Written by: Joan Fleischer

The focus of this article is responding to provincial Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Some minor references will be made to answering federal Calls for Proposals as well. There is really nothing mysterious or threatening (words I often hear) about RFPs. They may be long, loaded with industry or government jargon, divided into seemingly endless sections, and needing to have been completed and submitted yesterday (or worse, last week!), but apart from those characteristics, they are amazingly straightforward. They are, in essence, an elaborate exercise in creatively “filling in the blanks.” While this article is not intended to be a “to do list,” there are some advantages to covering key points in an organized sequence – from your initial viewing of an RFP on BCBid through to submission of the final proposal.

The very first, and critical step, is that you read the entire RFP carefully as many times as is necessary in order to decide if you have the skills, equipment, staff, and other resources necessary to fill the contract, should you be fortunate enough to land it. A tremendous amount of focused, usually unpaid time is needed to prepare a good proposal, so it is essential that you firmly believe that you can handle and want the contract if it comes your way. Part of your preliminary work includes detailed calculations of the financial conditions within the RFP. These are often rigidly specified. If you can’t make the financial constraints work for your business, why go any farther?

Often when RFPs involve many separate contracts across the province, proponents’ meetings are held, either by conference call or at centralized meeting locations. These are usually announced on BCBid and on the Receipt Confirmation Form that appears as an appendix to the RFP. Only proponents who have completed and submitted the form will be included the proponents’ meetings. Invaluable information can be forthcoming from them – comments and questions from competing bidders (giving you a clue about your competition), details and clarification of points in the RFP document from Ministry representatives – all very helpful in your own analysis of whether to proceed with writing a proposal. Proponents’ meetings generally are timed so that, with effort, the proposal can still be completed and submitted before the specified deadline. If the RFP is for a single contractor, there will be a Ministry contact name provided.

Now you have gathered the preliminary information available and have decided to proceed. You settle into writing. Be thorough. Assume that the reader or review panel knows nothing about what you are proposing. Provide answers to each and every point/question posed under each section of the RFP. You may think that two or more sections are asking for the same information. Then give that information, in some form, those two, or three, or more times. Under government scoring systems, points are generally awarded based on answers to each question within each section. Strive for clarity, simplicity and completeness. Fortunately, most RFPs don’t dictate word limits (compared to many federal Call for Proposals). However, if a maximum word count is indicated, be sure to stay within it. Entire contracts have been lost at the expense of a few extra words!

In organizing your proposal, use the same numbering and section names as are provided within the RFP. You want your readers to have an easy time finding your answers to the questions contained in the RFP. Your presentation needs to be as uncomplicated as possible. Rather than including pages of supporting material within your text, use appendices, but be sure that they are relevant, clearly labeled and referenced within the proposal document. Backup information can work to your favour – it shows the government reviewers that you have done your homework thoroughly and have thought the entire project through, that you have systems and procedures in place, and that you are prepared to start the contract as soon as it is awarded. Most RFPs have a fairly short turn-around time between the awarding of the contract, including the negotiation process, and start-up. Show your readers that you are ready.

And what about financials? Some RFPs state that proponents are not to submit a budget as part of the proposal. That doesn’t mean you can forget the financials until the contract is awarded to you – oh no! In order to provide details of what you propose to do, and how you plan to do it, you must know your staffing, resources, costs of materials or services – all of which need to be determined before you can know if you really want the contract. So don’t be fooled by the “no budget required” comment! Be thorough and cautious in your financials, and complete this vital section, to be retained in your office for future reference if not required with the rest of your submission, well before you finalize your proposal.

Finally you decide that the proposal is complete. It has been revised and revised again, with the original RFP alongside for double-checking. Someone in the office who is not involved in the emotional attachment that comes from concentrated work on a big project (or an outside editor who can be relied upon to be objective and thorough in reading such documents) has reviewed the proposal in comparison with the RFP requirements. A final check in the RFP will tell you how many copies to make, the margins and font size (for federal Calls at least, often not specified for provincial RFPs), how electronic copies are to be formatted, and deadline details. The proposal application form is complete and packaging finished. Now for submission before the deadline –

Yes - the deadline – each RFP comes with a very specific one (to the date, hour and minute). NO excuse for “late” by even one minute will get a proposal past the front desk – trust me, I speak from experience! It will be returned unopened to the proponent. A solution: plan to hand deliver your proposal if that is at all possible – or leave adequate time for the courier to get lost, the ferry to break down and be repaired, or the fog to lift at the airports. Do whatever it takes to ensure that your huge effort is received on time. Your work is done. You have spent days and nights meeting that looming deadline. Now you wait – and get back to the pile that has been building during this frantic RFP process. Good luck!