We’re excited to announce that DemandStar is now Euna OpenBids — a new name that reflects our future as part of Euna Solutions, and a new chapter in building a more connected, powerful public procurement ecosystem. 

Whether you’re a government agency posting opportunities or a supplier looking to grow your business, Euna OpenBids brings you a smarter, more expansive way to connect. 

What’s New

For Agencies

Your trusted platform is now called Euna OpenBids, elevated under the Euna Solutions brand. 
You’ll continue using the same portal and workflow you rely on — now enhanced with getting your bids out to suppliers using Euna Supplier Network, a national network of hundreds of thousands of qualified suppliers. 

This means: 

• More visibility for every bid you post 

• More responses from relevant, ready-to-work suppliers 

• More competition to support better procurement outcomes 

Suppliers are still directed back to your portal to view and respond to opportunities — so your process stays simple and seamless. 

For Suppliers

Welcome to Euna OpenBids — your DemandStar experience, reimagined under a new name. 
You’ll still find and respond to opportunities as you always have, but with access to an even broader set of postings from agencies across the country. 

What’s in it for you? 

• More public agencies posting on the network 

• More opportunities to grow your business 

What’s Staying the Same 

Whether you’re an agency or a supplier, you can count on: 

• The same platform and login you use today 

• Your existing workflows and settings 

• The same friendly support team 

Everything you’ve come to trust is still here — just with greater reach and momentum behind the scenes. 

What You Can Do

Agencies:

We recommend updating any public references to “DemandStar” on your website or documentation to reflect the new name: Euna OpenBids.  

Suppliers:

No action is needed. 

Welcome to the Next Chapter in Public Procurement

Euna OpenBids connects agencies and suppliers like never before — helping governments reach more vendors, and helping businesses find more opportunities to grow. 

Explore more, connect smarter, and go further — together. 

We’re just getting started — and we’re thrilled to have you with us. 

The post New Name. Bigger Network. Same Trusted Experience.  appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

May 09, 2023 06:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHICAGO & TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Euna Solutions, a leading provider of purpose-built, cloud-based solutions for the public sector, today announced the rebrand of its corporate identity from GTY Technology to solidify its market leadership driving digital transformation in the public sector. Backed by decades of technology innovation, Euna Solutions provides a suite of leading software solutions that power critical administrative functions and financial operations for the public sector in the U.S. and Canada. These best-in-class solutions and services are proven to complement government ERP systems to increase productivity, efficiency, transparency, collaboration and compliance.

“We are committed to helping public sector organizations better serve their constituents and improve their employees’ experience. With historic levels of funding available, now is the time to modernize the public sector.”

“The rebranding to Euna Solutions drives home our continued vision of building trust, transparency and ultimately, community,” said Craig Ross, CEO at Euna Solutions. “The name ‘Euna’ derives from ‘unity’, which is highly relevant to the direction of our company. Not only are we unifying the most proven technologies in the space, but we’re using this combined power to enable the public sector to deliver better outcomes to the communities they serve.”

Euna’s executive leadership team combines decades of experience in government technology and the public sector. Ross brings over 30 years of industry and leadership expertise to help propel public sector progress. Ross is supported by an executive team consisting of TJ Parass, chief product and technology officer; James Ha, chief growth officer; Rob Crocker, chief financial officer; Art Elizarov, senior vice president, integrations and delivery; Katerina Goros, senior vice president and head of human resources; Manik Verma, senior vice president, corporate development; and Bill Brunson, senior vice president, sales.

GTY Technology was founded in 2016 with an aim to identify and invest in compelling technologies that could help transform the public sector. Pursuing a strategy of growth through acquisition, GTY brought together Bonfire, CityBase, eCivis, OpenCounter, Questica and Sherpa in 2018, and DemandStar and Ion Wave Technologies in 2022.The emergence of Euna comes at a time of rapid growth as GTY welcomed over 300 new customers in 2022, bringing their total customers served to more than 2,000. The rebranded Euna Solutions brings together a customer-centric employee base of more than 500 and rising.

Euna Solutions offers easy-to-use SaaS technology for procurement, payments, grant management, budgeting, permitting and K-12 administration that are purpose-built for public sector organizations. A trusted partner to more than 2,000 government and public sector organizations across North America, Euna ultimately enables higher levels of stakeholder engagement and workflow efficiency through digital government services.

