A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a business document that announces a project, describes it, and solicits bids from qualified contractors to complete it. It is a document that an organization, often a government agency or large enterprise, posts to elicit a response from potential vendors for a desired IT solution. An RFP is used where the request requires technical expertise, specialized capability, or where the product or service being requested does not yet exist, and the proposal may require research and development to create whatever is being requested.
An RFP typically includes background on the issuing organization and its lines of business, a set of specifications that describe the sought-after solution, and evaluation criteria that disclose how proposals will be graded. The RFP presents preliminary requirements for the commodity or service, and may dictate to varying degrees the exact structure and format of the suppliers response. The RFP typically contains a section defining the scope of work or the scope of service(s) to be provided, discussing the tasks to be performed by the winning bidder and a timeline for providing deliverables.
Effective RFPs typically reflect the strategy and short/long-term business objectives, providing detailed insight upon which suppliers will be able to offer a matching perspective. The entity requesting the bids is responsible for evaluating the feasibility of the bids submitted, the financial health of the bidding companies, and each bidders ability to undertake the project.
Similar requests include a request for quotation (RFQ), whereby the customer may simply be looking for a price quote, and a request for information (RFI), which is used when the customer wants to gather information about available solutions without committing to a purchase.
