The APMP Certification Program

— Everything you need to know

v 1.5, Herrliberg, 2015

This information brochure has been developed and provided by CSK Management
 The APMP Certification Program

Table of Contents
1.  APMP Certification: Certification on three Levels .......................... 2 
2.  Why APMP Certification?.......................................................... 3 
3.  What will be tested? ............................................................... 4 
4.  What are the preconditions? ..................................................... 6 
5.  What is the cost? ................................................................... 7 
6.   Who offers Certification Workshops? .......................................... 8 
7.   What happens if I fail?........................................................... 10 
8.   How much time does it take? .................................................. 11 
9.   How long is my Certification valid? — Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) .............................................................. 12 
10.   APMP Documentation ............................................................ 13 
Questions? — We are here for you .................................................... 14 

You will find a PDF version of this brochure under www.cskmanagement.com/Accreditation

www.cskmanagement.com 1
 The APMP Certification Program

1. APMP Certification: Certification on three Levels

APMP offers the world’s first Professional Certification Program for those working
in a bid and proposal environment. The Program uses a process of examination
and competency-based assessment, which is consistent and measured against
worldwide best practice standards. With the Certification Program, employers
provide their employees world-class bid and proposal management know-how, and
they improve process quality.
There are three levels. Participants start at Foundation and advance to Practitioner, and then to
Professional. Each level is tested in a different way, requires a minimum level of experience,
and verification with a self-selected reference.
More information can be found on http://www.apmp.org/?page=AccreditationProgram

The APMP Foundation™-Level

The APMP Foundation-Level Certification is the entry level for the program.
Candidates should have one to three years of experience. With the
Foundation-Level, candidates demonstrate their knowledge of Best Practices
The APMP Foundation-Level is open to non-APMP members, too.

The APMP Practitioner™-Level

Practitioners demonstrate through a rigors review of their experience record
that they can successfully apply best practices in the workplace.
The APMP Practitioner-Level is open to all APMP members who have achieved
Foundation-Level.

The APMP Professional™-Level

This is the highest level. Professionals have made a significant impact on their
own organisations or a significant contribution to the business development
community.
The APMP Professional-Level is open to all APMP members who have achieved
Practitioner-Level.

Association for Proposal Management Professionals

Through association and education, we provide our members access to tools, methods, processes,
innovations, talent and specialised expertise that can directly improve the ability to acquire new
business and to sustain growth and competitiveness in a dynamic and demanding marketplace.
Our membership is growing rapidly into an internationally recognised association with membership and
corporate sponsors from a diverse range of disciplines and industries. Our members are committed to the
pursuit of proposal excellence. Our journey has been one of promoting the professionalism of our
members and shaping the future of the proposal profession.
See more about APMP on www.apmp.org.

www.cskmanagement.com 2
 The APMP Certification Program

2. Why APMP Certification?

The Certification brings many benefits for proposal managers as well as for
companies and organisations.

2.1 For Individuals

The benefits for individuals of being recognised under our professional certification program
are:

 Career Progress
Individuals will become more valuable to employers because an APMP certification:
— Proves ability as a proposal manager
— Proves impact as a proposal manager
— Provides a "mark of quality"
— Identifies Proposal Managers for recruitment, promotion and succession planning

 Stand Out From the Crowd

Not everyone has what it takes to achieve an APMP certification — achieving this
differentiates you from other proposal managers:
— APMP certified proposal managers are still a small percentage of the proposal
management population
— Those achieving APMP certification have a current, proven and independently assessed
record of proposal management
— No other scheme offers such tangible proof of impact

 Gain Professional Respect and Credibility

APMP certified proposal managers have equal standing with professionals in other
professions. They:
— Demonstrate their commitment to reviewing and improving their skills and performance
— Move internally throughout organisations, and externally throughout industries, with
recognised skills and credentials

2.2 For Companies and Organisations

APMP certification assesses the tangible impact made by individual proposal managers.
Organisations can directly benefit from their employees being certified by APMP, as the
Certification Program has been designed to ensure that it:
 Encourages Retention of Staff
— 40% of employees value career development opportunities when assessing new
employers.
— 55% of employees see the ability to develop everyone’s potential as something which a
‘responsible’ organisation would be particularly good at
— 81% of employees agree that responsible organisations are more likely to be creative
and innovative.

