What are the different U.S. DoW solicitation types?

The 10 types of U.S. government solicitations

Early market research and capability discovery

1. Request for Information (RFI)
2. Sources Sought Notice

Preliminary concept screening for complex needs

1. Request for White Papers (RWP)

Primary solicitation types for actual procurement

1. Request for Quotations (RFQ)
2. Invitation for Bids (IFB)
3. Request for Proposals (RFP)

Specialized mechanisms for research, innovation, and commercial solutions.

1. Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
2. Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)
3. Other Transaction Authority (OTA) Solicitations
4. Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

Request for Information

A Request for Information (RFI) is used early in the acquisition process to gather information about industry capabilities, potential solutions, prices, delivery timelines, and commercial practices prior to developing a formal requirement or solicitation.

RFIs are primarily a market research tool; responses help the agency refine its acquisition strategy and understand what solutions are available in the marketplace but do not constitute offers and are not used directly to make awards.

RFIs can be issued as stand-alone notices or combined with sources sought notices.

Sources Sought Notice

A Sources Sought notice is like an RFI but specifically focused on identifying who in the market can perform a given requirement and what their capabilities are.

This notice type helps contracting officers assess whether there is sufficient competition, determine appropriate socioeconomic set-asides, and shape acquisition strategy. Like RFIs, responses are officially considered informational and are not offers or proposals.

Request for White Papers

A Request for White Papers (RWP) is often used as a preliminary screening tool in multi-stage solicitations. It invites potential offerors to submit concise summaries of their ideas or approach.

Based on these white papers, the agency selects a subset of firms to invite full proposals. RWPs save time and resources by focusing full proposal development on the most promising concepts. While not codified like FAR RWPs or RFQs, RWPs are a standard industry practice referenced in many federal solicitations and guidance.

Unsolicited proposals

An unsolicited proposal is a vendor-initiated submission sent to a government agency without a posted solicitation and without the government requesting it. Its purpose is to pitch a unique, innovative solution that the government has not formally asked for but may urgently need. They are useful when your company has developed a differentiated technology, methodology, or capability that fills a clear gap in mission execution.

Request for Quotation

A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is used for procurements conducted under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures (FAR Part 13), generally for requirements below the simplified acquisition threshold of USD $350,000.

RFQs are typically quicker and less formal than IFBs or RWPs. Responses to RFQs are called quotations, not bids or proposals.

While most RFQs base awards on price and price-related factors, contracting officers may also consider non-price factors such as past performance or technical capability using a simplified trade-off process. The FAR encourages this flexibility to ensure the best value to the government.

Key steps in RFQ process

1. The contracting officer identifies the need for supplies or services and confirms eligibility under simplified acquisition procedures
2. Market research is conducted to identify potential vendors, sources, competition, and pricing.
3. The contracting officer prepares the RFQ, which may be formal (written) or informal (oral) depending on dollar value and circumstances
4. The RFQ specifies the basis of award (e.g., price only or price plus factors such as past performance or quality)
5. The agency solicits quotations from one or more vendors (typically at least three to promote competition) unless justification exists for fewer
6. Quotations are received by the closing date and time stated in the RFQ
7. The contracting officer evaluates quotations based on stated factors and determines price reasonableness
8. The contracting officer selects the vendor offering the best value or lowest price
9. Award is made by issuing a purchase order or other instrument
10. Post-award, contract performance, delivery, and payment are monitored.

Invitation for Bids

An Invitation for Bids (IFB), also known as a sealed bidding process, is governed by FAR Part 14. It is used when requirements are clearly defined and when the award decision will be based strictly on price (and price-related factors such as transportation or delivery costs). Contracts awarded under an IFB are typically Firm-Fixed Price (FFP), or Firm-Fixed Price with Economic Price Adjustment (FFP-EPA).

Agencies use IFBs when:

• The product or service is commercially available or well-defined;
• Price competition is sufficient to determine best value; and
• Discussions or negotiations are not necessary.

When you submit a bid, you commit to keeping it open for a specific period, commonly 30 days. The contracting officer may request an extension of this acceptance period if award decisions are delayed.

Key steps in an IFB process:

1. The government issues an IFB that clearly and completely describes the requirements.
2. Bidders submit sealed bids before the designated opening time (late bids are automatically rejected).
3. Bids are publicly opened at a scheduled time and location—ensuring full transparency.
4. The agency evaluates all bids without negotiation or discussion.
5. Award is made to the lowest-priced, responsive, and responsible bidder.

Request for Proposals

A Request for Proposals (RFP) is a negotiated solicitation conducted under FAR Part 15. It provides much more flexibility than an IFB and is used for complex procurements where factors other than price (such as technical capability or management approach) are important in determining the best value for the government.

In RFP, offers are called proposals and bidders are referred to as offerors. Contracts awarded under RFPs can take many forms, as described in FAR Part 16, including Fixed-Price contracts, Cost-Reimbursement contracts and Time-and-Materials (T&M) or Labour-Hour contracts.