Euna’s solutions include:

• Euna Budget – Formerly Questica and Sherpa, Euna Budget comprises highly configurable budgeting and performance management systems built to help agencies modernize business processes. These solutions enable data-driven budgeting and decision-making while increasing data accuracy, saving time and improving stakeholder trust.
• Euna Grants – Formerly eCivis, Euna Grants is the most widely used and complete grants management software solution. The only grants management solution purpose-built for both grantees and grantors, this solution addresses the unique challenges faced by agencies simultaneously receiving and awarding grant funds.
• Euna Permits – Formerly OpenCounter, Euna Permits is a front office permitting guidance solution created by previous city hall employees to improve the process and communication between those applying for and those administering permits. Custom portals are set up for zoning, business, special events, and residential to provide all necessary information to applicants in advance and increase the efficiency of the entire process.
• Euna Procure – Formerly Bonfire, IonWave and DemandStar, Euna Procure is the most complete set of eProcurement solutions for the public sector. In addition to offering unparalleled service throughout the customer journey, Euna Procure boasts the largest and fastest growing supplier network consisting of more than 700,000 suppliers and 22,000 agencies.
• Euna Payments – Formerly CityBase, Euna Payments is a powerful and convenient payment solution with the most intuitive customer service tools. This solution provides governments and utilities with multiple payment options for their constituents and customers. Organizations have the option to implement one, multiple or all types of payment options including self-serve kiosks, web payments, mobile payments and POS for faster revenue collection.
• Euna K-12 Admin – Formerly SpedTrack, Euna K-12 Admin is the most complete and compliant K-12 education solution in North America to simplify the unique set of components required to administer special education programs. Complete with dashboards, reporting, and best-in-class customer support, this award-winning solution is built to simplify administration of K-12 programs and maximize stakeholder confidence in the district’s processes.

“We recognize the acceleration of digital transformation within the public sector and the gaps that exist connecting the various critical technologies that will enable them to operate efficiently,” said Ross. “We are committed to helping public sector organizations better serve their constituents and improve their employees’ experience. With historic levels of funding available, now is the time to modernize the public sector.”

For more information about Euna Solutions, visit www.eunasolutions.com.

About Euna Solutions

Euna Solutions is a leading provider of purpose-built, cloud-based solutions that power critical administrative functions and financial operations for the public sector. Formerly GTY Technology, Euna Solutions offers easy-to-use solutions for procurement, payments, grant management, budgeting, permitting and K-12 administration that are proven to increase operational efficiency, transparency, collaboration, and compliance. Euna Solutions is a trusted partner to more than 2,000 government and public sector organizations across North America, empowering digital transformation and streamlining business processes through a relationship-centered, service-focused approach. Euna propels public sector progress. To learn more, visit www.eunasolutions.com.

Contacts

Jodie Booras
Gabriel Marketing Group (for Euna Solutions)
Phone: 619-564-9306
Email: jodieb@gabrielmarketing.com

EUNA SOLUTIONS

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Social Media Profiles

• Euna Solutions on Facebook
• Euna Solutions on Twitter
• Euna Solutions on LinkedIn
• Euna Solutions on YouTube
• Euna Solutions on Instagram

More News

Contacts

Jodie Booras
Gabriel Marketing Group (for Euna Solutions)
Phone: 619-564-9306
Email: jodieb@gabrielmarketing.com

The post GTY Technology Rebrands to Euna Solutions as Market Leader in Powering Digital Transformation in the Public Sector appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

Holdings company GTY Technologies acquired DemandStar, a Seattle startup that offers a public sector bidding marketplace.

“We’ve had quite a bit of inbound interest as the tech sector as a whole has been consolidating, so we had a choice of partners,” DemandStar President and CEO Ben Vaught told GeekWire. “We chose Bonfire and GTY Technologies because of how great they are with their customers and the amount of customer value I believed we could create together moving forward.”

DemandStar gives 1,300 agencies a place to post request for proposals (RFP). Vendors can then propose bids on those requests. The startup makes money by selling annual subscriptions to businesses for notifications of government contracting opportunities. It was previously owned by Seattle-based Onvia, which sold to Deltek, a division of Roper Technologies, in 2017.

