Responding to RFIs

What an RFI is

A Request for Information (RFI) is a federal market research instrument used by agencies to gather information about a market, technology, or capability before deciding how to structure a procurement. An RFI is broader in purpose than a sources sought notice. While sources sought notices ask specifically "who can do this work?", RFIs ask more open questions: "what does this market look like?", "what technologies are available?", "what are common pricing structures?", "what would a contract structure that fits this market look like?"

Responding to an RFI is not bidding. The agency cannot award a contract from RFI responses. The agency uses responses to shape its acquisition strategy and the eventual solicitation. As with sources sought, an RFI response can be the most influential pre-solicitation step the responder takes.

RFI versus sources sought versus RFP

A single procurement may go through all three stages — an RFI to understand the market, a sources sought to verify the set-aside decision, and an RFP to award the contract. The instruments share elements but serve distinct purposes.

Why responding matters

Effective RFI responses shape the eventual procurement in ways the responder benefits from:

• Scope shaping. Pointing out that a proposed scope mixes incompatible capabilities, or that a more sensible breakdown would split the work into two contracts, can change the structure.
• Contract type guidance. Recommending that the work fits firm-fixed-price (or, conversely, that fixed price is unrealistic) can shift the agency's planning.
• Set-aside positioning. Demonstrating that a robust set of small businesses serves the market can move the agency toward a set-aside.
• Technical reality checks. Surfacing that a proposed approach has known issues, or that the market has moved beyond a specific technology, helps the agency avoid issuing an obsolete solicitation.
• Schedule realism. Pointing out that a proposed delivery schedule is implausible can lead to a more realistic solicitation timeline.
• Relationship building. A strong RFI response gives the contracting officer and program office a reason to engage with the responder before the formal procurement begins.

What an effective RFI response contains

Effective RFI responses follow the structure the RFI asks for. Most RFIs include a list of specific questions the agency wants answered. The response should answer each question directly, with three to ten sentences per question typically sufficient. Beyond the question-by-question answers, an effective response generally includes:

• Company identification. Legal name, UEI, primary NAICS, size status, relevant certifications.
• Brief capability statement. One or two paragraphs establishing why your responses to the RFI questions carry weight — what you actually do that's relevant.
• Question-by-question answers. Direct responses to the agency's questions. Do not rearrange the questions; answer them in the order asked.
• Recommendations beyond the questions. If you see something the agency hasn't asked about that's important, raise it as a separate "additional observations" section.
• Single point of contact for follow-up.

What to leave out

• Pricing. Unless the RFI explicitly asks for pricing information, do not include it. RFI responses are not quotes; speculative pricing can complicate later evaluation.
• Confidential pricing data or rate structures. Even when pricing is requested, share only what you are comfortable having become part of the procurement record.
• Trade secrets or proprietary methodology. RFI responses are not protected like proposal content. Disclosure assumptions should be conservative.
• Generic marketing material. A polished marketing brochure attached to an RFI response is rarely useful and signals the firm didn't take the questions seriously.
• Promises to do whatever the agency wants. Surface real considerations even when they push back on the agency's tentative approach. That is what makes the response valuable.
• Generic "we can do this" answers. Capability assertions without specifics are not informative.

RFI response structure example

For an RFI asking about cloud migration services, an effective response might be organized:

1. Cover note. Single page identifying the firm, providing UEI and certifications, and noting the firm's intent to participate in the eventual procurement.
2. Capability summary. 1–2 paragraphs establishing the firm's relevant cloud migration practice, with anchoring past performance.
3. Direct answers to the RFI's questions. The RFI's questions reproduced in the order asked, with the firm's response under each. Length proportional to the importance of the question.
4. Additional observations. If the firm sees that the RFI's scope mixes lift-and-shift migration with platform modernization (which are very different efforts), that observation goes here. Other considerations the RFI didn't ask about but the firm sees as material.
5. Suggested follow-up. Offer to discuss specific topics in more depth, attend an industry day, or provide a technology demonstration. Make the next step easy for the agency.

Total length is typically 5–15 pages. Longer responses signal that the responder hasn't internalized what RFIs are for.

How RFI responses get used

The agency's program office and contracting officer review responses and use them to refine the acquisition plan. Common outcomes:

• The scope is divided into multiple procurements rather than one
• The contract type is changed from what was originally planned
• The schedule is extended to reflect realistic delivery expectations
• The set-aside decision shifts based on the population of small businesses that responded
• An industry day is scheduled to explore topics that surfaced in responses
• The eventual solicitation incorporates evaluation criteria the responses suggested

Responders rarely see exactly which observations made it into the eventual solicitation. The connection from RFI input to procurement output is real but indirect.

Common mistakes

• Treating RFI as proposal practice. An RFI is shorter, less formal, and accomplishes a different purpose. Right-size the effort.
• Ignoring the questions. An RFI response that doesn't answer the agency's specific questions is read as not having read them.
• Submitting marketing collateral instead of substantive responses. Brochures and case studies are not RFI responses.
• Including pricing when not asked. Speculative pricing creates more problems than it solves.
• Generic answers across multiple RFIs. If the same response could work for two different RFIs, it probably doesn't actually engage with either one specifically.
• Skipping RFIs because "we'll just respond to the RFP." By the time the RFP comes, the scope, contract type, and set-aside structure are largely fixed.

Related pages

• Sources sought notices
• Capability statement guide
• Bid / no-bid decision framework
• RFP response structure
• Agency forecasts