Guidelines
for Responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP)
Listed below are general guidelines for responding
to a Request for a Proposal (RFP). For a specific RFP, you are encouraged
to confer at an early stage with Office of Research staff.
Upon receipt of the RFP, a complete copy must be forwarded
to the Office of Research with a short note indicating your intention
to respond. The Office of Research needs this copy as soon as possible
for review.
Please be advised, a sponsor
will at times issue one or more amendments to the original
solicitation. These amendments are usually forwarded directly
to the individuals who requested the complete RFP package.
When forwarding a complete copy of the RFP to the Office
of Research, please include any amendments.
Notify your Area Administrator
that it is your intention to submit a proposal.
Provide your Administrator with a copy of the RFP;
your Administrator will need to work with you on
the submission.
If human subjects and/or vertebrate
animals will be used in the project, submit your
requests for approval to the appropriate committee(s)
for review.
Review the RFP carefully. Important
items listed in the RFP will typically include:
A letter of intent. (This
statement is submitted to the agency approximately
1-2 months before actual submission of the proposal--a
copy should be sent to the Office of Research).
The RFP's objectives/aims
Amount to be awarded
Time period of project
Date of submission
Reporting requirements
Any special requirements (e.g.:
inclusion of women and minorities in the project)
Packaging and delivery of
the proposal (e.g.: number of copies, addressee,
and whether the response format requires separate
technical and cost proposals)
Sample contract (Oftentimes
a sample contract is included within the RFP--be
aware of particular clauses regarding publication,
patents and copyrights, and confidential data).
Budget format
Special forms to be included
in the proposal
Proposal evaluation criteria
Contact your Administrator or
Grants and Contracts Officer in the Office of Research
to verify current rates to be used in preparing
your budget (Facilities and Administrative Costs
and fringe benefit) and to review what forms you
will need to complete and what information and
signatures you will need to obtain.
Unlike most grant proposals,
RFP submissions require numerous special forms.
Many must be collected and/or prepared by the Grants
and Contracts Officer. These will include:
Representations and Certifications
(Provided by Office of Research)
Board of Trustees listing
(Provided by Office of Research)
University's travel policy
(Available On-Line)
Current University Indirect
Cost Rate Agreement (Provided by Office of Research)
Commitment/contact letter
(Provided by Office of Research)
Proposal Summary & Data
Records sheet (Form NIH 2043) (Provided by Department
and signed by Office of Research)
Lobbying certification (Provided
by Office of Research)
Drug-free workplace certification
(Provided by Office of Research)
Certification of non-delinquency
of federal debt and debarment (Provided by Office
of Research)
Form 1411 - Pre-printed federal
cover page (Provided by Department)
Subcontracting plan: This includes
purchasing plan(s) for minority/women/disadvantaged
vendors. (Prepared by Renee Galloway, Purchasing.
Department should contact Renee as soon as possible.)*
Small Disadvantaged Business
(SDB) Participation Plan (Prepared by Renee Galloway,
Purchasing. Department should contact Renee as
soon as possible).*
Please read specific RFP guidelines
carefully for required documents not listed above or for those
documents not required under "Just-In-Time" procedures.
NOTE: University policy
requires use of the applicable, full indirect cost rate.
Finalized budgets must be sent to the Office of Research
at least 3-4 days before actual submission date. Moreover,
proposals involving exceptions to full indirect costs may
require additional time for administrative revie
Once your proposal
is completed, the Area Administrator prepares the
Form 136. Once the appropriate signatures are obtained,
the proposal will be reviewed by a Grants and Contracts
Officer, signed by the Director of the Office of
Research, and returned to you for copying and mailing.
(Please provide the Office of Research with a complete
copy of the proposal).
BEST & FINAL
OFFER -- If after the Sponsor's review, the proposal
is considered to be in the competitive range, a
request for a "Best & Final Offer" will
be sent to the Office of Research. Best & Final
Offers generally require a "quick turn around." This
can be as short a time as two days. The sponsor's
request for the Best & Final Offer will specify
a definite return date. A Best & Final will
generally consist of the following:
Clarification/revision of
certain technical items (Provided by Principal
Investigator)
Revised budget (Provided by
Principal Investigator and Area Administrator)
Clarification of certain budget
items (Provided by Principal Investigator)
Subcontracting plan (Provided
by Purchasing; Contact Renee Galloway, at 624-5261;
rgalloway@bc.pitt.edu)*
Certification of Current Cost
or Pricing Data (Provided by Office of Research)
Revised face page with original
signatures (Provided by Principal Investigator,
signed by Mr. Allen A. DiPalma, Director, Office
of Research)
Upon the sponsor's receipt and review of the "Best
& Final," notification will be forwarded to either
the Principal Investigator or to the Office of Research
regarding the successful bidder for the contract.
