How to Respond to an RFI or Sources Sought When Instructions Are Missing
Federal buyers sometimes publish a question without the question. Requests for Information (RFIs) and Sources Sought (SS) notices can land with a skeletal SOW, no format, and no prompts—just a due date. Some vendors shrug and attach a generic capability statement. That’s how promising pursuits quietly die.
Start with a decision, not a draft. The Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45) Small Business Programs Office at Patrick Space Force Base cautions that responding “just for the sake of responding” can mislead agencies about viable sources; a generic one-pager often creates a negative first impression. If you’re capable and likely to compete, respond with substance; if not, pass.
Know which tool you’re answering. RFIs typically precede fully defined requirements and are used to probe market capacity, indicative pricing, delivery, and approaches. Sources Sought notices usually follow requirement definition and test whether a small-business set-aside is feasible. Treat RFI responses as education and exploration; treat SS responses as a capability test tied to set-aside viability.
There’s a policy backbone for all of this. FAR 15.201 encourages early exchanges with industry to refine requirements and evaluation realism, explicitly naming RFIs as a technique. Responses to RFIs are not offers, and there’s no required format—a clear signal that structure is your job when none is provided. FAR 52.215-3 reinforces the point: planning-purposes notices aren’t vehicles for award. Inform, don’t propose—yet demonstrate credibility.
Haley Chase, Program Manager, Business Development at NTI, offers a framing that travels well across missions and notice types: “The key is not to just answer what’s asked, but to educate, demonstrate, and position yourself as a capable partner.”
The playbook: educate, prove, and de-risk
When instructions are thin, reviewers still make capability judgments—often based on what you did or didn’t include. Use a structure they can score.
Problem understanding & scope alignment. In one tight paragraph, restate the outcomes implied by the notice and map them to major SOW functions—task by task. Elements you skip may be read as capability gaps. (SLD 45 emphasizes that the goal is both informing the Government and demonstrating credible capacity.)
Task-by-task capability narrative. For each function, cite what you did, prime or sub, and the percentage handled. Avoid generalities; provide verifiable specifics tied to the tasks at hand. Haley’s advice here is explicit: break it down and make it easy to underwrite.
Credibility anchors. List contract identifiers, agency, value, performance period, and what you actually owned; name key personnel and relevant certifications/clearances. Tie each credential to this requirement’s tasks.
Operational readiness. Summarize management systems, staffing pipelines, a realistic transition approach with timelines, and financial capacity (e.g., established credit lines for startup costs). Reviewers underwrite maturity as much as skill.
Team composition & set-aside posture. State what you will self-perform vs. subcontract—and why that mix supports a potential small-business set-aside. If you’re a sub, highlight core functions you’ve owned and the percentage handled. SLD 45’s guide is clear: strong, specific responses help agencies gauge set-aside viability.
Growth and continuity. If net-new hires are required, outline sourcing, time-to-fill, clearance pathways, and retention. Explain how you handle surge/backfill without mission dip.
Transition realism. Offer a crisp transition concept and cite prior ramp timelines. You’re signaling continuity on Day One.
Haley also reminds teams: “A good RFI or Sources Sought response doesn’t just answer the questions on the page.” It also anticipates what the agency forgot to ask while demonstrating professional quality and capability.
Speak to three audiences at once
Acquisition professionals (COs/CSs). Make risk easy to underwrite: clear task-to-evidence mapping, prime-level management, realistic transition, and a credible workshare plan. This is exactly what many SS notices probe.
Service recipients (end users). Translate features into operator outcomes—onboarding speed, ticket reduction, mean-time-to-restore, compliance posture, clean handoffs. One compact vignette per critical task goes farther than a brochure paragraph.
Teaming partners (primes/subs). Your response doubles as a partnership signal. Declare where you’re strong, where you’ll subcontract, and how governance prevents seams between teams.
Page limits, attachments, and professional hygiene
If page limits exist, say so upfront and move matrices (past performance, resumes, transition) to attachments. Many reviewers and small-business specialists will consider referenced attachments when the main body demonstrates potential capability. Keep attachments clean, cross-referenced, and skimmable.
Why bother if some notices never become solicitations?
Because early exchanges work as intended when industry participates. FAR 15.201 says the goal is to enhance the Government’s ability to obtain quality at reasonable prices and reduce later friction in evaluation and award. A well-structured RFI/SS response reduces uncertainty now and workload later.
Bottom line:
A thin RFI or SS isn’t an obstacle; it’s an opening. The strongest responses answer the stated questions and the unstated ones—educating where the notice is silent and proving capability where it matters. That approach helps shape realistic requirements and evaluations, positioning you for what comes next.