Keylime Academy

Keylime Academy

Learn How to Work With USAID

Enroll in Keylime Academy’s courses and learn how to win and implement projects with USAID.

Write Winning Proposals

Discover Keylime’s proven proposal method through our three-part writing series.

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Part 1: Fundamentals of Proposal Writing

Kickstart your writing with our introductory course. Learn how to outline, analyze an RFP, and write better proposals. Who it’s for: Sign up if you’ve worked on 1-2 proposals and want to level-up your writing skills.

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Part 2: Technical Writing

Learn to write winning technical proposals. Our experts break down the technical approach section, using Keylime’s signature proposal writing method. Get hands-on practice writing against real RFPs and learn the soft skills you need to succeed.

Who it’s for: If you’ve written at least 1 proposal, this course is for you.

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Part 3: Advanced Technical Writing

Dive into tough topics like how to write IDIQs, case studies, and PWS-proposals. You'll get critique from pros and peers to polish your skills and boost your win rate. Who it’s for: Enroll if you have written 3 or more proposals.

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Browse Our Business Development Courses

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Mastering Business Development

Learn the fundamentals of proposal development from capture to submission. Perfect for business development teams, proposal managers, and proposal leads, our course will help you make your proposals more competitive.

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Recruitment for USAID Proposals

This course teaches participants how to attract, select, vet, and negotiate with top talent in the USAID industry to strengthen your proposal submissions.

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Level Up Your Capture

Transform the way your team captures USAID proposals. We’ll equip you with the knowledge and skills to maximize the capture period. Learn how to devise a capture plan, gather intel, identify key partners, and design a technical approach before your RFP is out.

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How to Write Great CVs

Learn the secrets to writing winning CVs for USAID proposals in this two-day, interactive workshop.

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Cost Proposal Practicum for USAID Proposals

Get ready to dive into the spreadsheets! In this course, Keylime’s cost and pricing expert will guide you through the entire cost volume, line-by-line. You’ll walk away with a completed cost proposal and strategies to make your budgets more competitive.

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Instructor Bios

Jordann El Dorry

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Prior to joining Keylime, Jordann was a successful business development director at Chemonics International, USAID's largest implementing partner by volume. During her 11 years at the company she consistently exceeded corporate win rate and sales targets, bringing in more than $600 million in USAID work. She is excited to share some of the tools and strategies she employs to make proposal development a little less painful and a lot more fun!

Sarah Steller

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Sarah has more than 12 years of experience in business development and project management for both international and U.S.-based programs. She has managed business development teams at some of USAID's top implementing partners and is an expert in proposal writing, proposal management, and recruitment.

Susanne Barsoum

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After a career as a business development director at Chemonics International, Susanne founded Keylime to make business development more fruitful for everyone through courses like this one. She has worked on hundreds of proposals with a strong win rate. Susanne finds proposal writing the most challenging and intellectually stimulating proposal role. Her experience and networks are primarily in the Middle East, but she has also worked and lived in Nigeria and Haiti, and done assignments globally.

Kristen Hamaoui

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Kristen leads Keylime Academy's Cost & Pricing curriculum. She is a seasoned project implementation, business development, and program management specialist with more than 15 years of experience managing and implementing USAID-funded programs. In her prior role with Chemonics, Kristen provided formal cost proposal preparation trainings, mentored staff members, and provided pricing strategy and analysis to proposal teams and senior leadership.

Joanne Moore

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After 13 years successfully working in and leading business development and project management efforts at USAID implementing partners Chemonics International and Population Services International, Joanne started JoMoConsult LLC and has been providing similar consulting services primarily to USAID IPs for nearly a decade. Joanne loves creating and delivering training and sharing her experience, expertise, and epic mistakes all in an effort to support others on their professional journeys

Deborah Aker

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Deborah is a professional editor and over the course of her 25+ year career has edited more than 500 USAID proposals. She draws on her experience as a proposal editor, good and bad examples from proposals, and the insights of communication professionals to help participants unlearn the complex, wordy, and often over-the-top writing . Sessions include brainstorming to improve sample text, critiques of proposal graphics, and discussions of pain points as participants seek ways to keep their writing compelling and readable.

Bring Keylime Academy to You

Bringing our courses in-house to your organization is easy. Just follow our simple, five-step process.

Ready to bring us to you?

Reach out to hello@joinkeylime.com to get started.

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Course Schedule

Technical Writing for USAID Proposals

Winter Cohort: January 21— February 18, 2025

Summer Cohort: June 3—July 3, 2025

Mastering Business Development

Fall Cohort: October 2—Oct 28, 2025

Advanced Technical Writing for USAID Proposals

Winter Cohort: January 30—March 6, 2025

Fall Cohort: September 9—October 10, 2025

Fundamentals of Proposal Writing

Spring Cohort: March 12—April 2, 2025

Summer Cohort: August 6—August 27, 2025

Cost Proposal Practicum for USAID Proposals

Spring Cohort: May 14—June 25, 2025

Level Up Your Capture

Spring Cohort: March 20—April 17, 2025

Fall Cohort: November 5—December 3, 2025

Recruitment for USAID Proposals

Spring Cohort: April 2—April 23, 2025

FAQ

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