In a typical RFP process in the last few years, the prospective client is often on their own to develop the RFP. In order not to contaminate the objectivity of the bidding process, they cannot enter into discussion with a consultant who knows their organization to help them figure out exactly what they want to accomplish and what the best way to achieve it. Thus, the insights and knowledge gained by the consultant in previous work with that organization is lost to the client during the RFP development stage.
As the entire bidding process is built around the calibre of the RFP, the loss of exploratory dialogue means that all the respondents assume that the RFP is an accurate description of what the client really needs and wants. And in some organizations, which are large enough to have a lot of experience in writing RFPs such as the provincial government, this may be the case. However, in many smaller community-based organizations operating with limited senior staff resources, the calibre of the RFP may not be what it needs to be to solicit the responses they are hoping for and the help they really need.
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