Term
RFI
Request for information
An agency's way of asking industry questions before it writes the actual solicitation, with no contract attached.
An RFI is market research, not a solicitation. An agency posts one to learn what is available in the market, gather rough pricing, or test how a requirement should be structured, and there is no contract to win by responding. Responding well is still worth your time: it can shape the requirement toward something you can actually do, and it puts your name in front of the people writing the eventual solicitation.
In a sentence
"This RFI is for market research purposes only and will not result in a contract award." Nobody wins anything from an RFI directly, but a sharp, specific response can influence how the real solicitation gets written months later.
Also called
- RFI notice
- market research request
- capability inquiry
Terms like this show up in every federal notice. We translate them in place, on every notice in your trade.