 Supports Competency-Based Recruitment and Promotion of Staff

HR Professionals can use the APMP to help them:
— Externally – with attraction and recruitment
— Internally – with development of key individuals

www.cskmanagement.com 3
 The APMP Certification Program

3. What will be tested?

The Professional Certification Program uses a process of competency assessment
that is consistent and fair as well as measured against world best practice
standards.

Fig. 3-1: The Certification Program is a series of sequential assessments. A direct entry to Practitioner
or Professional is not possible.

Source: CSK/APMP

Foundation™-Level (Knowledge of Best Practice)

This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate would be able to act as an informed
member of a proposal / bid team within a proposal environment using appropriate methods to
support process. To this end they need to show they understand the principles and procedures
and terminology of accepted methods of work.
APMP-Foundation-Level Certification is the starting point for professional growth and is best for
proposal professionals with one year of experience.
Your one-year minimum experience working in a bid and proposals related environment will be
verified with a reference you choose.
It is a one-hour multiple choice, pass-fail, open book exam with 75 questions. Candidates must
answer 42 test questions correctly to pass. The examination tests 35 topics in five key
competence areas. All questions are in English.
Participants can take the exam as part of a Certification Preparation Course (offered by an
Approved Training Organisation), or they can directly take the online Foundation Level exam on
their own. We recommend preparing thoroughly, especially for non-native English speakers.
These training sessions teach the specific terminology as well as appropriate answering
techniques.

www.cskmanagement.com 4
 The APMP Certification Program

Fig. 3-2: The Foundation-Level tests the five Key Competency Areas (KCAs) of proposal management.

Source: CSK/APMP

Practitioner™-Level (Experience, Application of Best Practice)

This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate would be able to apply process and
procedures to running and managing a proposal / bid within a proposal / bid environment that
supports process and procedures. To this end they need to exhibit the competencies required
for the Proposal Practitioner qualification, and show that they can apply and tune principles,
process and procedures to address the needs and problems of a customer response.
Practitioners not only have shown extensive knowledge of best practices, but also have
demonstrated against global standards that they can both apply them individually and lead
teams in their use. The APMP Practitioner-Level is open to all APMP members who have achieved
Foundation-Level
Candidates need to provide a reference who can verify their experience and support a random
check of the evidence they supply in their Proposal Practitioner Assessment Questionnaire
(PPAQ).
To prepare for the Practitioner-Level, candidates can download the PPAQ™ (Proposal
Practitioner Assessment Questionnaire™) from the APMP website and complete it off-line. They
can then upload the completed form after their registration with APMGroup. The APMP assessor
will then evaluate the document and inform the candidate about the result of the assessment.

www.cskmanagement.com 5
 The APMP Certification Program

Professional™-Level (Advocacy)
APMP Professional-Level Certification clearly demonstrates business and personal achievement
through their leadership, creativity and communications ability. Professionals qualify by making
a significant business development related impact on their organisations or on a chosen business
development community. In addition they must practice excellent communications skills in
impact presentation and answering behavioral questions.
The APMP Professional-Level is open to all APMP members who have achieved Practitioner-
Level.
Candidates need to have at least seven years experience in a bid and proposal environment.
They need to provide a reference that will be asked to rate them on nine behavioral and
attitude based competencies in the areas of managing and motivating others to carry out
required actions.
Candidates for Professional level certification prepare a Proposal Professional Impact Paper. The
PPIP documents a significant impact that they have made in the bid/proposal or business
development profession. They must demonstrate that they have made a real contribution to the
success of either their own organisation, one of their clients or to the profession as a whole as a
direct result of application of their business development skills. The document, APMP
Professional Certification Panel Interview Standards and Guidelines, available for download
below, is the reference for preparing for the Professional level presentation and questions.
After completing the PPIP, candidates will participate in a 45-minute panel interview (telephone
or face-to-face) where they present and answer questions about their PPIP.