Vaught took out a loan on his house to buy an existing base of customers and legacy software from Deltek in late 2018, and raised a small angel round before nabbing a $2 million seed round in 2020 led by Version One Ventures.

The pandemic was a “key driver of growth” for DemandStar because it accelerated the trend toward digitization of government services, Vaught said. Government spending is counter-cyclical, he added, meaning the slowdown in the broader economy is not affecting the startup’s business.

DemandStar will be joining GTY’s Bonfire unit, which sells sourcing and procurement software to more than 650 government agencies across North America. Bonfire and DemandStar will eventually merge, offering a “complete portfolio of cloud-based procurement solutions to both state and local public agencies of any size or requirement,” according to a news release.

The deal took about six months to complete, and terms were not disclosed. Following the acquisition, DemandStar will keep its branding. The startup has 15 employees, and all were offered a position at GTY.

“It’s all hands on deck for this rapidly digitizing industry right now, and the quality of the DemandStar team was a key piece of the acquisition,” Vaught said.

GTY is a portfolio company of GI Partners, a private investment firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Greenwich, Conn., Scottsdale, Ariz., and London. Founded in 2001, the firm has $35 billion worth of assets under management.

DemandStar raised a total of $2.8 million from investors. Backers include Version One Ventures, Forefront Venture Partners and Advance Venture Partners.

Boris Wertz, a partner at Version One Ventures, led the seed round in DemandStar in Summer 2020. The deal came together without a single in-person meeting given the ongoing COVID-19 crisis at the time.

“Now that we’ve sold, he’s now completed the entire investment cycle without us ever having met face to face,” Vaught said.

The post Seattle public sector bidding startup DemandStar acquired by GTY Technologies appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

But are disparity studies the be-all-end-all of fixing the problem of diversity in public sector spending? The short answer is no – all procurement teams should know that disparity studies, while useful, have their limits.

In the rest of this post, we’ll take a look at why disparity studies can be helpful, where they fall short, and what you can do to implement change and increase diversity in your procurement efforts.

What Are Disparity Studies?

Disparity studies are meant to help governments take a deep look at how they are buying and purchasing, and whether or not their procurement process is handled in a fair and equitable way. The data often helps show businesses how they’re excluding minorities, women, and other types of disadvantaged groups like veterans from being able to win government contracts.

Why Are They Needed?

Municipalities need a way to better understand if they lack supplier diversity in their procurement processes so they can address these disparities. It wasn’t until a 1980s Supreme Court case that many local governments began looking for a way to prove there was possible discrimination so they could enact legislation around improving the bias. This is where disparity studies came in.

Historically, many local governments haven’t had a great track record of awarding contracts in a fair manner – most went to white, male-owned businesses. Unfortunately, this trend continues today.

For example, over the last two decades, the value of contracts given to minority-owned businesses in Massachusetts has fallen 24%, equal to $135M per year. In 2020, the City of Boston reported that about 7% of its contracts went to minority- and women-owned businesses; while this was up almost 2% from the previous year, Boston still lagged far behind the supplier diversity of other large cities like New York (19% contractor diversity), Chicago (29%), and Philadelphia (31%). 

Why Don’t These Studies Always Help with Supplier Diversity?

Many U.S. cities and municipalities want more inclusion and equality and are taking steps to conduct disparity studies. So why are we not seeing the impact on supplier diversity after decades of studies?

Often, when local government procurement teams are asked to improve supplier diversity and better procurement results for the community, their ideas are often met with red tape and excessive bureaucracy. Simple improvements require legal approval and are met with the following response, “We’ve never done that before and I don’t know if we can, so let’s hold off for another year.” Before you know it, a year turns into a decade.

Similarly, even if disparity studies come with a list of suggestions for improvement, governments are often unable to implement these ideas effectively because they treat them as a simple checklist. But when a suggestion such as “lengthen your solicitation time from 3 to 5 weeks” is tried, procurement teams often see no change because the problem was never with the length of time – it was that the exact same companies who always see your RFP ads are again the only ones who see it, and no new audiences of diverse business owners are reached.

What Can I Do About It?

Procurement departments are often the first to be blamed for supplier diversity gaps in government spending, but this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, these teams can accomplish better results in their procurement process with buy-in from higher levels of authority.

With support from upper-level management and other departments, procurement teams can get the attention and resources to achieve more. 

