There comes a time at some organizations, either due to process requirements, budget size, or even just for the sake of general interest, that a “Request for Information” (RFI) or a “Request for Proposal” (RFP) becomes necessary.

Having reviewed and responded to hundreds of these over the last 15 years, we must admit that there are some really well put together and useful RFIs and RFPs that have been put out to the market.  Unfortunately, there are many more that are poorly designed and inadequate in really getting truly needed information.  

This is not the fault of anyone in particular. In many cases the RFI/RFP is prepared by someone who doesn’t really know the pertinent questions to ask, or  the RFP is written in a manner that is either so broad as to be meaningless, or so narrow as to exclude 99% of the potentially viable options.

The result of most RFPs is that vendors spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in an effort to respond, and hospitals end up with hundreds of pages of gobbledygook which often confuses them even further. Certainly, this process is not productive, and in some cases, can be harmful.

Our goal at Infinite Leap is to help healthcare organizations create a Solution Design that gives them all the benefits of a competitive RFI/RFP without the need of having to go through the lengthy and expensive process. This yields the value that everyone wants out of an RFP:

• A clear understanding of solution requirements,
• Technology review to find the most appropriate systems,
• An accurate expectation of ROI, and
• Comprehensive and competitive pricing proposal.

However, we realize that in some organizations the RFI/RFP process simply must be undertaken.

In those situations we can help guide the process to allow for a meaningful written document that can be clearly and concisely responded to within a reasonable time frame. We don’t seek to interfere with internal RFP policies or requirements, but we provide the appropriate technology guidance in order to match the solution to your organization’s requirements.  We can also assist in securing responders and managing the overall RFI/RFP process if desired.