When it’s time for government agencies to bring on new technology partners, the process can be painful.

Gathering detailed RFP requirements from across the organization that will still be relevant in one to two years is a lengthy process itself, and verifying it line by line with your prospective vendor takes even longer.  

The average formal RFP process takes 12-18 months, or even longer for complex defense RFIs. 

By the time most agencies have assessed what is needed, approved the budget, decided on a procurement method, solicited bids, evaluated and selected the vendor, and negotiated the contract, many months have gone by.  

Amid tightening resources, changing needs, and stiff competition for funding, that’s too long. 

But it doesn’t always have to be that hard. If your agency must issue an RFP, there are ways to make the process more efficient. Better yet, you may have other procurement options for a faster time to value. 

Read on for suggestions to make your software procurement faster and easier for everyone involved. 

Is a new RFP really required? 

The bigger the opportunity is, the more certain it is that an RFP will be required. However, in many cases, you might be able to avoid working with vendors on a tedious, months-long process and take a different path instead.  

Your agency or organization may already have an existing procurement vehicle in place that you can “piggy-back” on. It depends on jurisdiction, policy, funding, and specific cooperative purchasing rules that apply to your agency. 

Before writing 75 pages of requirements, check to see whether someone has already opened the door to procurement. 

What kinds of procurement paths should you look for? 

You may have the option of federal contract vehicles like GSA Multiple Award Schedule, or MAS, state-level procurement options like Pennsylvania Department of General Services, or California’s CMAS. Resellers or contract holders like Carahsoft and CDW-G may be an option, too. 

Where can you find Kahua?  

1. Federal and government-wide technology-purchasing vehicles 

Government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) are procurement options centered on technology purchases. Generally, they are managed by agencies like GSA, NASA, or NIH and for use across all federal agencies.  

Look for programs like: 

• MAS IT: A blanket purchase agreement through the GSA for IT solutions like hardware, software, supply-chain risk tools, NIST-based requirements 

• GSA Alliant 3: Federal, enterprise-level IT procurement of infrastructure, cloud computing, and digital transformation. 

• Note that NITAAC GWAC, a high-profile, $50 billion purchasing vehicle, will soon sunset its programs and direct them to the GSA. 

Kahua’s project management information system is listed on the GSA MAS. 

2. State purchasing contracts 

Look for pre-negotiated agreements with state-vetted vendors that allow for direct purchases.  

The following states have their own purchasing vehicles that include Kahua: 

• California Multiple Award Schedules, or MAS: California has adapted GSA award schedules to fit state policies, so qualified vendors can bypass RFPs in some cases. CMAS is optional. 

• Pennsylvania Department of General Services: Pennsylvania offers statewide purchasing contracts for eligible state agencies, local governments, and education entities. Kahua is available through Carahsoft under a state contract based on its GSA Schedule. 

• State of New Mexico: Kahua is available in New Mexico via a Carahsoft contract based on the GSA Schedule for state and local government purchasing. 

• State of Florida contract: Public entities can purchase technology through approved Alternate Contract Sources. Kahua is available to state, local, and higher education entities through Carahsoft via the Cobb County/OMNIA contract. 

• Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium: MHEC provides competitively awarded contracts to public and education entities. Kahua is available through Carahsoft under the consortium’s software contract. 

• Virginia Fairfax County contracts: Fairfax County maintains competitively awarded technology contracts that may be available to eligible Virginia public entities. Kahua is available through Carahsoft under the county’s IT hardware, software, and services contract. 

NASPO Value Point is another option. This multi-state purchasing cooperative includes pre-negotiated contracts for vendors in categories like cloud solutions, information security, industrial supplies, heavy construction and industrial, and public safety.   

All 50 states have some form of cooperative purchasing agreements, but not all states let other states use their MAS programs. 

Public entities in other states may also be able to purchase purchase Kahua through cooperative purchasing agreements such as OMNIA Partners, depending on their requirements and eligibility.  

Note that the contracts for states participating in NASPO Cloud Solutions expire at different times, so this list will likely change. Additionally, NASPO will soon roll out a new master service agreement with Carahsoft, LS4983, that may change the list of participating states. 

3. Cooperative or reseller channels 

Co-ops and resellers also do the heavy lifting of negotiations, pricing, and maintaining the prime contract for government and commercial organizations. 

Examples include: 

• Carahsoft: This large government IT contract holder helps vendors, resellers, and integration partners across the U.S. and Canada. 

