How to read a Federal Government RFP

Monday Morning Contracting Tips

by   Dannie E. James Sr

          JE Group LLC

          Phone: 404-557-0027

          Fax: 404-521-4018

          www.jegroupllc.com

The first thing to realize when reading a Federal Government RFP is that you don’t have to read the whole thing to determine if you’re going to pursue it. You do have to read it several times to ensure you understand what you’re pursuing and how you’re going to respond.  

It’s easy to feel intimidated when you look at a printed copy of an RFP that’s at least an inch thick (or even much, much larger). When you realize how much of it is content you have to read vs. how much it is boilerplate that’s there because regulations say it has to be there, it’s not nearly as bad.

The format for most Government RFPs is fixed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The FAR mandates that Government RFPs be divided into sections A through M. Each of these sections has a certain purpose and must contain certain information. But only a few of these sections relate to what to bid and how to prepare your proposal.

Of the lettered sections, the key ones to focus on are:

•Section L. Where you’ll find the instructions for formatting, organizing, and submitting your proposal

•Section M. Where you’ll find the criteria and scoring system that will be used to determine whether your proposal wins.

•Section C. This is where they say what it is they want you to propose (often called the "Statement of Work").

•Section B. This is where they tell you how to format your pricing.

•And sometimes, Section J. Sometimes they hide important stuff (like the Statement of Work) in Section J, attachments.

This doesn’t mean that the other sections are not necessary. 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.

The best approach to reading a Government RFP isn’t necessary to read it sequentially from start to finish the way you would a book. Instead, first look at Section A (usually the cover page). In a box on this page is the due date. Now you know how much time you have to prepare your response. Next jump to Section L and focus on how they want the proposal organized. Whether you think it makes sense or not, you absolutely must follow their outline. Then go to Section M and find out how you will be graded and what they think is important. Now go back to Section C and find out what you have to propose doing or supplying. To really understand how and what to offer, you'll also need to look at Section B, so you can see whether they want it priced by the hour, in fixed price units, or some other way.

Keep in mind that how you present the proposal will be bound by the instructions in Section L and how you will be graded is in Section M. 





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