NASCIO & NASPO Release Report on Leveraging the RFP in State Technology Procurements

NASCIO and NASPO released a new Research Brief entitled "Getting What You Need on the Way to the Win-Win: Leveraging the RFP in State Technology Procurements." It provides a broad view of how a variety of stakeholders can use the RFP (Request for Proposal) process to the state's and the citizens' benefit.

The brief is available on NASCIO's website.

States can use an RFP to solicit proposals from private-sector offerors with the ultimate goal of selecting the offeror that will provide the state with the best value in terms of not only price but other benefits, such as long-term project benefits, cost avoidance, cost versus technical superiority tradeoffs and increased productivity. The goal of this brief is to help states utilize the flexibilities that are built into the RFP process and maximize value.

The brief is organized as follows:

• Section I-Background: Provides a brief overview of the RFP process for technology procurements.


• Section II-Planning the RFP: Discusses steps states can take in the RFP planning phase to maximize value, including bringing together the right stakeholders, clearly defining the state's desired ultimate outcome, and leveraging offeror expertise.


• Section III-Writing the RFP: Sets out guidance for balancing technical specifications with performance or functional requirements and determining the right terms and conditions to include in the RFP.


• Section IV-After the Release of the RFP: Discusses how a state can ensure a fair and level playing field while providing offerors with clarifications in order to help the state and successful offeror achieve greater mutual understanding and a "meeting of the minds."


• Section V-What State CIOs and Procurement Officials Need to Know: Provides bullet points on the important items that State CIOs and Procurement Officials need to know about the RFP process for technology purchases.


• Appendix A-A Note on Other NASCIO and NASPO Resources: Includes additional NASCIO and NASPO IT procurement resources.


• Appendix B-Additional Resources: Provides additional resources from other organizations.


• Appendix C-Do I Have an Alternative? A Word About Alternative Procurement Models: Discusses other procurement models, such as performance-based contracting.

"The State CIOs have an important role to play in the RFP process by bringing together diverse stakeholders in the RFP process and leveraging IT efficiencies across state agencies," said Richard B. Thompson, CIO, Maine, and NASCIO IT Procurement Reform Committee Chair. "In recognition of the collaborative nature of the RFP process for IT procurements, we are pleased to produce this brief in conjunction with NASPO."

"State Procurement Officials have a broad understanding of how procurements work across state sectors and can ensure that the RFP process satisfies all legal requirements, while getting the end users what they need to do their jobs with increased ease and efficiency," commented John Adler, State Procurement Administrator, Arizona, and NASPO President. "NASPO is pleased to collaborate on this brief, which will be useful to a wide variety of state officials in order to maximize the value of state IT procurements."

NASCIO is the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and represents the state chief information officers from the 50 states, six U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Other IT officials participate as associate members and private sector representatives may become corporate members. For more information, please see www.nascio.org.

NASPO is the National Association of State Procurement Officials and represents the directors of the central purchasing offices in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States. For more information, please see www.naspo.org.