NOTE: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FORMAT OF A REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) RESPONSE THAT YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL
IN DEVELOPING YOUR RESPONSES TO RFQs. THIS SAMPLE CONTAINS THE MOST FREQUENTLY REQUIRED
SECTIONS WHEN PROPOSING A COMPLEX TECHNICAL SOLUTION. ALL SECTIONS IN THIS SAMPLE MAY NOT BE
REQUIRED FOR YOUR SPECIFIC RESPONSE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS IS. THIS SAMPLE SHOULD BE ADAPTED
TO THE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE RFQ YOU ARE RESPONDING TO.
Proposal
For
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Prepared for
AGENCY NAME
Agency
Address
Here
Date: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Prepared by
COMPANY NAME
Company
Address
Here
Contents
Proposal .......................................................................................................................................... 1
I.Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1
II.Technical Proposal ....................................................................................................................... 2
a. Technical Approach ................................................................................................................. 3
b. Program Management ........................................................................................................... 3
c. Task Order Management ........................................................................................................ 4
d. Quality Assurance Plan ........................................................................................................... 5
e. Deliverables ............................................................................................................................ 5
f. Risk Mitigation ........................................................................................................................ 5
g. Security ................................................................................................................................... 6
h. Past Performance Examples ................................................................................................... 6
III.PRICING PROPOSAL ..................................................................................................................... 7
Implement .................................................................................................................................. 7
xxxxxxx Solution ......................................................................................................................... 7
Training ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Warranty & Support.................................................................................................................... 7
a. Payment Terms ...................................................................................................................... 8
b. Travel....................................................................................................................................... 8
c. Ordering Information ............................................................................................................. 8
Before You Start
There are usually four types of material in any given proposal
• Non-technical (Management)
– Proposed team, organization, projects/past performance, resumes.
• Technical (Approach)
– Approach, schedule, sample problems, level of effort
• Cost
• Legal documents
– Forms, financial statements, affidavits, commitment letters,
insurance/bonds
I.
Summary:
Introduction
Company overview
Short paragraph demonstrating understanding of work to be accomplished (taken from the
SOW)
Short paragraph demonstrating why COMPANY is the best one to do this work
Comments:
Opening Questions:
Your First and Last Impression: Sometimes it is best to either write it first to identify
themes and solutions and use it as a basis around which to write the proposal OR you
can write it last as a summary of the proposal.
Brainstorm--pretend that you have been short-listed and are giving a presentation
limited to 10-15 minutes—what questions would you anticipate and what essential
information would you provide in order to convince the evaluators? This is how you
write the Introduction/Executive Summary.
Basic Themes
Who is your company? Why are you in particular responding to this RFQ? Does the RFQ
require or prohibit an Executive Summary? In one paragraph, state specifically how are
you qualified to perform the work identified in this RFQ—paragraph must relate to
differentiators/comparative advantages of your firm and speak to win themes.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Plain language and brief.
Essential information only—this is your “elevator speech” to the selection
committee—for some members, this may be the only thing they really read
(other than the price proposal)
Actually addresses the SOW directly in a meaningful way, not platitudes
Directly tied to evaluation criteria
Showcases your firm’s comparative advantages/win messages
States the problem/need and identifies the basic solution in the opening
paragraph
Structure win themes as benefit statements
Briefly introduce the team (highlight benefits) in one paragraph for all.
Briefly identify the added value and describe how you will add it
Don’t include marketing collateral excerpts, canned company history, boilerplate
PR here, or trite phrases…three exceptions: How long have you been in
business? What projects have you successfully executed that were similar in
scope? Have you worked with this client before?
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II.
Technical Proposal
Summary:
Overview of the technical team and approach for completing the task.
The following sections should be of sufficient detail to give the customer confidence that your
team will be able to complete the task.
a.
Technical Approach
Detailed breakout of the work to be done. A Work Breakdown Structure helps.
Comments:
1. Review the Statement of Work and match it to your Win Themes before writing the
Technical approach.
2. You need to do more than restate the statement of work and state that you can do it;
you need to demonstrate how YOU can do it, have done it in the past, and will do it
again.
3. Treat each requirement in the statement of work and demonstrate two things: a)
Respond directly to the tasks/requirements with a concrete future solution and b) State
all resources in place or available to you to accomplish the technical elements of the
SOW. Match each discrete element of the SOW to a clear technical solution.
