What is a Request for Proposal?

Perhaps the first step in even deciding whether you want to make your move into government contracting is understanding what needs government agencies have and how (and if) your company or organization can meet those needs. 

Governments announce their needs for products and services by creating a Request for Proposal, or RFP.  An RFP is an agency-specific, detailed description of what a government wants to buy, whether office supplies, landscaping services, or a caterer for an important event.  Governments and private companies use RFPs to initiate procurement, usually through some kind of bidding process. 

That's where your proposal comes in. You write a proposal in direct response to an RFP, telling the agency exactly how  you plan to meet the need. 

The three core qualities of any successful government proposal is it must be:

1. Relevant
   
2. Responsive, and
   
3. Compliant
   

And the way to determine if your proposal is relevant, responsive, and compliant is by reading and understanding the Request for Proposal.

What You Will Learn in This Course

Consider this course the pre-requisite to every other government contracting course you will ever take.  When you are done with the RFP 101 course, you will  know:

• How to read RFPs from various government agencies
  
• Why scope of work is not the first thing you should review (and what you actually SHOULD review first)
• The difference between  commercial and government RFPs
• The difference between being non-responsive and non-compliant (and how to keep your company out of both categories)