Building an RFP Operation | Elevo

One of the reasons I joined Elevo was because they were seeing a dramatic increase in the volume of RPFs (Request for Proposals) they had to respond to. As California's Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) continued to grow, more and more distracts were going to RFP to make decisions on program vendors. When I was with Right At School, one of my primary responsibilities was writing the RFP proposals for the organization. I was thrown into the deep end there, and had to develop a process to manage the volume. Though that experience, I also learned exactly how I would want to build a process from scratch if I ever got the chance.

Elevo provided that chance.  When I joined the organization, there was one RFP writer, and one content designer handling all of the proposals. They were doing herculean work, without the support or the process they needed. 

So, over the next few months, we built a system and documented every step of the RFP process, including:

• Opportunity sourcing 

• A vetting process that included a detailed "Go/No-Go" matrix which gathered input from stakeholders and scored the opportunity

• A go/no-go meeting where opportunities are discussed, decisions are made, and deliverables determined

• Proposal process tracking and status updates

• Communication channels and touchpoints throughout the process

• Proposal development steps (research. SME interviews, review process, approvals)

• Shipping and logistics

• Follow-up (advancement interviews, district communication)

• Data Collection, analysis, and reporting