4. What are the preconditions?

The APMP Certification Program is available for a broad target group. The
preconditions depend on the certification level.

Fig. 4-1: The preconditions for the APMP Certification Program are depending on the examination
level.

Foundation-Level Practitioner-Level Professional-Level

Experience 1 year 3 years 7 years
(confirmation through (confirmation through (confirmation through
reference person) reference person) reference person)

APMP Membership no yes yes

required

Precondition no Foundation-Level Practitioner-Level

English Skills CSK Recommendation:

At least, candidates should show a comfortable Cambridge First or
comparable level (for Foundation-Level: primarily passive knowledge).
Currently, the certification program is only offered in English.
For the Foundation-Level, CSK offers also bilingual preparation training
sessions in German and in English (with bilingual handouts but with
English examination).

Source: APMP International, CSK

www.cskmanagement.com 6
 The APMP Certification Program

5. What is the cost?

The examination fees vary between EUR 300 and 680, depending on the
Certification Level. The fees for the individual preparation support or
certification training depend on the training provider.

Fig. 5-1: Examination fees are between EUR 300 for the Foundation Level for APMP members and
EUR 680 for the Professional Level.

Pound Australian
Certification Level US Dollars Sterling Euro Dollars

Foundation-Level for
USD 400 GBP 250 EUR 300 AUD 550
APMP Members

Foundation-Level for
USD 600 GBP 430 EUR 480 AUD 930
Non-Members

Practitioner -Level
USD 650 GBP 470 EUR 520 AUD 1010
(APMP Members only)

Professional-Level
USD 850 GBP 610 EUR 680 AUD 1310
(APMP Members only)

The examination fees are subject of change.

Source: APMP International (Status: March 2015)

Foundation-Level Certification Workshops

Public Certification Workshops are typically around EUR 300-400 per participant, excluding the
examination fee.
For inhouse workshops, ask for an individual offer.

Coaching for Practitioner and Professional Certification

Ask your training provider or your ATO (Approved Training Organisation).

www.cskmanagement.com 7
 The APMP Certification Program

6. Who offers Certification Workshops?

To offer Certification training and preparation workshops, the training provider
needs to be an „Approved Training Organisation“ (ATO) of APMP. In Europe, there
are currently four ATOs.
The ATO status (Approved Training Organisation) allows CSK to
provide APMP training workshops and run APMP-Foundation™ Level
certification exams.
All prospective ATOs must go through an exhaustive approval process
to ensure they meet the high quality course delivery of APMP
certification standards. The process includes designating a lead
trainer, attending and auditing workshops led by APMP’s Chief
Examiner, developing course materials that meet APMP certification
standards and having those materials approved.
CSK is the first bilingual ATO worldwide.

a) The CSK Foundation-Level Certification Workshop

The agenda of this workshop is designed to maximise the chances to pass the
examination.
This 1-day workshop prepares the participants for the APMP Foundation-Level examination. It
finishes with the written exam. To allow for sufficient preparation, we run two webinar sessions
in advance.
 We guide the participants through the APMP Syllabus to make sure they know what areas are
going to be tested.
 The participants learn the necessary terminology.
 We go through a complete set of sample questions to prepare for the exam.
 The participants get tips and tricks for the examination (time management, answering
techniques)
 The course finishes with the exam. Participants are informed directly after the have made
the test (pass/fail).
The course (and the examination) is in English.

www.cskmanagement.com 8
 The APMP Certification Program

b) The CSK Webinar: Maximum Flexibility

The CSK Certification Webinar offers its proven Certification Preparation

Workshop over the web (using WebEx). To combine the cost benefit of a typical
web-based solution with the advantages of an on-site training, CSK offers a series
of four Webinar sessions with a high level of interaction with a real trainer.
Experience shows that fully automated trainings cannot lead to the same high level of pass rates
as those where participants can discuss issues live with a trainer. As opposed to typical online
training concepts, CSK provides interactive access to a real trainer delivered over the web. This
means learners can resolve issues in real time and comprehension and retention is
increased. To compensate with the potential disadvantage of the fact that you might not be
able to attend all the sessions, we record all webinars for you so that you still have access to
the same content, too.