4. Assign technical writing roles based on the person’s role in the proposed work.
5. Integrate:
 Technical information with win themes.
 Briefly, almost casually, mention past-project successful application of the technical
solution offered—again briefly
Example: “We utilized this solution successfully in X project, outlined in the Past
Performance Section, an effort similar in scope and complexity to the work outlined in
this RFP”
6. Avoid developing too much material
• Write to the RFP requirements
• Page length guidelines
• Focus on compliance
7. Have a non-technical person read the technical staff’s written product, keeping
differentiators and win themes in mind.
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b.
Program Management
Summary:
In this section, explain how your company will ensure the work gets done. This section should
include an overview of your management approach, including things such as management
control, meetings, communications, timekeeping, etc.
If you win, how will you manage the program? What are the lines of communication between
you and the client; between you and the subs? What are the regular mechanisms of
communications—Weekly meetings? Monthly reports?
Comments:
Address:




Program Timeline and Milestones
Quality Assurance (Summary)
How will obstacles/problems be addressed? (Hint: Subtly say cooperatively, but
demonstrate your leadership).
Key Points to address:
o Use existing material—it has all been written before (usually)
o Can be completed early
o Respond directly to the RFP
o Tailor resumes and projects to SOW
o Use the Org chart to illustrate management approach
o Do not use a generic org chart
o Relationships on chart define the management approach
o Company names can clarify roles/ responsibilities
o Identify and graphically demonstrate points of contact with client
o Highlight key/required personnel: engrave their names, roles, and expertise in
the reviewers’ minds.
Where a Partnership/Teaming Agreement exists: Emphasize the relationships and points of
contact within the team. Integrate material from subs into the text as seamlessly as possible.
Create a Project Timeline based on the SOW with specified dates and responsibilities; where
subs are involved be sure to indicate how prime and subs will together achieve the timeline and
also delineate responsibilities.
This is one of two places to mention budget, financial, invoicing and other controls/
c.
Task Order Management
Summary:
Using the techniques described above, XXXXXX will successfully execute the following tasks:
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Comments:
What is the procedure when a Task order is issued on this Contract? To whom does it go first,
second, and next? What mechanisms are there to assure the client that the task order is
carried out?
Apply your Project Management Plan and Org Chart to a Specific Task Order Response!
Task
Duration
Title
Description
Task 1
X Days
Task Title 1
Short Description
Task 2
Task 3
X Days
X Days
Task Title 2
Task Title 3
Short Description
Short Description
d.
Quality Assurance Plan
Summary:
****SAMPLE*****
The quality assurance process will consist of testing, configuration management, and
communication activities. Testing will include functional area testing, source code testing and
system integration testing. Configuration management will ensure version control of the
source code in addition to the creation of a development and testing environment separate and
distinct from the production environment
Comments:
1. What institutional QA mechanisms does your firm have in place for all clients?
(Customer satisfaction surveys [numbers are good], an identified Quality Assurance
officer? Software testing mechanisms?
2. What SOW-specific QA procedures can you offer?
3. What awards, citations etc. has your firm received?
e.
Deliverables
Summary:
XXXXXXXXXX will provide the following deliverables during this effort
Comments:
There are two kinds of project deliverables:
1.
Those specifically identified in the RFQ
2.
Deliverables you offer to demonstrate completion of identified tasks—examples:
Sequenced progress reports, etc.
For both items, build a deliverables table that mirrors the RFP and its stated timelines
*****SAMPLE*************
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CDRL
f.
Title
Delivery Date
A001
Deliverable Title
75 days after Needs Assessment
A002
Deliverable Title
5 days after completion of Task 1
A003
Deliverable Title
5 days ARO
A004
Deliverable Title
NLT 5 Working after the beginning of each Month
A005
Deliverable Title
40 Days ARO
A006
Deliverable Title
60 Days ARO
Risk Mitigation
Summary
XXXXXX will provide a forum for CUSTOMER with every opportunity to share and exchange
information, engage in discussion, and participate in design and progress reviews. XXXXXX
applies a proven development methodology, which affords the user the opportunity to review
the elements of the development process. A Preliminary Acceptance Review gives the user the
opportunity to exercise the product and make midcourse corrections prior to proceeding to the
next step. XXXXXX will submit the corrected / revised product to the client for Final Acceptance
Review. Additionally, XXXXXX will complete a full beta test program during the development
process. Through continuous communication, XXXXXX and the customer can identify potential
problems early and address issues to minimize risk.
