RFP in construction stands for Request For Proposals. It is the final phase of construction documentation a project owner needs to assess whether a construction company has the qualification, human resources, experience, and capabilities to complete a project.



An RFP helps to compare the proposals from different vendors, suppliers, and general contractors about undertaking a large-scale construction project. On the other hand, for a potential vendor in the construction industry, RFPs present new opportunities. RFP is a prevalent process in the tender and bidding for public works in government construction projects.



This post will delineate the meaning, process, and importance of construction RFPs for both project owners and construction companies.



Table of content
Introduction
What is a construction RFP?
Need for an RFP in construction
What is included in the RFPs?
Difference between RFQ, RFI, & RFP
The steps involved in an RFP process
What follows the RFP phase
Challenges to the RFP process
Key takeaways


A well-structured procurement process is vital for the success and growth of an organization, business, or company. Timely and correct procurement enables entities to improve their outcomes and maximize their ROIs.



An RFP (Request For Proposal) is a widely adopted procedure for big-ticket purchases, whether in the private or public sector. Since several organizations operating in a particular niche participate in the RFP process, the buyers or project owners get the chance to compare their features, functionality, and quoted prices for the same project.



What is a construction RFP?
A request for proposal (RFP) in the construction industry is a document that formally announces a project, describes the scope of the project, and invites construction bids from qualified contractors to complete the project. The RFP also outlines the general bidding process and contract terms and conditions.



The RFP helps the construction project owner assess the feasibility of the various bids submitted by contractors, the financial health of every contractor, and whether or not the contractor will be able to undertake the project.



Need for RFPs in the construction industry
RFPs are prevalent for complex construction projects that require several subcontractors to work under a general contractor or a construction manager.



An RFP is suitable for projects that involve complex technical expertise or specialized capability that may not be available at the time. Often, RFPs invite proposals for advanced research and development of solutions specifically required for the specific project.



Although RFPs are commonly issued by government entities and public sector organizations, private organizations too can release RFPs. RFPs open up the competition and present equal opportunity among participating companies.



What is included in an RFP?
The construction request for proposal includes all the necessary information the interested construction firms need to prepare their bid documents for the bidding submission.



Scope of project: An RFP document necessarily describes the organization issuing the RFP or project owner and the complete scope of the project.



Evaluation criteria: The solicitation document also outlines the evaluation criteria to select the winning bidder, along with the bidding process and the contract terms.



Statement of work: This includes the detailed tasks the winning firm must accomplish within the timeline of the specific project.



RFP budget: Although not a compulsory addition, having a budget speeds up the processes. Instead of the exact budget, you can ask the bidders to include a detailed report on the cost estimation of the entire project.



Construction contract terms and conditions: The RFP also outlines the general bidding process and contract terms and conditions, including the important deadlines.



General advisory guidelines: Most RFPs also instruct bidders on how to create proposals, including precise instructions on how bids should be prepared and presented for submission. Many project owners also seek additional information related to previous projects in the construction proposal documents.



Difference between RFQ, RFI, & RFP
The RFs (RFQ, RFI, & RFP) are three types of construction documents that business entities use to find vendors, suppliers, or professional service contractors who may fulfill the project owner’s expectations.



RFP: An RFP (Request for Proposal) solicits contractors capable of completing a planned project.
RFQ: An RFQ (Request for Qualification) is a request for bids submitted to a group of suppliers in order to get a contract to deliver specified items or services. The corporation or organization's request must include the quality and quantity required and the timing sought.
RFI: An RFI (Request for Information) requests written information from suppliers about the products and services they may offer. It could be used to collect information for a supplier database for future reference.


The steps involved in an RFP process
RFP Process



The RFP process aims to associate with suppliers, vendors, and construction management companies to successfully complete the project. Therefore, the project owner or entities publishing the RFP need to put substantial time, effort, and resources into preparing a construction request for proposal.



To prepare the most suitable RFP, owners can break down the entire RFP process into six manageable subcategories or subprocesses.



Identify needs
The first step in the RFP process is to determine the requirements. For this, communicating with the main stakeholders of the construction project is necessary. Only the stakeholders can identify what exactly is needed as part of the project scope.



Determine the project scope
Once the project needs are identified, it’s time to write the project scope. A construction project scope must include the goals, tasks, and deliverables. Also, include the cost estimation and specific deadlines for project elements.



Writing the RFP
Although the format for RFP can vary depending on the specific project, writing the RFP in a common formula makes things clear for the vendors or service providers. Try to select a common format to maintain consistency, as your RFP will remain in the public records. Assign the task of writing the RFP to someone who knows and understands the project well.



Distribute the RFP
Distributing your RFP is the next big thing. After all, when you float an RFP, you want responses and proposals in return. The proposals should be decent in number to filter and choose the best possibility.



Analyze & shortlist
Although this step is time-consuming, it is necessary to select the best respondent. The project planning team has a huge role to play here. They need to thoroughly evaluate every proposal from various vendors, even if they are small businesses.



Thereafter, you have to shortlist the most potential respondents. For this, scrutinize the proposals more minutely.



Comparing the shortlisted proposals
After you've narrowed down your options, you'll need more details regarding the plans for undertaking the project. Consider having a second round of scrutinization to get better insights into selecting the best match for the project scope. Vendors should be prepared to provide additional information and possibly a demo if required.



Pricing and agreement terms are critical in this situation. At this point, the stakeholders should have all the information required to make an informed decision.



The final decision
The decision-making process will differ depending on the team or business. The stakeholders must consider every construction proposal along with the additional information before deciding on the most suitable potential vendor to meet their objectives.



What follows the RFP phase?
Once the RFP is floated, interested parties submit their proposals for review. The review process may be uni-level or multi-level, depending on the project's size, nature, and scope. The review process for government RFPs generally involves a number of committees in a multi-level review process.



Challenges to the RFP process
The process is time-consuming
The entire process of shortlisting the best proposals by going through email tens of email threads and spreadsheets is a daunting task. Along with putting pressure on the team, it consumes a significant amount of time.



Coordination between stakeholders
For a complex project or high-ticket procurement process, various stakeholders may be involved. When it comes to government procurement or project planning, the proposal goes through various committees at different levels. Coordinating between so many people at different levels is another challenge besides the time consumption.



Manual process
Many organizations, especially government agencies, still rely on the manual processing of RFPs. They generally use spreadsheets to shortlist and select the best proposal. However, this process is prone to human errors and is heavily time-consuming. This might lead to selecting the wrong proposal.



How to find construction RFPs?
Companies or small businesses looking to get a construction RFP can check the local newspapers as government departments frequently float RFPs there. Alternatively, they also release RFPs on their official websites.



But searching through thousands of government portals and newspapers to find an opportunity is no easy task. You need to know where to start, which itself is a daunting task.



Then how to find the opportunity?



Switch to our global project & tender tracker. The tracker has 2,00,000+ projects, tenders, and RFPs in the construction, oil & gas, EV, and renewable energy sectors. It can be highly useful for general contractors, EPC contractors, subcontractors, project managers, and other entities looking for new opportunities. Try the tracker here.



Key Takeaways
A construction RFP (request for proposal) is an official announcement of a construction project.
An RFP document describes the project details, such as the goals, scope, outlines of the bidding process, contract terms, and evaluation criteria.
Through RFP, the project owner invites bids from interested contractors to complete the project.
The contractors come up with their plans, timelines, strategies, and cost estimations for the project.
RFP is an ideal process for project owners when they don’t have the resources and expertise to accomplish a large-scale project.