How do I read a government RFP?

What is the difference between an RFP, RFQ, tender and RFSO?

The name on the cover tells you how the buyer plans to choose. Definitions vary a little between buyers, but official sources describe them this way:

• Request for Proposal (RFP): Procurement Assistance Canada describes it as a call for bids that sets out the required specifications and the evaluation criteria. The City of Toronto describes an RFP as presenting service requirements or project needs to the supplier community and inviting suppliers to propose solutions or delivery methods. Price is usually one factor among several.
• Request for Quotation (RFQ): Toronto describes an RFQ as a solicitation that "focuses on gathering information on price and quality level per item," along with payment terms and contract length.
• Invitation to Tender (ITT) or Request for Tender: the B.C. government says its ITT is primarily used for construction services and "generally results in a contract awarded to the lowest-priced bidder that satisfies the buyer's specifications." Toronto describes its Request for Tender as a request for bids for the purchase of construction supplies or services, issued with or without blueprint drawings.
• Invitation to Quote (ITQ) in B.C.: primarily used to buy goods, again awarded to the lowest-priced bidder that meets the specifications.
• Request for Standing Offer (RFSO): a federal tool for repetitive purchases at a fixed price over a set period. CanadaBuys notes that a standing offer "is not a contract until the government issues a call-up" against it.
• Request for Supply Arrangement (RFSA): also for repeat buying, but where requirements cannot be fully defined in advance. Departments then solicit bids from the pre-qualified suppliers for specific requirements. CanadaBuys says a supply arrangement is not a contract and neither party is legally bound by signing one alone.

You will also see qualification steps, such as a Request for Qualifications in B.C. or a Request for Supplier Qualifications in Toronto, which shortlist suppliers for a later competition. A Request for Information is market research, not a bid.

What are the parts of a government RFP?

Layouts differ, but the same building blocks appear in almost every solicitation. Procurement Assistance Canada lists the traditional federal structure as:

1. General information, including a description of the requirement and any security requirements.
2. Bidder instructions, such as site visits, applicable laws, and challenge and recourse options.
3. Bid preparation instructions: format, layout and file types.
4. Evaluation procedures and basis of selection.
5. Certifications, such as employment equity, former public servants, conflict of interest and the Integrity Regime.
6. Resulting contract clauses, including the contract period. Standing offers split this part into 6A and 6B.

Annexes follow, starting with the statement of work, plus items such as a security requirements checklist. Since June 2024, PSPC solicitations use a modernized format under its Contract Modernization Initiative: bid and bidder requirements come first, then submission and communication, then the technical and financial proposal, evaluation procedures, basis of selection, and attachments. Other federal departments may still use the older layout.

What each part tells you

• Instructions to bidders: the process rules. CanadaBuys tells bidders to review and understand the clauses, general conditions and standard instructions. PSPC's modernized solicitations spell out all terms in the document itself, and the archived Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual stays on CanadaBuys for reference.
• Mandatory requirements: pass or fail. B.C.'s RFP template defines "must" or "mandatory" as a requirement that must be met for a proposal to receive consideration.
• Rated criteria and evaluation method: how points are awarded, any minimum scores, and how price is combined with the technical score.
• Pricing basis: the pricing form and what is being priced. Procurement Assistance Canada notes firm fixed price is used when costs can be predicted, and cost plus where cost is uncertain or the project is long.
• Terms and conditions: the contract you will sign if you win. B.C.'s template says the winner will enter into a contract on substantially the same terms as the attached form, and asks for questions about it before closing.
• Closing and submission instructions: the closing date and time, the accepted delivery method and any format or copy requirements.
• Questions period: the official contact and the deadline for enquiries.

How are RFP responses evaluated?

CanadaBuys says technical bids can be assessed on mandatory criteria only, point-rated criteria only, or both, and that financial information is assessed separately from technical information. Mandatory criteria are the baseline. Point-rated criteria score what you offer over and above the mandatory requirements, and the tender identifies the minimum and maximum points for each one.

