Money for Nothing

(If you prefer to listen to this article on the GovCon Geek Squadcast, click here.)

As it's done today, much of the federal sector market research conducted as a Request for Information or RFI, is inefficient and redundant. To emphasize my point, consider how much of the work-up done when responding to a market research activity will be repeated by vendors when the RFP, RFQ or Task Order Request are released.

I'll start with a question for Industry. How much does your company build into its budget for responding to agency market research? This, of course, is in addition to the money and time you reserve for responding to Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Requests for Quotation (RFQ), that are intended to result in the award of obligations that your company will invoice against when selected as the successful offeror. A contract and the commitment of funds, is not the intended outcome of RFIs.

And now, an ode to the RFI.

Oh RFI, Oh RFI

What is thy true purpose, Oh RFI?

Were you sent here in earnest to help me be seen?

For the costs I will incur I'm really not too keen.

While responding will help federal agencies to know

Yet I am left wondering "Where the heck do they all go?"

It isn't so much about the work I was seeking

It's the money and the time my company is leaking

All for Uncle Sam to get answers to buy

To tell you the truth I can't understand why

I continue to play and do all of this work

All for zero return and, Hey, is that a smirk?

Bad poetry aside, Today's RFIs are concerning because more and more elements customary to RFP/RFQ documents, are nesting in RFIs. This results in increased burdens to Industry. That burden to Industry results in increased costs to agencies, and ultimately back to taxpayers, like you and me.

I see little in common between Today's RFIs and those I responded to from 1988 to 2004. Truthfully, only the name and the intent are intact. Increasingly, what I see?seems an egregious overstep, based on a layman's understanding of how and why agencies conduct market research.

What is an RFI? It's one method used by federal government agencies for gathering information prior to making a purchase. The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) describes Part 10 - Market Research as policies and procedures for conducting market research to arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing, and supporting supplies and services.

Confusion can set in when you read the section in Part 10 that says, "When conducting market research, agencies should not request potential sources to submit more than the minimum information necessary." I really want to know the metric for "more than the minimum information necessary" because minimum is not a word I would associate with Today's RFIs.?

According to the Government, market research involves obtaining information specific to the product or service being acquired to determine whether the Government’s needs can be met, based on a variety of factors. Those factors may include (but are not limited to):

• ?If items are commercially available
• On which contracts or contract vehicles they are available
• If items can be used as-is to meet Government’s needs
• If items can be easily modified to meet Government’s needs?
• What discounts and warranties are available?
• If goods/services are available from small business concerns
• If and how goods/services have been used in similar scenarios

Here's the shift that's been growing for the last two decades. Mind you, these are things I vividly remember agencies NOT asking for:

• Detailed pricing volumes?
• Details about my teammates or teaming strategy
• Detailed descriptions of how work would be completed, and more.

While these were the topic of verbal and written exchanges with Customers (e.g., Project Manager, End-User, Requirement Owners) these were in response to market research conducted by the Customer versus Contracting. Content was protected through appropriate marking and the Customers had obligations related to handling the information

That's not the case with RFIs. The information submitted in response to RFIs is not afforded the same protections as it is when submitted in RFPs and RFQs. You can add markings to protect elements of your RFI submission, but I have seen many instances where the RFI clearly states that submissions marked to protect competitive information or intellectual property, will not be accepted.?In short, by responding to some RFIs, you are giving away competitive information, competitive edge and even intellectual property.

This is one of many reasons why I don't subscribe to the "Kill 'em all...." ethos for responding to RFIs. That approach, by the way, is the advice you will hear from sources like Contracting, Small Business Offices, and Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. While it may be well-meaning, it is often misplaced in the face of the costs of doing business and relevancy.

You can spend a LOT of time and money responding to information requests that may or may not get you anything, just as is the case with responding to RFPs and RFQs. You may or may not win anything. The difference is that many companies apply a level of process to how they respond to RFPs and RFQs, and the intent is for an award of work and dollars to occur.

The same due diligence applied to RFPs and RFQs by vendors is NOT being applied to RFIs. But it should be.

To acquire the information they need, agencies are also encouraged to use other methods for acquiring information, such as some of the very same government-hosted tools and resource we teach during Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors? Bootcamp Complete. Think Federal Procurement Data System, Product Service Code Selection Tool, Contract-Awarded Labor Categories tool or CALC, and others. The point being, not all of the market research comes as a result of an RFI being issued, nor should it.

There are some very innovative companies applying new techniques and technologies to help government agencies, both Customers and Buyers, to get the information they need to make good decisions. The flip-side is reducing their burden, and the burden to Industry.

What should Industry do to preserve their time, money, morale and reputations? Develop a core set of Interest and Pursuit criteria related to federal agency market research. Work from a place of specific programs and customers, and not from the starting point of buyers, NAICS Codes or set-asides.

If you are not basing your tactics on being informed and intentional, RFIs will represent an opportunity for you to spend your time and your money in return for nothing at all.

Peace, Health and Success,

Go-To-Guy Timberlake