What to Include in Your RFP for Grant Management Software

Since we started work on government grants management back in the 1990s, we have read hundreds of requests for proposals from government agencies. We do not have the privilege to write RFPs, but if we did, here are some items we would be sure to include:

Tell how many users you need for the system. If there are different groups of users such as internal and external reviewers, or occasional users, try to differentiate among them. The number of users make a big difference in the price of software licenses.
Tell us your budget. I know this seems impossible, but it would save a great deal of time for the buyer and the seller. Buyers have budgets set before they send out solicitations, and some proposals are rejected because they are outside the budgeted amount. Even bids that are too low may be rejected as unrealistic.
Be specific about requirements. Tell us the details of your particular process and especially what you think makes it unique. Include samples of forms and documents that you use, or the manual for the system you are planning to replace. Describe your processes and workflows step-by-step in plain English, either as use cases or in another format.
Describe your environment and your hardware and software standards. How strong are these preferences?

Now for some items that you should not include in an RFP:

Platitudes are not requirements. If I had a nickel for every time I saw "user friendly" or "completely integrated"... These are meaningless expressions that don't help you get a better system in the end.
Unless you have already chosen a vendor and the bid process is a formality, don't ask vendors to claim they have done exactly what you want with a customer exactly like you. This may eliminate some innovative proposals that might save you time and money.
Don't ask for open-ended integration. I have seen several RFPs which ask for integration to other systems which are not even named (or the dreaded "etc."). Integration costs cannot be estimated without detailed information on the systems to be integrated and a definition of how that integration will work.

Key Concepts for Microsoft Dynamics 365: Tenant, Instance, App and Solution

Updated 8/15/2022 To understand Microsoft Dynamics 365 (formerly Dynamics CRM) and Power Apps, you need to learn some new terms and concepts that may be a bit different from what you know from databases and solutions that are hosted on premises. These concepts also apply to Power Apps. The main difference is that with Power Apps you are not starting with a Microsoft app but more of a blank canvas for your custom apps. This post introduces some key terms and how these concepts are important for planning your implementation. While Dynamics 365 is still available on premises, it is most commonly deployed on the Microsoft cloud. This blog post discusses only cloud implementations. Microsoft has multiple clouds such as commercial and government community clouds in several countries. We start with a Microsoft tenant . A tenant is the account you create in the Microsoft Online Services environment (such as Office 365) when you sign up for a subscription. A tenant contains uni

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My Favorite Microsoft Power Apps Bloggers and their Blogs

by James Townsend Updated 7/5/2022 Microsoft Power Apps is one of my favorite subjects, and I enjoy reading blog posts from members of this thriving technical community. Here are some of my favorite bloggers and their blogs: The Official Microsoft Power Apps Blog I have to start with the official Microsoft Power Apps blog. It has many contributors, largely Microsoft program manager, including frequent posters Denise Moran , Greg Lindhorst , Kartik Kanakasabesan , and Adrian Orth . This is the place to go for product announcements, updates and technical how-to for a broad range of Power Apps topics. April Dunnam April Dunnam was formerly focused on SharePoint and now devoting herself to Power Platform. April offers highly understandable explanations of Power Platform, Dataverse and other top Power Apps topics. She joined Microsoft in late 2019 and has a thriving YouTube channel . Carl De Souza Power Apps Blog and eBook This is one of the most extensive and best organized blo

The Townsend Report

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