How to Read a Federal RFP and Which Parts to Focus On

A successful and effective proposal development process depends on how well you can interpret a federal RFP (or Request for Proposals). If you complete this stage correctly, you'll have fewer sections that need to be revised, fewer instances of requirements being overlooked, and less chance of losing a proposal in the end.

If you don't thoroughly read the RFP at the beginning, you can overlook important information that will lead to a no-bid decision on the opportunity once you do find the deal-breaker criterion. You have wasted your company's funds and resources if you make a last-minute no-bid choice. Additionally, a no-bid decision becomes more expensive as you progress through the proposal development process because you have wasted resources on a dead-end proposal.

RFPs are often divided by lettered sections A through M. (although it may differ depending on the type of solicitation and the agency that issues it). RFPs frequently have a lot of attachments.

The title page of the RFP, Form SF-33 for negotiated bids, or SF-1449 for commercial items, is normally found in Section A. It appears to be a table. The opportunity overview in this section comprises the following details:

·   The due date

·   Contracting office information

·   Table of contents to help navigate the RFP

Sections L , M, and C are the most important sections to focus on in federal RFPs.

Section L answers questions such as:

·   What does the government want in the proposal?

·   How many volumes and pages, what font size and formatting, how many copies do you have to submit, and how?

·   What do they want to see included in the content?

Section M explains how the government will assess the proposals and select the best one. What the government is requesting contractors to bid on is represented in Section C. The Statement of Work is frequently included by the Government as an attachment in Section J.

Some RFPs aren’t organized like the above, but you should look for similar elements:

·   Instructions to the offerors

• Evaluation criteria

·   Scope of work or requirements (it may be called Performance Work Statement (PWS), Statement of Objectives (SOO), or Statement of Work (SOW))

·   Other parts that typically belong in an RFP similar to the above list.

·   Sometimes you may find the instructions to the offerors in the cover letter, and then the rest of the requirements in the RFP. This often happens with Task Order Requirements (TOR).