Front Door + Back Door
Front Door + Back Door is BW&CO's method for positioning funding proposals. Your proposal should respond both to the solicitation and to what the funder is really trying to fund. BW&CO responds to the published opportunity while also understanding the mission, priorities, gaps, and stakeholder context behind it.
What is the Front Door?
The Front Door is the published opportunity: requirements, deadlines, evaluation criteria, forms, instructions, eligibility, and compliance. Getting the Front Door right is necessary, but most competitive proposals get it right too.
What is the Back Door?
The Back Door is the context behind the published opportunity, built from legitimate work:
- Research into the agency's mission, strategy documents, and past awards
- Permitted stakeholder outreach, within each solicitation's communication rules
- Agency-priority analysis
- Program-gap assessment: what the program has not yet funded and still needs
- Customer discovery with potential end users
- Positioning validation before the proposal is written
What the Back Door is not
It is not inside information, favoritism, secret access, influence over evaluators, a way to avoid competition, or a promise of funding. Every Back Door activity uses public information or permitted engagement, and agencies make every award decision.
What does the method produce?
One better-positioned proposal and a stronger company funding strategy. The research behind each pursuit also shows which future opportunities fit, which gaps to close, and which stakeholders matter.
Why it matters
The best technology does not automatically get funded; the best-positioned technology has the stronger chance. Traditional consultants often stop at the published document. Internal teams are rarely able to study funder priorities continuously. The Front Door + Back Door method closes that gap.
Lessons from our team's 3,000+ funded proposals, applied to yours
BW&CO, as of 2026: $350M+ secured for clients. 350+ companies served.
Our team's combined experience, including work completed before and outside BW&CO (not BW&CO award totals): 3,000+ funded proposals and $3B+ awarded. Your proposal benefits from those lessons. Results vary by program, client, and proposal. Past results do not guarantee future awards, and agencies make every award decision.
Program names are used for identification only. BW&CO is not affiliated with or endorsed by the sponsoring agencies.
Frequently asked questions
What does Front Door + Back Door mean?
It is BW&CO's proposal positioning method. The Front Door is the published opportunity: requirements, deadlines, evaluation criteria, forms, instructions, eligibility, and compliance. The Back Door is the context behind it, built from research, permitted stakeholder outreach, agency-priority analysis, program-gap assessment, customer discovery, and positioning validation. It never means inside information, special access, or influence over evaluators.
Is the Back Door approach ethical and permitted?
Yes. It relies only on public information and engagement the solicitation permits. It never involves inside information, favoritism, influence over evaluators, or avoiding competition.
Can we talk to program managers before submitting?
It depends on the agency and solicitation. Some agencies encourage conversations with program staff, while others limit direct contact to a defined window, such as the pre-release period for DoD SBIR topics. BW&CO follows each solicitation's rules.
Does the method guarantee an award?
No. It improves positioning, but agencies make every award decision and results vary by program, client, and proposal.
How is this different from hiring a grant writer?
A grant writer typically works from the published solicitation. The Front Door + Back Door method adds research and permitted engagement on what the funder is trying to achieve, then builds the project and proposal around that fit.