How to read a Federal Government RFP

read a description of the other RFP sections here. Some may have things that you must respond to, like Section K, where they put the “Certifications and Representations” (where you may have to “Certify” or “Represent” things like whether you are a U.S. firm, a minority firm, that you haven't defaulted on previous contracts, etc.). But the others are part of the legal form or contract boilerplate, and you won’t have to read them the same way you will the Statement of Work and Evaluation Criteria. They also may provide things as attachments in Section J that are critical to figuring out what you want to propose.

Keep in mind that how you present the proposal will be bound by the instructions in Section L and how you will be scored is in Section M. Section C may take 50 pages of RFP to describe something that is only 10% of the score, and only 5 pages to describe something that is 50% of your score. Read Section C with the evaluation criteria in mind.

Here are some additional things to look for:

• When reading Section L: Look for instructions regarding page count, page layout (margins, fonts, page sizes), submission method, and outline/content.
• When reading Section M: Look for scoring method, score weighting, evaluation process, past performance approach, and “best value” terminology.
• When reading Section 😄 Look for requirements (are they explained, understandable, and/or ambiguous?), contradictions (between requirements as well as Section L and M), feasibility, and opportunities for differentiation between you and your competitors.
• When reading Section B: Look for correspondence to the requirements and evaluation criteria.

Solicitations vs RFPs

RFPs are not the only way the Government buys things. They have other ways of requesting bids and procuring things. They use other contract vehicles like Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) and Task Orders issued under Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. For commodities these can be as simple as placing an order. But for services and other things that aren't commodities, they may issue a solicitation that resembles an RFP. These solicitations may only go to certain pre-authorized companies instead of being publicly announced. They also do not have to have the same lettered section organization as an RFP. However, they will still have instructions, evaluation criteria, and performance requirements, just like an RFP. Only they may be labelled differently or not at all. The key to reading a solicitation that is not an RFP is to look for the instructions regarding how to respond and in what format, the method and criteria to be used during evaluation, and of course, the requirements that define what they want to procure.

When you are done, go back and read it again

While you don't have to read everything at first, you really should at some point read the whole RFP because sometimes you'll find something important hiding in those other sections (maybe an insurance requirement, a deliverable schedule, etc.). Once you've read a few government RFPs, you'll be able to do it quickly because you'll know where to skim and where to focus.

Different sections of the RFP are often written by different authors, and sometimes boilerplate is inserted without adequate review. Do not be surprised to find contradictions and ambiguities. Ask questions (you should find a deadline for them in the instructions). Sometimes the interplay between the various sections can provide valuable insight into what they have in mind. Make sure you comply to the letter and give the potential customer what they want instead of what you want for them.