Upper-level management and departments should support the ideas and requested changes coming from procurement teams. After all, they need tools and resources just like the finance department needs payroll and budgeting tools. Cities and towns that have successfully implemented programs that produced real results often have their mayor and state governors supporting the procurement department’s goals and initiatives. For example, Broward County Schools hosts an annual diversity event to encourage different types of suppliers to bid on projects.

Later this summer, we’ll be having a deeper conversation with a key organizer of Broward County Schools’ diversity events to discuss how to get the attention of new suppliers, enable new businesses to bid, and embrace changes in the procurement process. Join us at NIGP 2022 in Boston this summer to be part of the conversation!

The post Why Disparity Studies Aren’t Enough to Improve Supplier Diversity appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

“DemandStar has been a great addition to our bidding process at the University. It is user friendly and has allowed us to simplify our bidding process by becoming more electronic.” – Ashley Sliger, Contract Compliance Manager, Missouri State University.

375 local government agencies joined DemandStar in 2021, accessing its online network of over 100,000 businesses of all sizes to drive increased competition for their bids/RFPs. Over 112 local governments have joined in 2022 to date.

“Government spending is coming back, and more than ever it’s going online,” said DemandStar CEO Ben Vaught. “More and more local governments are resuming projects put on hold at the beginning of the pandemic, and they’re turning to online purchasing marketplaces like DemandStar for help.”

DemandStar member agencies span from local cities, libraries, and fire stations to statewide governing bodies, county-wide public-school boards, and highway infrastructure organizations. Businesses range from large government contractors to many small businesses, minority & woman-owned businesses, and businesses seeking their first government contract.

New government agencies added include:

• Las Animas County, CO
• Embrey-Riddle Aeronautical University, FL
• Walton County, FL
• Cherokee County School District, GA
• Idaho Association of Highway Districts, ID
• Arlington Heights Park District, IL
• Housing Authority of DeKalb County, IL
• Housing Authority of East St. Louis, IL
• Saline County, KS
• Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, KY
• City of Litchfield, MI
• City of Republic, MO
• Missouri State University, MO
• Raleigh Durhan Airport Authority, NC
• Consolidated Utility District of Rugherford County, TN
• City of Manassas, VA
• Town of Herndon, VA
• Racine County, WI
• Essex Westford School District, VT

Government partners and businesses looking to join DemandStar’s government procurement marketplace can learn more at demandstar.com.

ABOUT DEMANDSTAR
DemandStar builds communities by connecting government agencies quickly and efficiently with quality suppliers of all sizes. Founded in 1998, they pioneered the online marketplace concept for bidding on government contracts and now serve as the gateway for public sector partnerships between government agencies and suppliers both locally and nationally throughout the United States. For more information, or for government agencies and suppliers interested in joining the DemandStar procurement network, please visit DemandStar.com or call (206) 940-0305.

Original source located at Yahoo Finance.

The post Leading Public Sector Online Marketplace Adds 1,000th Local Government, Surpassing $4.6B in Annual Contract Value appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

Ask for a reference
It never hurts to ask! Try reaching out to neighboring counties to see if any other procurement agents can provide you with a vendor reference. At least you know the referral is from a trusted source that must meet the same criteria you have. It’s highly likely the vendor will be a good match as they’ve already done a similar job for another local government agency. Plus, having already worked for a neighboring county, the vendor will be familiar with what it takes to complete a government contract.   

Do a little investigation
If you’re a government procurement agent, it’s highly likely you know about other projects happening near you, or you may recognize public sector work when you see it. You may even use a procurement site like DemandStar to search for other bids by other local agencies. Make a note of projects and see how they turn out. If you think it’s quality work, reach out to the procurement agent for that county and get the vendor’s name and contact info. This is a great way to find local vendors that, even though may be out of your county, are still close to your area. You never know when you might need someone to do a similar project. This way you’ll have a good start on vendor lead before you even send out your RFP.  

Flip the script
Maybe you’ve just worked with an incredible vendor and are impressed with their work. Reach out to your neighboring county procurement agents and offer the referral to them! You’ll be able to connect with other agents in your area and provide them with a resource for future projects. Then, if you happen to need to reach out for a referral, it won’t seem awkward or odd. You’ve already established that you’d like to share references by putting up a vendor of your own, so your ask won’t seem out of place. 