“Your risks are minimized by what we bring to the table. Relax, we have done this before.
Unlike the competition, we bring these technical tools, this experience in this specific area of
work, these personnel, and (when applicable) these relationships.”
Comments:
1. Identify inherent risks, obstacles, and problems either identified by or implied by the
SOW:
i. Describe the tools, mechanisms, and technical solutions that you already
have in place that obviate the need to worry!
ii. Identify similar problems that have arisen in comparable projects and
how you successfully solved them creatively and quickly.
iii. This is the other place for a brief mention of financial management
controls.
g.
Security
Summary
XXXXXX will comply with all applicable safeguarding and handling requirements associated with
the Privacy Act Data.
Comments:
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1Identify your existing security procedures, existing clearances, etc. in light of the SOW.
Does the Government offer you a lead time in which to demonstrate compliance?
2. Identify site security measures on projects of similar size, scope, or complexity.
h.
Past Performance Examples
Company/Agency:
Contract Number
Contract Type:
Contract Value:
Contracting Point of Contact:
Award Date:
Technical Point of Contact:
O
Completion Date:
Title:
Telephone:
Email:
Title:
Telephone:
Email:
Project Description:
1. A paragraph saying what you did and how it relates to the SOW in this RFQ
2. The narrative should include numbers demonstrating success, size, scope and complexity
3. The past performance should show case win themes, firm differentiators/comparative advantage
4. The job should be on time, on budget, and successful
5. Bonus points for: renewal of contract/follow-on work, awards,
6. Define products of the project that build confidence in the ability to conduct the work outline in
the RFQ.
III. PRICING PROPOSAL
Summary
XXXXXX proposes to assume the majority of the risk associated with successful and timely
completion of this project by bidding this effort as firm fixed-price, in accordance with the RFQ.
The Table below provides pricing for this effort broken out by task.
Task
Order
Title
Implement
Task 1 xxxxxxx Solution
Hours Hourly Rates
Total
Category I
xx
$ xxx.00 $
xxxx.00
Category II
xxx
$ xxx.00 $
xxxxxx.00
Category III
xxx
$ xxx.00 $
xxxxxx.00
xxx
$ xxx.00 $
xxxxx.00
No Cost $
0.00
Task 2 Training
Task 3 Warranty & Support
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xxxxxx.00
Based on the approach identified in this proposal, the proposed “fixed-price” for tasks 1, 2, and
3 is $xxxxxxxx.00. Task 3 – “Warranty & Support” is at “No Cost” to the Government and
available for a period of 90 days after completion of Task 1. The total price for all three tasks is
$xxxxxxxxx.00.
Comments:
The biggest consistent problems with cost/pricing proposals are:
1. They offer prices for the services and products in answer of the RFQ without considering
ancillary costs—travel, training, materials, and other things necessary to executing the
standard of work.
2. Because one wants to come in with the lowest price, one underestimates the level of
effort and total price. The Government, faced with an unrealistically low dollar figure,
rejects the proposal even though it is the lowest price.
3. Failure to read the RFQ with regard to
 The relative weight of evaluative factors—price versus technical merit, etc. (RFQ usually
indicates the relative weight.
 The format in which cost is to be presented.
 Listing prices without (where applicable) offering an appropriate narrative explaining
how the pricing structure was built.
a.
Payment Terms
Summary
XXXXXX will invoice the CUSTOMER in three increments. The first increment will be 30 days
from the start of the project for an amount of 33% ($xxxxxxx) of the contracted amount. The
second increment will be at the end of sixty days for 33% ($xxxxxxx) of the amount contracted
and the final payment will be for 34% ($xxxxxxxx) of the firm fixed contracted amount.
Comments:
b.
Travel
Summary
No travel is anticipated for the duration of this proposal. If travel is required, it will be
conducted only with prior written approval from the Government program manager and will
conform to all Joint Travel Regulations.
c.
Ordering Information
General Services Administration
Federal Supply Service
Authorized Federal Supply Schedule Price List
Contract Number GS-XXF-XXXXA
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Contract Period XX/XX/XX – XX/XX/XX
Small Business
Point of Contact: XXXXXXXXX.
Telephone: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Email: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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