Contracts & Procurement
Writing a technology RFP that gets good proposals
How agencies structure a solicitation so that vendors can price it accurately and evaluators can score it fairly.
The quality of proposals an agency receives is largely determined by the quality of its solicitation. Vague requirements produce padded prices and disputes; clear ones produce comparable proposals. This guide is for the staff who write them.
State the problem before the solution
Open with what the agency is trying to achieve, for whom, and what is wrong today. Vendors propose better when they understand the goal. Avoid specifying a product when what you want is an outcome.
Write testable requirements
Each requirement should be something the agency can verify at acceptance. "Accessible" is not testable; "conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, verified by the agency's audit" is. Separate must-have from desirable and say which is which.
Include the non-functional requirements
Security, accessibility, data ownership and export, integration through documented APIs, performance under peak load, availability, and support. These are where most later problems live.
Describe the environment
Existing systems the solution must work with, data volumes, user counts, hosting constraints, and any regulatory context such as CJIS or HIPAA. Vendors price uncertainty.
Explain the evaluation
Publish the criteria and weights. Tell vendors whether demonstrations or pilots are part of evaluation and what they will be asked to show. Scripted demonstrations using the agency's scenarios compare products far better than vendor-led ones.
Attach the contract
The sample contract shapes the price. Include data, security, accessibility, and acceptance terms so that vendors know what they are agreeing to.
Ask for the right things
Named staff and their experience, an approach to your specific problem, references for similar work, and a realistic schedule. Limit page counts; long proposals do not evaluate better.
Allow questions and answer them
A question period with written answers improves proposals and reduces protests.
Give a realistic timeline
Vendors need time to respond well. Two weeks produces thin proposals.
Independent help
Agencies often bring in independent technical help to write requirements and evaluation criteria. HQT provides this and does not bid on solicitations it helped write.