Be neighborly
Looking to your neighboring counties for contracts is a smart way to find vendors that are qualified and understand public sector work. By asking directly for a reference, investigating promising projects, or even volunteering a reference of your own, you can establish a good relationship with other procurement agents and get some much-needed help in your contractor search.

Are you a government procurement agent that has reached out to a neighboring county for a reference? Do you feel like you got a good vendor lead from the interaction? 

The post Looking to Neighboring Counties for Contractors appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

Teachers and parents are looking for educational software that will ease the remote learning process and become a solid base for education and scholastic growth. Government purchasing agents have massive amounts of educational software options, and their decision on which educational software to select will have an enormous impact on educational outcomes. Here are a few things to keep in mind as they vet educational software: 

Focused on instruction – There’s a difference between instruction and sharing information. Instruction will allow teachers and students to communicate back and forth instead of simply having the student read or watch information in an educational silo.

Engages Students – It’s vital that the software engages students in a variety of ways and also has some sort of positive reinforcement that keeps students focused and on track. This could include gamification functionality.

Intuitive interface – Navigation and user interface are key. Especially for younger elementary students, you’ll want the software to be easy to use. Also, think of parents who will be working from home and assisting their young students. You don’t want them to be hunting around for the next lesson. Make sure it’s simple.

Student progress tracking – Just as in the classroom, teachers will want to be able to monitor the progress of their students as well as allow them to revisit lessons that could use more attention. Select software that allows teachers to see individual students’ progress.

Communication – Teachers, students, and parents all need to be able to communicate with each other through the software interface. Keeping everyone on the same page is essential to student success and progress.

Privacy and Security – Protect teachers and students from bad actors by ensuring that the educational software you purchase has the highest levels of privacy and security. This will safeguard both student progress (keeping it private) and secure the classroom from outside interference. 

Reviews and recommendations – Online learning isn’t new; it’s simply commencing at a higher level of saturation. Reaching out to teachers who have already been facilitating the process for years can be helpful. Check out reviews of potential software and then confirm with teachers who are experts. They may be able to pass on valuable insight. 

Go vet it!
Government procurement agents can have an incredibly positive effect on the upcoming school year by taking time to thoroughly evaluate and invest in education software that facilitates a holistic online experience including a wide range of instructional capabilities.

Have you already found educational software for your district or county? Share your choice and reasoning with us in the comments!

The post How to Vet Good Educational Software appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

From schools to sewage, from vector control to police departments, bidding programs allow vendors to scout for contracts with one simple profile. Depending on the size of the region and the enrollment status of each agency, that could include RFPs from up to 500 different project-procurement entities.

What are the benefits of a digital bid network?
If you’re not yet familiar with government procurement, the benefits of bidding networks may not be immediately apparent. However, this type of network is a gateway to a variety of perks. As mentioned above, it allows small business owners to save time and fill out one centralized profile to connect with hundreds of procurement agents.  Even better, the software will send you notifications to new requests for proposals (RFP) that fit your business profile. You already have enough on your plate running your business, hunting in multiple places for government projects is not the best use of your time. You’ll be able to stay organized with one central application hub, downloading RFP documents and then submitting your proposals online. You can also get some competitor insight by seeing who else has downloaded the bid and submitted responses. By engaging with this type of service, you’ll be able to make the most of your time while prospecting for your next project. 

Why do it this way?
You may think to yourself, “Why apply for so many departments when I specialize in certain services?” The short reason is that you never know what one department may need, but it’s unlikely that you’ll know each department’s specific posting location to check for RFPs. It’s also cumbersome to check multiple listings over and over again. Additionally, if you haven’t been able to secure a government contract yet, you may simply need to find the right project to get your foot in the door. While the school system and police departments are large, well known, and often checked, other smaller agencies that you may not be thinking of could help you land your first government gig. By registering with all of the procurement entities in the county, you may be able to find that sweet spot project that can get you on the path to more government work.  

Let the opportunities come to you
There are a variety of departments and procurement entities right in your county. With one simple electronic bidding profile, you’ll be able to register to automatically receive bid notifications from hundreds of decision-makers looking for their next contractor. 

Have you already used electronic bidding software, like DemandStar, to register with your county or state? What government agencies did you find through the network that you wouldn’t have thought to pursue individually?

