With every seat filled, the discussions reflected an industry in motion. An industry navigating rapid change, balancing innovation with security, and exploring how AI can meaningfully enhance the pursuit process.
However, as we race to integrate it into our workflows, a critical question is often overlooked – are we sacrificing accuracy and accountability at the altar of automation?
Founder Fergal McGovern opened up the conversation with our new mission. Simple but ambitious: Reimagine How You Win.
From Lessons Learned to Future Roadmaps
One of the standout moments came from Patricia Fieldson, who shared lessons from her time at Collins Aerospace. Her session explored how large organizations evaluate software solutions and manage the internal AI hype cycle. She spoke about balancing experimentation with evidence, and innovation with compliance.
Patricia’s “Lessons Learned” slide struck a chord with the audience. She emphasized the importance of understanding your environment, knowing your vendor’s roadmap, and crucially, the need to test and verify every solution before scaling.
Her closing thoughts were equally resonant:
AI is here. It’s real. Have a plan.
She reminded us that while automation offers immense potential, transparency, validation, and human expertise remain the cornerstones of effective adoption. There’s still no “easy button” for transformation, but there is a smarter path forward.
The Legal Perspective: AI, Risk, and Responsibility
We also heard from David Timm, Claim and Bid Protest Attorney at Burr & Forman, who explored the legal implications of adopting AI tools in procurement and proposal workflows.
David’s talk, “How LLMs Can Add Value,” offered a practical look at how to responsibly leverage large language models (LLMs) while avoiding common pitfalls. As an attorney, he’s seen a growing number of serious mistakes stemming from over-reliance on AI-generated content. He showed examples from misquoted sources to incorrect interpretations in high-stakes documents.
He outlined a simple but vital checklist:
Do:
Tell your lawyer when you’re using AI
Use AI to understand complex ideas
Use AI for brainstorming
Don’t:
Fall for plausible-looking hallucinations
Be fooled by an LLM’s over-optimistic analysis
Input privileged or confidential data into an open AI platform
Rely on outputs without understanding and verifying all facts and citations
David’s message reinforced a core theme of the day. AI is powerful, but governance, security, and verification matter more than ever.
VisibleThread’s Evolution: Full-Lifecycle RFP Intelligence
The Forum also marked a major milestone for VisibleThread. We unveiled a preview of our next product roadmap, showing our evolution into a Full-Lifecycle Platform.
We showcased how VisibleThread provides:
AI insights grounded in verifiable data
Traceability and transparency at every stage
Security without compromise whether in GovCloud, on-premise, or SCIF environments
This approach reflects what our customers need most: evidence-based AI that enhances accuracy, speeds up review cycles, and integrates seamlessly with existing processes without sacrificing security or control.
Here’s a sneak peak from our Director of Product Marketing, Allison Ritz. If you’d like to learn more, feel free to book some time with us.
