Agency proposals and delivery

Before you bid: a small agency’s RFP go/no-go checklist

Before writing an RFP response, check eligibility, evidence, delivery owners, technology, costs and amendments. Choose Go, Hold or No-go.

DIGITO · October 24, 2026

A website or marketing request for proposal (RFP) can look like the right project while hiding work your agency cannot support. Before writing the response, check whether you can qualify, prove the relevant capability and own the delivery. Do this while a decision to stop is still useful.

Use one short review with the person preparing the bid and the people who would do the work. Read the original notice, full RFP, attachments, proposed contract and published questions and answers. A listing or an AI summary helps you find the documents; it cannot settle an unclear requirement.

This is an operational checklist, not legal advice or a qualification assessment. Each buyer’s documents and process determine the requirements. Obtain qualified advice when legal, insurance or contract obligations need interpretation.

Starting from DIGITO Project Radar? It is a manually curated pilot. Open the original sources before making a bid decision. The examples below are invented illustrations, not client results or live opportunities.

1. Separate eligibility from scoring preferences

Make two lists. The first holds conditions the buyer says you must meet, with the stage when each is required. The second holds factors that affect evaluation, such as relevant experience or a stated preference. Preserve the wording and page reference instead of translating both lists into a vague judgment that you are a good fit.

Participation: which entity types, locations, registrations or certifications are permitted or required?
Timing: must you demonstrate a condition with the proposal, before contract signature, or during delivery?
Evaluation: which criteria receive weight or preference, and what evidence does the buyer ask for?
Uncertainty: do separate sections disagree about eligibility, scoring or subcontracting? Keep both references and ask through the stated process.

Keep: the exact condition or criterion, its source, the required stage and your supporting evidence. Do not claim a certification you do not hold or assume a partner’s status transfers to your agency.

2. Match requirements to evidence and delivery owners

Turn the scope into a small requirements list. For each deliverable, identify an example that demonstrates relevant work, what that example actually proves, and the person responsible for delivery. A general portfolio link leaves those connections for the evaluator to guess.

Requirement: name the task and acceptance condition, including migration, accessibility, integrations, training or support where requested.
Evidence: identify the project or artifact, your actual role and the part that matches. Use references only with the appropriate permission.
Owner: name who will perform and review the work, their availability and any confirmed subcontractor contribution.
Gap: state what is missing and whether you can resolve it within the permitted response and delivery process.

Keep: one requirement, evidence reference, delivery owner and gap per row in your notes. Label prototypes and independent products honestly. Avoid presenting them as paid client engagements or claiming results the evidence does not establish.

3. Resolve technology, dependencies and recurring costs before pricing

Write down the specified CMS, hosting, integrations and account arrangements. Check whether alternatives are allowed before proposing your preferred stack. Then list what the client must provide and what your agency must supply.

Technology: confirm platform experience, access arrangements, migration constraints, security requirements and the required handoff.
Client dependencies: identify owners for content, data, account access, approvals and review. Connect those inputs to delivery milestones.
Cost ownership: distinguish implementation from hosting, licenses, seats, usage-based services, renewals and ongoing support. Identify who purchases, owns and pays for each item.
Commercial fit: review the pricing format, payment milestones, requested support period and your capacity to carry the work. An unpublished budget is unknown.

Keep: the fixed stack, dependency owner, delivery assumption, one-time cost and recurring cost responsibility. Use the permitted question channel for missing facts. If the RFP allows assumptions or exclusions, make them explicit in the required format; do not assume that it does.

4. Reconcile amendments, deadlines and unresolved details

Return to the original posting location before committing to a response. Check for amendments, addenda, published answers and replaced attachments. Record which document changes which requirement. Do not assume that a page title or search-result date describes the latest instructions.

Deadlines: record the submission date, time, timezone and delivery method exactly as stated. Track the question deadline separately.
Changes: note document versions and any required acknowledgment of amendments.
Conflicts: preserve both sources when instructions disagree. Use an explicit superseding instruction when present; otherwise request clarification.
Unknowns: give every blocking question an owner, a permitted route to an answer and a decision point before the response is due.

Keep: the source location, document versions, last review time and authoritative answers you actually received. If no public answer is located, record that limited observation. It does not establish whether answers were distributed privately.

For background, New Zealand Government Procurement’s supplier guidance also asks bidders to consider capability, time, costs and risks before applying. Its response-planning guidance discusses reading requirements and assigning responsibilities. These are useful references, not rules for every buyer.

Decide: Go, Hold or No-go

Make one decision with all four checks in front of you. A favorable preference does not compensate for a mandatory condition you cannot meet. Go authorizes your team to prepare a response; it does not predict an award.

Go · Prepare the proposal: You can support the mandatory conditions at the stated stage, connect requirements to evidence and available owners, and explain the scope and costs. You have reviewed amendments and have no unresolved question that blocks a commitment. Prepare the response in the required format and recheck before submission.
Hold · Clarify before proceeding: A missing answer could change eligibility, delivery or price. Record the exact question, the person responsible for resolving it, the permitted channel and the question deadline. Revisit the decision when an authorized answer arrives. Hold needs a next action; it is not permission to assume a favorable answer.
No-go · Do not bid: You cannot meet a mandatory condition at the required stage, an essential capability or delivery owner is missing, or the delivery and cost terms are not workable for your agency. You can also close an opportunity when a blocking question remains unresolved in time. Keep the reason to guide the next search.

Leave a decision someone else can review

In your own notes, record: opportunity and document version; decision and reason; evidence from the four checks; open questions; owner and next action. Add when you will revisit it. Keep private documents and personal details in the authorized workspace, outside public screenshots or summaries.

Recheck when a requirement, amendment, team member or scope changes. The decision belongs to what you know and can deliver at that point.