Level Up Your Request for Proposal: How to Attract Top-Tier Consultants

Does your organization have a specific project on the horizon or a thorny challenge that requires outside help to solve? Regardless of the stage of your work or the type of bidding process you use, crafting strong communications around your project needs is critical for finding the best possible client-consultant fit and setting the groundwork for successful project outcomes.

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The Importance of a Strong Solicitation

A well-crafted solicitation helps you evaluate consultants and their approaches based on:

• Alignment of values

• Mutual understanding of project goals

• Expectations management related to project approach, adaptability, and deliverables

• Compatible working and communications styles

• Shared commitment to outcomes and overall project success

• Better side-by-side comparison of a consultant’s approach vs. your needs

Why We’re Qualified to Weigh In

At Fourth Economy, our consultants are passionate about solving meaningful problems. We are constantly on the lookout for exciting projects and clients that align with our values, interests, and areas of expertise. Over our 14+ years in consulting and reviewing many solicitations, we’ve learned what constitutes a strong inquiry, whether communicated through a Scope of Work (SOW), Request for Proposal (RFP), or another procurement process.

Key Recommendations

By implementing the following recommendations, we think you’ll garner more interest and higher quality responses from all prospective vendors (not just us!). We developed fictitious, yet realistic examples for each of our recommendations that are inspired by past work.

Share Your Values and Preferred Work Style

Strong client-consultant collaboration leads to successful projects. Provide insight into your team's values and preferred working and communication styles to help consultants determine if they're a good fit and adapt their approach.

Example

“We believe that strong processes are essential to achieving strong outcomes; our work is guided by the core values that define who we are and how we operate. We are seeking a consultant who shares these values and can integrate them into their approach throughout the engagement. Our values are…”

Our most successful projects have been achieved through solid thought partnerships. Are you curious about our vision, purpose, and values? Learn about them here.

Provide Guiding Project Questions

Share your project goals and desired deliverables, but also include key questions your organization seeks to answer during the engagement. Understanding what you know and don’t know relative to your project helps consultants craft an approach that maximizes value for you and your constituents.

Examples 

• How might we keep more money circulating in our local economy and what data do we have to guide strategies to support this?

• How might we utilize economic development practices to improve the quality and desirability of our community as a place to live and work?

• How might we diversify our funding sources as an organization to ensure long-term financial stability?

• How might we build stronger partnerships with other organizations to amplify our mission?

• How might we develop an ongoing process for gathering quantitative and qualitative data to inform our project and the future work that stems from it?

Fourth Economy is a team of curious consultants who are particularly keen on “How might we…” style questions. We have processes for developing, and eventually answering, these types of questions. But it’s helpful to know if you’ve already been pondering any guiding questions. 

Allow for Flexibility

While a thorough scope of work is valuable, allow some flexibility for consultants to design tailored approaches based on their expertise. This encourages innovative solutions that you might not have overlooked.

Example

Rather than providing an overly prescriptive scope of work, consider telling us what inspires you! Share examples of projects, plans, and deliverables that you’ve seen from other communities or organizations that you love and might serve as inspiration for the project. 

Our team is highly creative and thrives when given the opportunity to use our time-tested frameworks and processes to develop customized, innovative solutions. Once we begin a project, we consider your inspirations and also draw from our vast work experience throughout the country to provide promising practices relative to your project.

Introduce Your Beneficiaries and Benefactors

A superior consultant team serves not just you, but also your constituents. Help consultants learn about the members of your ecosystem and how you interact with them. Sharing this information through a solicitation allows us to build an inclusive and comprehensive project approach that builds on past successes, fills gaps, and engages those who need to be involved to ensure a well-informed, equitable process.

Examples

Consider sharing the following types of information:

• Individuals and organizations who will be involved in the project team, steering or advisory committee, and broader engagement outreach efforts

• Community leaders and organizations with whom you already have strong working relationships

• Constituent groups who haven’t been engaged in past projects that you wish to involve in this project

• Success of past projects and areas to improve upon

We employ a human-centered approach to our engagements, empowering clients to build stronger organizations, communities, and economies. We have processes for supporting you in answering these types of questions about the ecosystem in which you operate. That said, it’s helpful for us to glean any initial understanding you might already have.

Demonstrate Your “Why” and Commitment to Outcomes

Create an intentional scope of work centered around creating impact. Communicate your motivations behind the project and commitment to action-oriented processes and measured results. This helps consultants build teams and approaches that match your excitement and needs.

Examples

When we collaborate with passionate, smart, results-oriented people, we rise to the occasion! Here are examples of project motivations and commitments that inspire us.

Economic Development Strategy Example

“We are pursuing a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to harness the unique strengths of our local industries, natural resources, and diverse communities. Our goal is to create an inclusive economy that not only attracts new businesses but also supports our existing small enterprises, promotes workforce development, and addresses the critical infrastructure needs of our rural and urban areas. By focusing on sustainability, innovation, and equitable growth, we aim to build a resilient economic future that benefits all residents—ensuring our county remains a place where people want to live, work, and invest for generations to come.”

This explanation goes beyond CEDS funding opportunities or the need to renew an expired plan. It highlights the purpose, values, and long-term vision behind the initiative.

Organizational Strategy Example

“In response to the growing demand for our services and the shifting landscape of funding and community needs, we are launching a new strategic plan to ensure our nonprofit remains effective and sustainable. Over the past five years, we have seen significant changes in the populations we serve, including an increase in underserved families and the need for more comprehensive support services. At the same time, we are facing heightened competition for grants and donations, while also navigating new regulatory requirements. This strategic plan will allow us to realign our programs with emerging community needs, diversify our funding sources, strengthen our partnerships, and invest in the technology and infrastructure necessary to scale our impact. By proactively addressing these challenges, we can continue to fulfill our mission and position ourselves for long-term growth and success.”

This explanation goes beyond the need to renew an expired plan, and instead points to the recent trends and emerging needs as motivations behind the project while emphasizing the resolute focus on organizational mission. 

Share budget guidance

While it may seem prudent to exclude a budget range to seek the best value from a consultant or allow flexibility in proposed scopes of work, we have seen this create serious issues for those reviewing and comparing project approaches from consultants offering wide-ranging price points. Instead, ask proposers what they can deliver within your budget or a range based on market rates for similar scopes of work. Providing this guidance will allow you to better evaluate the value of each firm based on the same parameters and your needs. Utilize subsequent processes like interviews and contracting to refine the scope and budget as needed. 

Example

We recognize that innovative solutions can be achieved through various approaches and cost structures. While we have estimated a budget range of $100,000 - $125,000 for this project, we encourage respondents to propose solutions that best meet the outlined needs and objectives. Respondents are encouraged to propose solutions that optimize value within this range and justify any significant deviations from the budget range.

Now you have the inside scoop on what Fourth Economy consultants love to see in a SOW or RFP. We truly appreciate how much time and effort clients invest in developing solicitations for services, and we hope these recommendations help with the process and pave the way for more productive and impactful collaboration.

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If you’d like assistance planning for your next project, don’t hesitate to reach out at [email protected] or contact a member of our team. We would love to help you craft a scope of work or RFP that meets your unique needs!