Evaluating RFPs

Proposals are evaluated based on the evaluation criteria listed in the RFP. These criteria often include:

• Technical approach (understanding of requirements, methods, innovations)
• Key personnel (qualifications, experience)
• Management plan (organization, risk management, quality control)
• Past performance (success on prior contracts, including commercial or foreign government work)
• Price or cost

The agency may perform a Best Value Tradeoff Analysis, balancing cost against technical merit and performance quality.

By law, agencies must evaluate price, past performance, and quality, although the contracting officer may waive past performance in certain situations. If an offeror has no past performance record, they cannot be rated positively or negatively solely because of that lack of history. Agencies may, however, consider the past performance of key personnel or major subcontractors.

Key steps in RFP process

1. The government issues an RFP describing the requirement and evaluation criteria.
2. Offerors submit proposals by the closing date.
3. The agency evaluates proposals based on technical and cost factors.
4. The contracting officer may make an award directly (if one proposal is clearly superior) or establish a competitive range of the most highly rated proposals.
5. Discussions (negotiations) are held with all offerors in the competitive range.
6. Offerors may submit interim or final revised proposals after discussions.
7. Final proposals are re-evaluated and compared.
8. The contract is awarded to the offeror providing the best value to the government.

Tip: Carefully read Section M of the RFP to understand how each factor is weighted. If weights are not specified, assume equal importance.

Key difference between IFB and RFP

The main distinction is legal binding effect:

• Responses to IFBs and RFPs are firm offers that the government can accept to form a contract.
• A response to an RFQ is not a binding offer. When the government issues a purchase order based on an RFQ, that purchase order is considered the government’s offer.
• A binding contract is formed only when the contractor accepts the purchase order.

Broad Agency Announcement

A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is a special type of federal solicitation used primarily for basic and applied research and certain early-stage development work. FAR § 35.016 states that BAAs may be used when the government seeks proposals for scientific study and experimentation to advance the state of the art, rather than acquiring a specific system or hardware.

BAAs describe research interests and evaluation criteria; proposals are evaluated based on scientific merit and program relevance rather than standard FAR competitive factors. Because BAAs target R&D, they are widely used by U.S. DoD science and technology components.

Key steps in BAA process

• Government publishes a BAA announcement describing scientific areas of interest.
• Industry and academia submit abstracts/white papers first (optional but common).
• Government evaluates white papers for scientific merit and relevance.
• Selected offerors are invited to submit full proposals.
• Proposals are evaluated on technical merit, innovativeness, and relevance, not price competition.
• Awards may be grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.

Commercial Solutions Opening

A Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is a relatively newer solicitation authority designed to attract innovative commercial products, technologies, or services directly from the marketplace.

Unlike traditional FAR approaches, CSOs allow agencies to solicit solutions to problems rather than requiring vendors to fit solutions into highly prescribed statements of work. U.S. DoD uses CSOs to reduce barriers to entry for non-traditional contractors and accelerate procurement of cutting-edge technologies.

CSOs can result in awards through either traditional FAR-based contracts or alternative instruments like Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) and are intended to streamline evaluation and contracting. They are often used by DIU, AFWERX, NavalX, and other innovation offices.

Key steps in CSO process:

• Government issues a CSO solicitation describing problem areas, not detailed requirements.
• Companies submit solution briefs or white papers describing their innovative ideas.
• Government evaluates based on innovation, technical merit, and potential operational value.
• Selected firms are invited to give oral pitches, demos, or technical discussions.
• Government requests full proposals from firms judged promising.
• Awards may be made using FAR contracts, Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), or cooperative agreements.

Other Transaction Authority Solicitations

Although not a traditional FAR solicitation type, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) mechanisms are widely used in U.S. DoD acquisitions for research, prototyping, and follow-on production.

OTAs are not contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements under traditional procurement law, and they allow the government to engage nontraditional vendors with greater flexibility, fewer FAR constraints, and tailored terms.

OTA solicitations may be issued alongside CSOs or independently to attract innovative partners, expedite development, and prototype advanced technologies.

Key process steps in OTA solicitations:

• Government issues a Request for White Papers (RWP) or problem statement.
• Offerors submit white papers describing prototype concepts.
• Government selects promising concepts and requests full proposals.
• Prototype project is executed with government oversight.
• If prototype is “successful,” government may issue a follow-on Production OTA without competition.

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

A Combined Synopsis/Solicitation merges the public announcement of a proposed contract action (synopsis) with the formal solicitation document itself into one notice, streamlining the procurement process.

This is commonly used for commercial items and commercial services under FAR Part 12 and related streamlined acquisition procedures.

Combined synopsis/solicitation notices are published on SAM.gov and save time by eliminating separate synopsis and solicitation steps, while still providing all necessary solicitation details and response instructions.

Key steps in combined synopsis/solicitation:

• Government issues one notice on SAM.gov that serves as both Public synopsis (FAR 5) and Solicitation (RFQ/RFP).
• Vendors submit quotes or proposals directly, no second posting required.
• Government evaluates based on stated criteria (usually lowest price, technically acceptable or similar).
• Contract or purchase order is awarded following evaluation.