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RFI, RFP or sources sought: what’s the difference, and should a small business answer all of them?

An RFP asks for offers, and a contract can be awarded from them. RFIs and sources sought notices are market research: no contract can come from a reply. Don’t answer all of them. Answer sources sought notices for work you’d bid, because replies can help decide a small-business set-aside; RFIs when you have useful input; RFPs only after a bid/no-bid check.

By the ResponseRail team at StandardData · Updated

RFI vs. sources sought vs. RFP at a glance

NoticeWhat the agency wantsWhat you sendCan a contract come from your reply?Answer it when
Sources soughtTo learn who could do the work, and whether enough small businesses could compete for a set-aside[4]A short capability response: your size and certifications under the NAICS code, relevant past performance, and how you’d meet the needNo. It’s market researchIt’s work you would bid on
RFIPrice, delivery, capability or other market information to plan the purchase[2]Answers to its questions, in any format and page limit it setsNo. Responses aren’t offers and can’t form a contract[2]You have useful input or want to shape the requirement
RFPOffers for a negotiated contract, judged on the factors it states[1]A complete proposal that follows every instruction, form and page limitYes. The agency can award from the proposals it receivesA bid/no-bid check says you’re eligible, able to perform and competitive

What is an RFP?

A request for proposals is how a federal agency asks for offers in a negotiated acquisition. It describes the requirement, the terms and conditions that will apply, and the factors proposals will be evaluated on[1]. The government can award a contract from the proposals it receives, so every instruction, form and page limit in it counts.

When a security firm we work with brought us an overseas guard-force notice, the agency was only asking firms to request access to the full solicitation, and we recommended stopping there. The work needed a host-country license that required majority local-citizen ownership and offices in the country, subcontracting was barred, and only a joint venture with a licensed firm that already existed could have made a compliant offer; the firm passed the same day.

What is an RFI?

A request for information is used when the government doesn’t intend to award a contract yet but wants price, delivery, capability or other market information for planning. Under the FAR, responses to an RFI are not offers and can’t be accepted to form a contract, and the FAR sets no required format for an RFI[2].

What is a sources sought notice?

A sources sought notice is market research too: the agency describes a need and asks companies to show they could meet it. Federal market research is meant to find out, among other things, whether small businesses can meet the need at fair market prices[3].

Above the micro-purchase threshold, a contracting officer must set a contract aside for small business when there is a reasonable expectation of offers from at least two responsible small businesses at fair market prices[4]. The FAR overhaul’s model text keeps this “rule of two” for contracts, but leaves set-asides of orders under multiple-award contracts to the contracting officer[5]. That is why a handful of good replies can change who is allowed to bid.

Should a small business answer an RFI or a sources sought notice?

Answer the ones for work you would actually bid on. A short, specific reply is one of the few ways to shape a requirement before it is written: it can help the work get set aside for small business, and it puts your company in front of the contracting officer.

How do you respond to a sources sought notice?

Give the agency exactly what the notice asks for, in the order it asks, within any page limit and by its deadline. A typical response:

  1. Identifies your company: name, UEI and CAGE code, and a point of contact.
  2. States your size under the notice’s NAICS code and any socioeconomic certifications, such as 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB.
  3. Describes two or three relevant contracts: the agency, contract number, scope, value and dates.
  4. Explains how you would meet the requirement, including any licenses, clearances or certifications it calls for, which you should be ready to prove.
  5. Leaves pricing out unless the notice asks for it, and marks anything proprietary.
  6. Goes in through the channel the notice names.

On one sources sought reply, we advised the customer to pair its headcount with how long its most recent hire took, from deciding to fill the post to having someone in it, because headcount alone can leave the agency wondering whether the firm can staff the work.

A reply isn’t an offer, so when the solicitation comes out you still have to answer it to compete.

Does ResponseRail write RFI and sources sought responses?

Yes. ResponseRail, StandardData’s managed proposal service, drafts RFI and sources sought responses as well as full proposals, from the notice and your company’s materials. A proposal specialist reviews every draft, and you submit it. Every pursuit gets a quote before any work starts.

Got a solicitation?

Send it over. We’ll tell you whether it fits and quote it before any work starts.

Sources

  1. 1FAR 15.203, Requests for proposals (15.102 under the FAR overhaul deviation)
  2. 2FAR 15.201(e), Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals (15.101(c) under the FAR overhaul deviation)
  3. 3FAR 10.002(b)(1)(vii), Market research procedures
  4. 4FAR 19.502-2(a) and (b), Total small business set-asides
  5. 5FAR overhaul model deviation text, Part 19 (19.104-1, 19.111-2)