Many people who are new to government contracting/government grants find themselves overwhelmed when they receive their first few RFPs or RFAs. These government proposal packages can be quite large -- some containing hundreds of pages of densely written text. It's no wonder that I often hear new or potential clients say "I just don't know where to start."
First off, it's important to recognize that RFPs/RFAs contain two types of content: (1) boilerplate, and (2) substantive information.
Boilerplate is the stuff that you'll find in nearly every RFP/RFA. It typically consists of contract clauses that are either referenced or written out in full, as well as standard government forms that may have to be filled out and submitted with your proposal. While these are important, you don't need to read them right away. So right there, you've eliminated about 2/3 of the material that you need to look at during your initial review.
What you want to do is to start off looking at the following substantive information which is usually presented in discrete sections of the proposal package:
The Cover Sheet (often called Section A) or Cover Letter. This will tell you:
- Type of solicitation (RFP, IFB, RFQ, etc.)
- Due date and time
- Submission address
- Number of copies required
Cost and Pricing Data (often called Section B): This will tell you how your pricing should be presented and the items/services to be priced.
Statement of Work (often called Section C). This may contain:
- Description of the project that you will be bidding
- Project background information
- Work to be performed (requirements)
- Duration of project
- Personnel requirements
Instructions to Offerors/Bidders (often called Section L). Here, you may find instructions for formatting, organizing, and submitting your proposal. For example:
- Page limitations
- Page layout (margins, fonts, page sizes)
- Media (paper, disks, CDs etc.)
- Technical proposal outline and section contents
- Business proposal outline and section contents
- Number of copies required
- Packaging instructions
- Submission instructions
Evaluation Criteria (often called Section M). This will tell you how the government evaluators will "grade” your proposal:
- Scoring method
- Scoring weight of each section
- Evaluation process
By approaching your review in this manner, things may not seem quite so overwhelming as they seemed at first glance.
Leave a comment