Requests for Proposals must include the guidelines of the funder regarding the submission of applications. Without guidelines, grantwriters would have no idea of how to construct the application or conceptualize the formation of the compelling argument to support their application.
The Guidelines must include a timeline by which applications must meet certain deadlines. Normally, this timeline is clearly delineated in the Request for Proposal’s Guideline Section.
Elements of the Guideline
This section of the RFP highlights several important elements contained in the RFP:
- What is the deadline for the submission of the grant?
- Are there any third parties involved in the process and, if so, what are the costs involved with this work?
- How are the contract terms decided?
- What will be included in the contract with the winning applicant?
Let us return to our primary example of the construction of a homeless facility in the Bronx, New York. Let us see how the Guidelines of the RFP would apply to our project.
For example:
The New York State County of the Bronx is accepting proposals for the building and development of a homeless facility to meet the need to eliminate homelessness in the Bronx and/or reduce the number of homeless adults.
The purpose of this Request for Proposal is to solicit proposals from qualified candidate organizations, based on criteria found within this document, and to select the best candidate who meets our needs.
This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for a free and open competition. Proposals will be accepted until 5 PM EST December 31, 2014.
If your organization is outsourcing or contracting out any work for the project to meet said requirements, this must be clearly delineated as well as associated costs with explanation.
Upon choosing the winning application, terms and conditions of the contract will be negotiated with that organization including, but not limited to, the scope, budget, time frame and other necessary items essential to the project.