The Webinar is comprised of four training sessions of 45—60 minutes each. Experience shows
that sessions longer than this result in a clearly reduced learning effect.

Between the Webinar sessions, you will (according to your level of experience and skills) be able
to go through exercises and online sample questions.
This course is suited for native English speakers.

www.cskmanagement.com 9
 The APMP Certification Program

7. What happens if I fail?

Unless the candidate does not submit an appeal, he can retake the examination
again after six months.

Fig. 7-1: In case a candidate does not pass a hurdle, candidates can retake every step after six months

Source: APMP, CSK

www.cskmanagement.com 10
 The APMP Certification Program

8. How much time does it take?

Depending on the Certification Level, it takes between one day and two weeks to
prepare for each level.
Foundation-Level: Total Effort ~1—2 days
We recommend to spend about 1 day for your individual preparation, and then a Certification
Workshop, offered by an Approved Training Organisation. These workshops are offered as
inhouse training or as public workshops. They include the examination, and the result is
communicated immediately after taking the exam. The online exam is only recommended for
native English speakers with significant experience in the bid and proposal management
environment.
Practitioner-Level: Total Effort ~10 days
The completion of the PPAQ (Proposal Practitioner Assessment Questionnaire) requires that the
candidate explains in 35 areas his experience with a text of 250 words each. From experience,
this takes up to 10 days for non-native English speakers. The complete process including the
assessment of the material takes about 2—4 weeks.
Professional-Level: Total Effort ~ 3—5 days
For the Professional Certification, the candidate develops a short presentation using a given
template. For this so called PPIP (Proposal Professional Impact Paper), he/she will need about
2—4 days. The candidate will present his PPIP in a 45 minute interview. The assessors will also
ask a series of specific questions to evaluate the communication skills of the candidate. The
complete process including the assessment of the PPIP and the interview takes about 2—6
weeks.

www.cskmanagement.com 11
 The APMP Certification Program

9. How long is my Certification valid?

— Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
In order to maintain an active certification status and to satisfy CPD program
requirements and, once you are certified to any level, you must earn Continuing
Education Units (CEUs) through carrying out activities that will improve and
broaden your skills and personal development. As long as you are able to evidence
that you have earned the right number of CEUs for your certification level, the
APMP will continue to endorse your achievement.
If you are certified, at any level, after 1 January 2007, the two year period begins on the date
you pass at that level, and ends on the second anniversary of the certification date. If you
achieve a higher level of certification within the two-year period, the requirement to earn the
appropriate number of CEUs in a two-year period begins again. The table below shows how many
CEUs are required at each certification level.

Fig. 9-1: CEUs are collected over a two-year timeframe. Each Certification level requires a different
number of CEUs.

Source: APMP/CSK

CEUs can be collected through:

 Home based learning
 Attendance of conferences
 Participation in APMP chapter meetings
 Completion of training sessions
 Presenting at conferences
 Publishing of articles or books
 Involvement in APMP activities
 etc.
CEUs are usually rather easy to collect as long as you work in a bid and proposal environment.
Members are monitored on a two-yearly cycle on a random basis. The International Standard for
monitoring requires that the random testing of evidence should cover more than 60% of
members who have achieved certification at each level.
We recommend to keep a simple log in an Excel file, or to log the activities on the APMP website
www.apmp.org (after the login, select „Manage Profile“, then „Certifications“ under „Content
& Features“). Here you can manage comfortably your CEUs. The effort to manage your CEUs is
usually less than an hour per year.
The detailed list of activities that the APMP will currently recognise as qualifying for CEUs can
be found here: http://www.apmp.org/resource/resmgr/accreditation/apmp_ceu_guidelines.pdf

www.cskmanagement.com 12
 The APMP Certification Program

10. APMP Documentation

The complete documentation on the APMP Certification Program can be found on
the APMP website.
Please click on http://www.apmp.org/?page=AccreditationProgram

Fig. 10-1: APMP offers a complete documentation, available for download.