The post Registering for Government Contracts One County (or 500 Employers) at a Time appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

Following compliance guidelines is an important part of what a procurement agent does. By adhering to guidelines, they can ensure that their department is free from ill-advised spending, corruption, and fraud. Here are the top five compliance traps that procurement agents should be aware of, and some tips to avoid them: 

1. Rushed procurement
When the process is rushed, things are bound to fall through the cracks. Procurement agents should make sure that they have plenty of time to go through a proper bidding and selection process. A rushed process may open the procurement agents to picking a vendor that’s not the best fit or failing to follow other selection guidelines. By standing their ground and insisting on enough time to follow all procurement steps, agents will help themselves by allowing the process to flow properly from beginning to end.

2. Contract compliance
Procurement agents have so much on their plates, that keeping track of everything can be overwhelming. However, it’s not enough to simply follow the procurement process, they must also follow up throughout the project and make sure that vendors are actually doing what their contract indicates. This will ensure that governments get their money’s worth and that vendors that don’t comply with contract stipulations do not get rehired. 

3. Lack of standardization
There is security and transparency in a standardized procurement process. The procurement process should be the same for every project. While each project of the course will be different, there should be a set of guidelines and steps to follow. This will help procurement agents prove that all vendors applied and were selected through the same process, reducing the opportunity for any corruption or fraud claims. 

4. Favors
While it may be tempting to do a favor here or there for a city council member or higher-ranking official, this opens the door to accusations of corruption and fraud. It’s vital that all procurement projects are treated the same, and that no favors are granted to any individuals. This will help procurement agents avoid any favoritism or impropriety allegations. 

5. No purchase order
Part of compliance is accurately tracking the budget and spending. By ensuring that the proper paperwork has been filed for each project and that a purchase order is attached to every item or service procured, government agents can prove that spending is on track. When money goes missing, people get nervous. Even if the spend is approved, by simply making sure that all expenditures can be connected with proper purchase orders, procurement agents will save themselves the headache of having to go back and explain any undocumented money spent.  

It’s a trap!
Procurement agents are responsible for upholding the department’s reputation and preventing costly mistakes. Compliance traps can be easily avoided by following some simple steps, such as being aware of the dangers and taking the time to do things properly. Ensuring that the procurement process is standardized, makes it less likely for compliance issues to arise. 

What traps have you come across? What compliance tips do you have to help avoid these traps?

The post The Top 5 Compliance Traps Made by Government Procurement Agents appeared first on DemandStar | Government Contract Bids, RFPs & Procurement.

Review your ask – Check out your RFP and really look at what you’re asking the vendor to provide. Will their bid end up looking more like a novel? Vendors may be weighing the time required to addresses each point of your RFP against the likelihood of them securing the job. If they’re thinking it’s not worth the time, they won’t send a bid. If you’re asking for a bid with the moon and the stars, adjust your RFP to be a little more down to Earth.

Revise for clarity – A confusing RFP is likely to get passed over. Vendors don’t want to take the chance that they submit the wrong information, but they also might not want to reach out to verify certain points. Ask someone else to read your RFP and see if it makes sense. If they’ve got questions, potential vendors likely have the same concerns. 

Extend the timeline – Did you ask for a 24- or 48-hour turnaround? Many vendors run their own businesses and they might not even have time to read your RFP within the first couple of days of receipt. If you asked for a rapid response you might just have to face the fact that your timeline is not realistic. Try extending the deadline and see what happens.

Check your specs – Have you detailed every aspect of the project with no room for the vendor to make suggestions? Or on the contrary, have you included so few details that the vendor doesn’t know what you want? Review the specifications and adjust them to allow vendors to know what the final project needs to accomplish but give them the flexibility to suggest a path forward.

Spread the word – Did you only post your RFP in one spot? Make sure that word gets out so that you get more bids. You may want to check out a procurement network, like DemandStar, that will help you reach a wider range of vendors. A procurement network also can match your project with high-quality vendors and email the RFP right to their inbox. 

Price check – We know working within a budget, especially a government-provided budget, can be challenging. However, if none of the above suggestions increase your bid numbers, it might be time to consider that the budget is off. Check with other agencies in your area on similar projects and see what their budget was and compare to see if yours is on target. 

Have you ever posted an RFP and had no bids? Did you find out how to get more bids for your project? What did you do to spark interest?

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