REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) GUIDELINES AND OUTLINE Deciding how to use resources can be one of the most strategic decisions a training manager makes. Successful training managers effectively leverage a blend of internal talent with the capabilities of external training suppliers. Regardless of the industry or size of your organization, you will likely need to source some form of service, product or technology at some point. A product is an object or item, such as a learning management system (LMS) or fully developed course. A service is a process or action, such as a custom content development project or the process of managing a training function itself. Understanding whether you’re looking for a product, a service or both will help you find the right training partner. Training is not a commodity. All training is not alike, and nor are the suppliers that manage them. That’s why the request for proposal (RFP) is so important: It provides you valuable information about what differentiates one supplier from another. The goal of the RFP is to solicit enough information from a variety of suppliers to determine which can best manage the processes and/or products you need for the right price and within the right time frame to make your organization successful. TYPES OF PROPOSALS The type of proposal you request in an RFP will depend on the type of sourcing engagement you’re seeking. When a company wants to acquire a commodity, it typically uses a request for quotation (RFQ), because there it does not expect any differentiation among the products. Training managers generally do not purchase commodities, so a combined RFI and RFP process is often better. The RFQ is then often combined with the RFP. A request for proposal is a 10- to 20-page document that provides suppliers with all the necessary information to submit a comprehensive and definitive approach to supplying part or all of the training function. A request for information (RFI) is a three- to five-page document with an executive summary of the operation(s) the buyer is seeking to outsource. Its primary objective is to determine which suppliers should receive an RFP. Use it if you aren’t familiar with prospective suppliers or if you have a multitude of potential bidders. A request for quotation (RFQ) is a one-page document that requests cost information from a supplier or suppliers and should only be completed after some level of due diligence – i.e., following the completion of, or during, an RFP. Request for Proposal Guidelines and Checklist | 2019 2 THE SEVEN STAGES OF OUTSOURCING There are seven stages to the training BPO process: 1. Assess your training needs: Determine precisely what you want from a supplier and how good you expect them to be at delivering it. 2. Submit an RFI, RFP and/or RFQ. 3. Gather and evaluate information about each supplier’s capabilities, while the supplier does the same, to form a structured and solid relationship. 4. Negotiate terms, and sign the contract (typically an MSA or SLA). 5. Begin transitioning resources and responsibilities to the supplier. 6. Manage the business and your working relationship with the supplier. 7. Transfer resources and responsibilities back to your organization. The Seven Stages of Training Outsourcing Assessment Transfer Proposal TRAINING BPO Due Governance Diligence Transition Contracting TYPES OF SOURCING ENGAGEMENTS Choosing the type of engagement you want to have with your supplier is an important early step in identifying your internal needs. Each type of engagement requires a different set of contractual documents, such as: • Master Service Agreement (MSA): a comprehensive contract that details the responsibilities of each party, including detailed rates, services and terms for each functional area of the partnership • Service Level Agreement (SLA): a contract that defines the quality and volume of specific deliverables and service level requirements for both parties, including performance metrics • Statement of Work (SOW): a contract that defines the scope of a project, specific deliverables, scheduling and additional responsibilities as required by the buyer; generally a binding contract that can be specialized or generalized depending on the needs of each company or the project Request for Proposal Guidelines and Checklist | 2019 3 • Purchase Order: a contractual document that transactionally defines deliverables, quantities, and agreed-upon pricing terms for products and services; also referred to as a purchase agreement Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Models Out-tasking Models In BPO, the supplier manages a broad set of training processes and activities. There are two types of BPO engagements: Comprehensive BPO: The supplier manages all of the buyer’s training processes and activities Selective BPO: The supplier manages training content or services within one functional area or across several functional areas – but not in all functional areas Note: BPO engagements use each of the contractual documents. Out-tasking In out-tasking, the supplier manages a single, or a very few, training processes, products or technologies. There are two types of out-tasking engagements: Licensing: The buyer buys, or licenses, the right to use the supplier’s intellectual property. The contract typically defines the number of users, number of uses, length of time for licensing and how the buyer can use the intellectual property. Licensing agreements typically use purchase orders. Contracting: The supplier performs a set of tasks or manages a set of processes. The contract typically defines the use of labor on an hourly, weekly, monthly or annual basis, and the length of the engagement is typically less binding than in other forms of outsourcing. Contracting agreements typically use statements of work and purchase orders. Request for Proposal Guidelines and Checklist | 2019 4 Intellectual Property: Who Owns What? In legal terms, intellectual property (IP) is any creation of human intellect, tangible or intangible. In learning and development, content such as course materials (online or in person) and technologies (i.e., LMS, delivery platforms, etc.) are forms of intellectual property. The person or company that owns the IP is generally the one that creates the content or contracts with another party to create content on their behalf. If your company pays you to create content, then the company owns the IP rights to that material. When your organization contracts with a supplier to deliver a course for you, you are essentially licensing the rights to view its course materials for a given period of time. When you contract with an instructor to deliver a course on your behalf, you are not giving away the IP rights to that instructor or the company he or she works for. Similarly, viewing or participating in a course does not give learners implied rights of ownership to deliver the same materials or information in that form to another party. Organizations can license their IP for use for a specified period of time, which is expressed and agreed upon in the contract. CREATING AN RFP There is no one template that can meet the needs of every RFP document. If your organization requires you to use an e-procurement platform, your approach should be to submit a series of questions that asks suppliers to provide information about your request in as clear and succinct a format as possible. If your organization allows you to submit written RFPs to suppliers, you should put your request into a clear and articulate document. Both of these methods serve their purpose well, and both require that you have a clear approach to defining your need, request and bid proposal expectations. The RFP is generally organized into three parts: Part 1: Background/Information In this first part of the RFP, communicate to the suppliers the current state of your organization. Help them understand your culture, your learners and what makes your organization who you are. This part includes three sections: • Section 1: Executive Overview A high-level overview of your organization • Section 2: Background Information About Your Company A summary of what you do, where you are located, the nature of the audience the supplier will support, why you need the supplier’s services/products, how you will use those services/ products, how your learners will consume them, and the processes you currently manage now • Section 3: Definition of Needs A description of what you need from a supplier in process or product terms: what processes, technologies or products you are wishing to source and what services you expect the supplier to provide that are associated with those processes, technologies or products Request for Proposal Guidelines and Checklist | 2019 5 In this part, include a responsibility matrix such as the sample below. PROCESS PROCESS OWNER TIMING/FREQUENCY QUALITY OF SERVICE Supplier provides overall instructional design services based on buyer Instructional Design Supplier On-demand requirements. Measurable deliverables and timing for each project will be scoped based on specific needs of the client/buyer. Provide the supplier with a course design document that clearly articulates learner Course Requirements Buyer On-demand requirements and expectations of course design and development. Proposal document to include modality, Within one month of content elements, format and pricing for Course Design Proposal Supplier communication of the course development; assume pricing based learning requirement on approved pricing framework. Following approval of Course development will follow course Course Development Supplier supplier to begin project design document. Supplier will design and develop media needed for final course product; supplier Media Design Supplier As needed may use sub-contractors for media development on as-needed basis. Add rows to this table as needed. Prequalifying Team Resources Contracting with suppliers often involves the use of its resources for delivery, instructional design or administrative services. The best way to ensure that these resources meet your needs is by properly defining your requirements and expectations in advance.