• CDW-G: This includes hardware and IT-oriented services and software, like Red Hat or Adobe Acrobat, for federal, healthcare, K-12, higher ed, and state and local agencies. 

• PIER Group: Education and research organizations can use from PIER’s RFP contracts. 

Kahua is eligible to federal, state, local, and educational entities through Carasoft’s competitively awarded federal, state-specific, and cooperative purchasing contracts. 

4. Existing organizational relationships 

 Depending on the agreement and your procurement rules, an existing contract or interagency arrangement may provide a faster path rather than issuing a new RFP. 

• Contracts via a program manager: An existing program management agreement may already cover your desired technology or services, if the purchase falls within the contract’s scope or authority. 

• Existing agency contracts: You might be surprised to learn your organization already has an active contract that meets your required software or services needs. 

• Interagency agreements: There are many cross-agency MAS agreements. Your public agency might be able to work with your preferred vendor or technology via another agency. 

Before you start down the path of writing a new RFP, check to see if your organization has an existing contractual vehicle to fast track the purchase. 

5. “Piggy-back” with other states’ existing contracts  

For state and local municipalities, you may be able to skip the RFP and piggy-back using an established Department of Administration (DOA) method for procuring software 

For example, in Georgia, where Kahua is headquartered, there are several existing contract vehicle possibilities. 

Alternate procurement routes:

Consider this approach: 

1. First, search statewide contracts and existing state-agency contracts. 

2. Confirm the contract permits use by your agency and covers the required software, services, term, and pricing. 

3. If using another state entity’s contract, submit the State Purchasing Division (SPD) piggyback request before issuing an order. 

4. If using an out-of-state vehicle, like a Texas DIR contract, treat it as a cooperative purchase (unless DOAS confirms that a piggyback mechanism applies). 

5. If federal funds are involved, verify compliance with federal award rules, since federal regulations require documented procedures as well as full and open competition. 

City and county municipalities must also follow their own ordinances, purchasing policies, delegation limits, and legal requirements. DOAS resources may be useful, but state entity approval procedures don’t necessarily govern every local government. 

An alternative contract vehicle can shorten your path, but your organization may still have its own approval, notice, and compliance requirements. 

If there’s no usable contract vehicle, make the RFP process work for your organization. 

But what if the solution your agency needs isn’t covered by an existing contract vehicle? 

In that case, there are still several ways to speed up the process if you do have to issue an RFP and ensure you’re using the most important criteria to decide the best option for your organization.  

Before you write the RFP

See Kahua’s “Before you Write the RFP” for best practices on creating an RFP. 

Step 1: Before starting the RFP, define your portfolio’s operating model 

Capital programs have multiple levels: portfolios contain programs, and programs contain projects with their own contracts, budgets, and documents. The first decision is who controls that structure and who can change it.   

What to define 

• The portfolio hierarchy, and the level at which standards are enforced versus delegated. 

• Who owns configuration of templates, document types, and approval workflows, and through what change process. 

• Whether your own administrators can make those changes, or whether each one requires a vendor services engagement. 

• How a new project inherits standards on day one instead of being rebuilt from scratch. 

Questions to ask internally: 

• Who owns our standards, and who is allowed to change a workflow? 

• Can our administrators configure the system without buying vendor professional services each time? 

• When we start a new project, does it inherit our templates, budgets, and permissions automatically? 

Example RFP language:

“Owner administrators shall be able to create and modify process templates, document types, custom fields, and approval workflows without vendor professional services. The system shall support a configurable hierarchy spanning enterprise, program, and project levels, with data roll-up at any node and role-based access cascading through the hierarchy. ”

That’s just Step 1. Get the rest of the step-by-step guide in Before You Write the RFP, Determine Platform Fit. 

The next steps are: 

1. Define your platform strategy 

2. Define security and compliance requirements 

3. Define your integration strategy 

4. Define reporting and success metrics 

5. Write requirements tailored to your control, not your vendor’s features. 

Start with the procurement path, not the RFP 

A new RFP might end up being the right path, but it shouldn’t automatically be the first step.  

Before beginning a new solicitation, check to see if your agency can use an existing federal, state, cooperative or organizational contract, and determine your organization’s requirements to pick your best option.  

There’s no way to completely bypass procurement requirements, and there shouldn’t be; requirements are in place to ensure consistency and security when government entities purchase vendor solutions. However, evaluating all of the potential procurement options may help you avoid long delays and create a faster path to value for your organization.  

Use our Kahua RFP Requirements Template Workbook template for a comprehensive list of over 100 requirements to speed up your RFP process.