just different


What They Learned: What They Learned How to write a proposal right Not necessarily a good thing Needed procedures just to finish on time They had no rules ACS fed well ACS delivers 150%


Lesson Definitely LearnedIf your boss volunteers you for something, it may grow out of scope: Lesson Definitely Learned If your boss volunteers you for something, it may grow out of scope


Slide52: Thank You