The basis of selection then decides the winner. CanadaBuys describes three common federal methods:

• Lowest-priced bid: price decides among compliant bids, and the margin can be very small.
• Best overall value: often the lowest evaluated price per point, which divides the bid price by the technical points.
• Highest technical bid within a stipulated budget.

Provincial RFPs work the same way in principle. B.C.'s standard RFP template excludes proposals that do not clearly demonstrate they meet the mandatory criteria, then scores the rest on weighted criteria, and the Province intends to contract with the proponent that met all mandatory criteria and minimum scores and has the highest overall ranking.

In what order should I read an RFP?

Reading front to back wastes time on a bid you might not be able to submit. What I see most often is that the deal-breakers sit in the evaluation section and the annexes, not on page one. This order front-loads the bid or no-bid decision:

1. The notice and cover page: buyer, solicitation number, closing date and time, time zone and submission method.
2. The evaluation section: every mandatory requirement, the rated criteria and weights, minimum scores and the basis of selection.
3. The statement of work: what you would actually deliver, where and over what period.
4. Security and certification requirements. CanadaBuys advises contacting the contracting officer early if you lack a required clearance.
5. The pricing form and pricing basis.
6. The contract terms and conditions, including insurance, liability and payment terms.
7. The bid preparation instructions: format, page limits, file types and number of copies.
8. The question deadline and any site visit or bidders' meeting, especially if attendance is mandatory.

A bid or no-bid checklist

Procurement Assistance Canada suggests asking whether you have the capacity to deliver, meet the evaluation criteria, can accept the terms and the pricing method, and should partner with another supplier. Turned into a checklist:

• Can I meet every mandatory requirement as of the closing date, with proof?
• Do I have, or can I get in time, any required security clearance, bond, insurance or certification?
• Can I accept the contract terms as written, or do I need to ask about them before closing?
• Does the pricing basis work for my costs?
• Is there enough time to answer every section, including the low-point ones?
• Does it make sense to bid with a partner or subcontractor?

How do the questions period and closing time work?

Questions go in writing to the one contact named in the solicitation, before the stated deadline. Federally, Procurement Assistance Canada says the contracting authority is your only point of contact and answers are posted as amendments on the tender notice, and CanadaBuys says questions on SAP Ariba can go through the Compose message function. In B.C.'s RFP template, questions go to the Official Contact, information from any other source "is not official and should not be relied upon," and questions received after the Enquiries Deadline may not be answered. Toronto tells suppliers not to contact other City staff, Council members or their staff about a procurement.

Closing times are strict. The BC Bid glossary says submissions must be received before the Closing Date and Time, and B.C.'s RFP template says late proposals "will be marked late and not considered or evaluated." The same template makes proposals irrevocable after closing and open for acceptance for at least 90 days. Procurement Assistance Canada notes you can modify and resubmit until the tender closes.

Why are bids declared non-compliant?

Official guidance points to the same handful of avoidable causes:

• Failing a mandatory criterion. CanadaBuys says failing any mandatory criterion makes the bid non-responsive, and Procurement Assistance Canada says you must meet all mandatory criteria to move forward in the evaluation.
• Missing or unsigned certifications and forms. CanadaBuys says to complete all the certifications requested, and Procurement Assistance Canada says to fill in and sign all required elements.
• Ignoring the bid preparation instructions, including submitting the wrong number of copies.
• Skipping a section or a point of the request, whatever its point value.
• Putting pricing in the technical or management sections. CanadaBuys says prices belong only in the financial section.
• Offering a substitute solution in place of the one requested. CanadaBuys advises submitting an alternate as a separate bid, and B.C.'s template says failing to do so may disqualify a proposal.
• Submitting late or by a method the solicitation does not accept.
• Contacting anyone other than the named contact. B.C.'s template says lobbying attempts may result in disqualification.
• Assuming evaluators know your company, rather than stating your experience in the bid.

Buyers also reserve rights in the document itself. B.C.'s RFP template, for example, lets the Province waive a non-material irregularity, ask for clarification, or reject a proposal for a material error, omission or misrepresentation. Do not count on the first two.