Butch Cassidy was a Geordie

Our friends at bdaily (see bdaily.info) have been doing some geneology. American outlaw Butch Cassidy had Geordie heritage, according to newly discovered records. The leader of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang carried out countless robberies across Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada.

But census records show his roots lie in the North East of England, reports the Daily Telegraph (11th Dec 08). His mother Ann Gillies lived for years in Brandling Village, in Jesmond, Newcastle, before emigrating to start a life in New York.

The English link was discovered by Mike Bell who as a boy became obsessed with the film Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Mr Bell, 52, who grew up in Newcastle, said: "I've been from Utah to Argentina looking for information on Butch. All the time the house where his mum lived was around the corner."

For those not familiar with life in North East England, a ‘Geordie’ is born on the banks of the River Tyne and must never, ever be confused with the poor souls of Sunderland.

Our Chief Executive, David Ward, wants to make it plain that he’s not a Geordie, even though he was raised in Wallsend, close to the shipyards.

“I’m a Northumbrian, from Morpeth,” says David. Now there’s another story!

The RSC Northern Star awards

Aligned Solutions was delighted to be a sponsor of the Northern Star awards night of RSC Northern, based at the University of Sunderland (see http://www.rsc-northern.ac.uk/).

We sponsored the 'Outstanding e-Learning Achievement Award in Work-based Learning' which was won by the IT department of The NETA Training Group (see http://77.68.36.168/AboutUs/tabid/105/language/en-GB/Default.aspx.

Working with Mindset Technologies, NETA's IT department developed an initial assessment and profiling system for 14-18 year olds, which profiles the aptitude to appropriate qualifications from GCSE's to apprenticeships.

This was further developed into a single package which encompasses profiling, tracking, e-portfolio building, document management and a management information system.

Our Chief Executive, David Ward, takes up the story: "We've worked with the Regional Support Centre for over a year, helping develop the bid writing skills of the work-based learning organisations that RSC looks after in the region. ASL was delighted to help sponsor the event which recognised the talents and commitment of these excellent training organisations. Without them, the region would be a much poorer place.

"Overall, we helped over 50 WBL's improve their skills, with some notable successes. One provider won a £350,000 LSC contract to help young kids in Middlesbrough after we helped mentor their bid. That contract supported nine staff jobs and allowed this excellent team to continue helping the community. Others won LIG3 and 4 funding which provided much needed capital funding for IT equipment.

"I'd like to thank Christine Bravey, Brian Burr and centre manager Gareth Davies for their support and achievement during the last year. Well done to all!"

Expect more information and photos from the awards night when they become available.

If anyone needs help with their bids, ASL's mentoring service could be your answer. Drop us an e-mail from the website or call David Ward on +44(0)191 280 4238.

We're here to help!

Internet Street fails to live up to name

Our Chief Executive, David Ward, came across this story from bdaily, an Internet news company based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, see www.bdaily.info

David explains; "This gave me a chuckle and Si Bales, who runs bdaily, has allowed us to share it with you. Perhaps it will raise a smile in the middle of all this snow!" The image shows a picturesque Grey Street in Newcastle. The story goes like this:

A Polish man who bought a house on Internet Street is selling it because he can't get a broadband connection.

Andrzej Gromek, 43, of Warsaw, said: "I have written dozens of letters to the national telecom regulator. At first they thought it was a joke but then they found that actually it was too expensive to put a line into the street just for me. So I am moving."

His complaint has shocked the Polish Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) into launching a nationwide campaign.

"How is it possible that in the capital, in a street with that name, there is no competition between internet operators?" asked UKE boss Anna Strezynska.

So there! Next time you complain about your Internet connection, think of Andrzej.

Writing with passion - lessons from Obama

You may ask what this has to do with bid writing, but let me come onto that in a moment.

In his victory address, Barack Obama spoke with passion, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy - tonight is your answer."

Stirring stuff. No doubt, in the years ahead, many will relate those words to the magical speech of the Rev. Martin Luther King. But there is one enormous difference between the two men - Obama is now in a position to make the words a reality in a country that is ready for change.

But let's get back to bid writing - reality returns with a bump. What can Barack teach us about bid writing? He can teach us passion.

Too many times, we read bids that are written without passion. If you are an evaluator, tasked with reading 10 bids, how would you feel if you came across just one sentence like Obama's? Excited? Thankful? Interested enough to continue to find out what this organisation has to offer?

It doesn't take a presidential script writer to create passionate prose, words that excite and demand attention. With practice and care, and the help of Google and the written media, you can steal some ideas from the good and the great.

David Ward, our Chief Executive, takes up the story. "My personal favourite is Lord Coe, then Sebastian Coe OBE, leader of the London bid team for the 2012 Olympics. His summary letter to Count Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, is a mastery of passion and prose that urges you to read further.

"In the same bid, Ken Livingstone, the then Lord Mayor of London, takes a different tack but still speaks with eloquence and passion. It's marvellous stuff and you can find it here http://www.london2012.com/news/publications/candidate-file.php with Coe's letter in the 'Conclusion' and Livingstone's immortal prose in the 'Introduction'. If you have any doubts about Livingstone's ability to write (or his scriptwriter's if you're cynical), then have a look at Tony Blair's letter in the Introduction. Bah Humbug boring!

"The whole bid is here, in all its glory. Some of our bid writing delegates have diluted its value, saying its for such a large project that the lessons don't relate to them. But they're wrong. Lessons can be learned and applied to all bids. We teach many of them in our workshops and use the passion of Coe and Livingstone to inspire others. It works. Try it! Perhaps we'll add some of Obama's magic as well."

And that's the secret to passionate prose. Try it, see what works for you, but remember that you're writing for the evaluator, not yourself. Try to use words that will appeal to them, assuming you know who they are, of course. But that's another story!

The Bidwriters Guide to the Galaxy

So here we are, on what could be a long journey....

We're bid writing consultants and trainers based here, at the Fabriam Centre in North Tyneside, England, quite close to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. We also get involved with some interesting people who need help with strategy development, mentoring (both bid writing and more general mentoring), project management and public sector support (business case development, evaluation, monitoring and so on). It's an interesting life and never dull, unlike the weather...

As the blog develops, we'll create some stirring stuff on all sorts of subjects, and even introduce some of our partners, and maybe even a few clients, if they're not too shy and ashamed to be associated with us.

As a starter, we often come across bid writers who fail to answer the question 'why should we win this bid or proposal?' This is all to do with theme development - these are the things that make you different and better than the rest. They are the reasons why you win. Often it's your people, their capabilities or their relationships with the customer. If you cannot tell the story in an engaging way, so the client 'gets' why you're special, you won't win.

Have you had problems like this? Let us know.

Cheers for now.

D.