5 Tips for Request for Information and Request for ProposalS Development

Introduction to Request for Information and Request for Proposal Development at Stimler Advantage

As part of its services, Stimler Advantage supports organizations through insightful Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposals (RFP) development to maximize outcomes. RFI and RFP work is informed by the Stimler Advantage 5 S’s Framework. 
​
Navigating the search for an aligned solution provider can be challenging. Many organizations struggle to craft clear, detailed, and well-structured RFIs and RFPs. These crucial documents play important roles in soliciting qualified solution providers and ultimately selecting the aligned partner to propel your business forward with tactical and strategic applications or professional services.

5 Tips for Request for Information and Request for Proposals Development

1. Build Your Project Team: Assemble the essential internal and external qualified stakeholders with the professional capabilities, expertise, and organizational roles relevant to your project before publishing the RFI or RFP. Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each team member to foster appropriate action and accountability throughout the project lifecycle. Establish open communication channels, such as project wikis, project plan dashboards, and shared document creation with collaborative authoring and editing to promote integrity and transparency and facilitate pragmatic problem-solving.
2. Proactively Identify Internal and External Budgets and Resources: Conduct a thorough internal assessment to identify existing resources and budget constraints to determine the feasibility of your initiative before publishing an RFI or RFP. The core funding for your endeavor should come from earned revenue, research and development, and, most importantly, operational capacities for sustainability. Explore potential external funding sources, such as grants or partnerships, to augment your efforts, but do not rely on these funding sources to undertake or sustain your core initiative. Develop a realistic and sustainable budget that aligns with your project scope and timeline to ensure responsible financial management and avoid potential setbacks. Be explicit and transparent about your budget and funding status to potential solution providers in your documents so responses can be tailored to realistic budget requirements. Be prepared to spend money and pay for what you need and want. An underfunded budget for an RFI and RFP tells potential respondents that your project is not serious nor is it likely to succeed because your lack of investment means the initiative is clearly not a priority for the organization. 
3. Provide Up-Front Detail in Objectives and Questions: Clearly articulate your project goals and desired outcomes to provide context for potential solution providers to help them tailor their proposals accordingly. Ask specific, targeted questions addressing your unique needs and challenges to avoid generic and boilerplate responses. Provide contextual and detailed background information or data that could inform solution provider understanding, more information is often better than less while maintaining security around proprietary and sensitive information.
4. Develop Precise Evaluation Criteria and Matrices: Define clear and measurable criteria against which you will assess proposals and link these to your organization's objectives and key results (OKRs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure criteria that meet your organization's quarterly and dynamic strategic planning requirements. Weigh each criterion based on its importance to your project to prioritize critical factors and guide your decision-making. Develop a scoring matrix to facilitate consistent and transparent evaluation of each proposal.
5. Set Aggressive and Determined Timelines: Establish realistic yet ambitious deadlines for each project stage. Communicate deadlines clearly to all stakeholders and hold them accountable for adherence. Push a sense of urgency and ensure efficient progress through robust digital project management task tracking and analytics. Strive to maintain a sense of momentum and avoid unnecessary delays. Be agile and open to reasonable points of flexibility while focusing on achieving your goals.

Here are some further considerations for RFI and RFP development:

• Compliance Requirements: Ensure your RFI and RFP comply with relevant requirements and work with your licensed legal counsel to avoid complications and delays.
• Demonstration and Test Environments: Be prepared to work with solution providers to develop demonstration and test environments to preview your data, content, and processes in their prospective platforms, tools, and workflows. Have assets and resources ready to go before your RFI and RFP development process to maximize efficiency and speed in your evaluation.
• Market Research: Do your own market research internally to understand the competitive landscape and identify potential solution providers best aligned with your initiative and organization to reach qualified suppliers.
• Negotiation Strategy: Before engaging with shortlisted solution providers, develop a clear negotiation strategy to empower your organization to secure the most favorable conditions, pricing, and terms.
• Standardize Document and Procurement Processes: Develop standardized agreements, documents, and procurement processes for RFI and RPI initiatives, for consistency, to mitigate error and risk, and to streamline efforts.

Connect with me to discuss your executive management consulting needs.