Writing requests for proposals (RFPs) can be daunting and confusing. But a well-written RFP for state assessment services can save the potential client and potential bidders many headaches in preparing a bid and in evaluating bids. A well-written RFP can also save clients and vendors from difficulties of a poorly specified contract and vague costs for scope increases or decreases. A well-specified contract can help clients maintain a comfortable working relationship. This toolkit is intended to ease the process of writing an adequately specified RFP and of developing an adequately specified resulting contract.
This toolkit provides:
- RFP User Guide
- RFP Outline
- RFP Cost Proposal Workbook*
- RFP Bidder Instructions
- RFP Guidance for Proposals That Involve Multiple Components
The toolkit can be used to develop an RFP, or specific parts can be adapted, modified, and ported as needed to support RFP development. For example, specific parts of the RFP Outline may be lifted out.
Guidance for Proposals That Involve Multiple Components
Increasingly, state summative assessment RFPs are asking for more. Interim assessments, item banks, literacy screeners and state-funded assessment literacy training are all becoming more common parts of summative assessment RFPs. However, without explaining each of these components, and why they matter, the proposals a state receives may not meet the specific needs of the state.
This recent addition to the toolkit provides guidance on how to develop an RFP that asks for these kinds of multiple components, with an emphasis on (1) explaining the component in ways that provide the vendor the opportunity to produce a high-quality proposal, which relies on (2) deep thinking by a state on their overall vision for teaching and learning and, subsequently, assessment.
*Since the cost proposal workbook was created in 2018, it is now dated, and should be used only as a guide to consider pricing, rather than as a tool that provides exact pricing.
