Thanks for your responses. I have made this thread read-only so members can post comments about Bill's article there. Thank you

With due respect for the great work in laying out some of the basics, I offer some minute edits from my experience as a federal contractor. First, in the federal sector, you will almost never see an IFB or Invitation for Bid. That is language that is generally used at the State level. Second, in the federal sector, you are most likely to find an RFP (Request for Proposal), RFQ (Request for Quotation), RFI (Request for Information), Combined Synopsis/Solicitation and IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery; Indefinite Quantity). Third, assuming an RFP/RFQ is issued, the first thing to do is to look at the SOW (Statement of Work). Generally, the Feds publish RFPs/RFQs as a connect-the-dots exercise. You can cut and paste every paragraph of the SOW and then respond to each one - one after another. Fourth, you need to move quickly to Section M, the evaluation criteria for the SOW. That actually is an important template for laying out your proposal. Each major section of your proposal should correspond to the evaluation criteria. Within each criteria, you should be responding to the elements of the SOW. Again, I applaud the author for doing a good contracting 101 analysis. Just wanted to share my two cents. José A. Rivera, JD President & CEO Rivera, Sierra & Company, Inc.