APMP Certification in General

APMP Certification Program http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.apmp.org/resource/collection/7C14A554-031E-

Syllabus 4591-B7C0-51088E8B7D3D/apmp_accreditation_syllabus.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions for http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/7C14A554-031E-4591-B7C0-

the APMP Certification Program 51088E8B7D3D/Certification_FAQ_5_14_2013.docx

Benefits of the APMP Professional http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/7C14A554-031E-4591-B7C0-

Certification Program to 51088E8B7D3D/apmp_accreditation_benefits.pdf
Organisations & Individuals

Continuing Professional http://www.apmp.org/resource/resmgr/accreditation/apmp_ceu_guidelines.pdf

Development (CPD) Guidelines for
the APMP Certification Program

Foundation-Level

Taking APMP’s Foundation Level http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/1EB7F120-C764-46FF-A72D-

Exam 08D48D7D22EC/Foundation.pdf

Practitioner-Level

Advancing to Practitioner http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.apmp.org/resource/collection/263796EA-4AF1-

Certification 41F5-A8BF-99C16DBD51F0/Practititioner.pdf

APMP Proposal Practitioner http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/263796EA-4AF1-41F5-A8BF-

Assessment Questionnaire (PPAQ) 99C16DBD51F0/apmp_ppaq_guidelines.pdf
Standards and Guidelines

APMP® Proposal Practitioner http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/263796EA-4AF1-41F5-A8BF-

Assessment Questionnaire 99C16DBD51F0/apmp_ppaq.docx
(PPAQTM) 2005

Professional-Level

APMP’s Professional Certification http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/02C1D9DE-8194-452C-93CB-

A09B58615477/Professional-2.pdf

APMP Professional Certification http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/02C1D9DE-8194-452C-93CB-

Panel Interview Standards and A09B58615477/apmp_ppip_guidelines.pdf
Guidelines

FAQ’s and Candidate Guidelines http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/02C1D9DE-8194-452C-93CB-

for the APMP Proposal Professional A09B58615477/apmp_ppip_interview_guidelin.pdf
Panel Interview and Guidelines

Proposal Professional Impact Paper http://www.apmp.org/resource/collection/02C1D9DE-8194-452C-93CB-

(PPIP) A09B58615477/apmp_ppip.pptx

Sources: APMP, Overview CSK

www.cskmanagement.com 13
 The APMP Certification Program

Questions? — We are here for you

We are happy to answer your questions
CSK Management GmbH Munich Office: Gießen Office:
Seestrasse 235 Leopoldstraße 244 Winchesterstraße 2
CH-8704 Herrliberg D-80807 München D-35394 Giessen
tel +41 (0)44 793 37 12 tel +49 (0)89 20 80 39 285 tel +49 (0)641 9484 6464
www.cskmanagement.com www.cskmanagement.de www.cskmanagement.de

By E-Mail: [email protected]

CSK is an Approved Training Organisation (ATO) of APMP

CSK is a founding member of the Bid Alliance

www.cskmanagement.com 14
 The APMP Certification Program

CSK Management GmbH Gießen Office: Munich Office:

Seestrasse 235 Winchesterstraße 2 Leopoldstraße 244
CH-8704 Herrliberg D-35394 Gießen 80807 München
tel +41 (0)44 793 37 12 tel +49(0)641 9484 6464 tel +49 (0)89-20 80 39 – 285
www.cskmanagement.com www.cskmanagement.de www.cskmanagement.de

www.cskmanagement.com 15