For this assignment, in Part 1 you will use the template below to create a Request for Proposal (RFP) related to your Portfolio Project. You will then create an email communication to the President with your evaluation of an outside RFP template, and your recommendations to improve the one you complete for Part 1.

Sometimes organizations do not have the skills or knowledge to manage a project, whether it is the whole project or parts of it. If an outside vendor or contractor is needed to help plan and/or run a project, a Request for Proposal (RFP) is created. The RFP outlines the scope and requirements of the project and is sent to other organizations to determine if they are interested in working on the project. A detailed, accurate, and thorough RFP allows potential contractors the opportunity to understand expectations and to accurately propose their services and accompanying costs.

Directly below is a template of the typical sections that are included in an RFP. You are going to complete this form to hire someone to perform two tasks found in the Portfolio Project. Since this is only the second week of the course, you are not expected to be an expert on the Portfolio Project

yet. However, you received the Portfolio Project Directions and the Portfolio Project Template documents in Week 1, so this is a great time for you to review those documents again to get accustomed to them.

Look at the Project Schedule in Appendix A of the Portfolio Project Template. In this RFP, you need to hire someone to help with the last two items on the schedule; that is, someone to enter data into an Excel spreadsheet and create a report of the data. The data includes:

A list of up to 50 names of attendees who RSVPd

The items that must be purchased before your graduation and party (ie. cap and gown, invitation paper, or any other short list of things you would need)

The names of the restaurant and band for the party

The date/time/mode of transportation to get to the graduation ceremony and party.

Part I Directions:

Fill out the RFP template below. Use the information provided above and then be creative for the rest of the sections. In most sections, you only need one or two concise, detailed sentences per section. The goal here is to give you practice understanding the various sections of RFPs and what to include in them.

Note that in this RFP, you do not have to give the actual details of the information, only a description of what is needed. For example, in the first bullet point above, you would state that you will need data entry into Excel of up to 50 names. You will not list out the actual 50 names in this RFP as you would not have received those names yet when sending this RFP.

RFP Template:

Date:

To Whom It May Concern: [Alternatively, if the name of the contractor is known, that would be used here instead of this generic term. For this exercise you can leave this phrase.]

We are seeking proposals from contractors to plan and execute a project regarding [enter subject matter of the project].

The details shared in this RFP are considered confidential. Do not share.

Name of [our] contact: [Enter your name]

Address to send completed RFPs: [Provide a fictional address]

Due Date of RFP: [Provide a fictional date]

Statement of Work (SOW):

[Enter details about specific tasks for the contractor to perform. Use the information provided in the bullets above.]

Requirements:

[Enter thorough details about expectations in order to consider the project a success. For example, include any technical specifications you want, specify research you want the contractor to conduct; for example, to determine market size if applicable, etc. Be creative here.]

Deliverables:

[State what the customer requires as an end product. For example, what specific reporting is needed, what recommendations do you want out of the project, etc. Be creative here and for the rest of the sections below.]

Acceptance Criteria:

[State what is necessary to be included in the RFP before you will accept it. For example, you might want to say that you have to confirm the deliverables, or agree on the final payment amount, etc.]

Items Supplied to the Contractor:

[State what kinds of resources will be given to the contractor. For example, you might give the contractor who is managing this project some specific data pulls from internal databases, or you might share proprietary information, etc.]

Approvals Required:

[State that you must approve all documents, etc. For example, you might say, we must approve marketing materials that would be provided to the public, etc.]

Contract Type:

[State whether the awarded contract will be based on a fixed price or something else. Whatever the fee will be based on, state it here. Be specific.]

Due Date:

[State the final date that the RFP is due. Include additional details such as how many copies of the completed RFP you need what address to send them to, etc.]

Schedule:

[State important dates such as when RFPs will be sent out to contractors, when the completed RFPs are expected back from contractors, etc.]

Payment Terms:

[State what and when payments will be made to the contractor that is awarded the contract. For example, 25% paid at contract signing, 25% paid at receiving the first deliverable, etc.]

Specific Contents Expected in the RFP:

[State the minimal things that the contractor must provide in the RFP. For example, what are the specific deliverables, what is the specific data needed from the customer (us), will there be additional costs above the payment for services, etc.]

Criteria to be Used in Evaluating the RFP:

[State the criteria we will use to determine which RFP we will award the contact to. For example, you might say that the contractors will be judged in the following areas: 25% for experience, 25% for proposed costs, etc.]