Mastering RFI/RFP Responses. A PML Survival Guide 1/4
Let me start with what nobody tells you about RFI (Request For Information)/RFP (Request For Proposal) responses: this is one of the most intense, high-stakes phases you'll face as a project management professional in a CRO, and you might not even know it's coming your way until it lands on your desk with a 10-day deadline (if not less!).
If you're reading this as a PM or senior PM, you might be thinking, "But I don't do RFPs—that's Business Development's job." And you're partly right. Most PMs don't get pulled into the RFI/RFP phase until bid defense prep. But here's what I learned in my SPM, PD and PMO experience: understanding this phase—even if you're not the Project Management Lead (PML) writing the proposal—will make you a better PM when you eventually join that bid defense team or step into a PD role.
And if you're already a PD or aspiring to be one? Buckle up. This is where the real pressure begins.
Understanding RFI vs. RFP: Not All Requests Are Created Equal
Before we dive deeper, let's clarify something critical: Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) are not the same process, and your involvement as a PM or PD will look very different depending on which one lands on your desk.
RFI (Request for Information): The Exploratory Phase
An RFI is typically a lighter, more exploratory ask from a potential Sponsor. They're gathering information about your CRO's capabilities, experience, and approach. However, they're not necessarily ready to award a contract yet. They might be shopping around, doing market research, or building a shortlist of potential partners.
From a PM/PD perspective, you're usually not directly involved in RFIs as a standard practice. Instead, most CROs have a dedicated Project Management Proposals SME who provides answers to the project management-related questions the Proposal teams use to prepare the initial draft.
Here's how the RFI process typically works:
The RFI comes in, and the Proposals team pulls answers from the standardised library
The RFI PML reviews the draft to ensure the proposals team has included the correct, most up-to-date answers
The RFI PML has the authority to tweak responses and invite subject matter experts (SMEs) to contribute if needed
When might you get pulled into an RFI as a PD?
There are two main scenarios:
As an SME: If there's a complex or nuanced question that requires deeper expertise, the RFI PM lead might invite you to contribute or review a specific section
Indication-specific questions: When the RFI includes questions about a particular therapeutic area, the Medical Department and the designated person from that indication group are often asked to write content or add their input
The key point: RFIs are generally standardised, library-driven, and don't require the same level of custom strategy development that RFPs demand.
RFP (Request for Proposal): Where the Real Pressure Begins
This is the big one. An RFP is a Sponsor saying, "We have a clinical research project/program, and we're shopping for the right CRO to run it. Convince us you're the one."
This is not a generic, library-based response. This is a fully customized, strategic proposal tailored to their specific project/program, budget, timeline, and needs.
The PML's Role: More Than Just Project Management
From a PML perspective, you're responsible for crafting the entire operations proposal—not just the project management section. Yes, you're supported by Business Development, the Proposals team, and Functional Leads (Feasibility Leads, Start-up Leads, Medical Monitors, etc.). But make no mistake: you own the final strategy.
You decide how to position the program operationally, how to balance excellence with budget realities, and how to tell a cohesive story that says, "We are the best team to take care of your baby."
The Two-Stage Defense Process
Here's the part that adds another layer of pressure: before that proposal goes anywhere near the sponsor, you need to defend your strategy internally to your VP (or deputy). They need to sign off on your approach—the timelines you've committed to, the resources you've allocated, the budget you've proposed, the operational strategy you've designed.
If your VP doesn't buy it, you're going back to the drawing board. And remember, you're already working against that 10-day clock.
So you're not just convincing the sponsor. You're first convincing your own leadership that this strategy is solid, deliverable, and profitable.
Because that's ultimately what this phase is about: the sponsor is handing over something incredibly valuable to them—their research program, their investment, their hope for a new treatment. Your job is to make them feel 100% confident that you and your team will deliver excellent results, on time, with the highest quality standards. But first, you need to make your own VP feel that same confidence.
The Waiting Game: Life in Proposal Limbo
The proposal is sent just on time. You made it! Your team is exhausted. The proposal is in the sponsor's hands now, and the due date for submission was crystal clear.
What comes next? That's the problem. It's not clear at all.
Will they invite you to a bid defense meeting? When? Next week? Next month? Will they come back with questions and request tweaks to your proposal? Will they ask for a revised budget? Will they go silent for weeks and then suddenly need you to present in 48 hours? Or will you get the dreaded "Thank you for your submission, but we've decided to move forward with another partner" email?
You don't know. And here's the kicker: you can't just sit there waiting for them to answer.
The Operational Challenges of Uncertainty
You're still managing your active projects/programs. They might be in start-up and need your attention, team calls that can't wait, sponsor meetings that are already scheduled. Life goes on. The clinical research world doesn't pause just because you're in proposal limbo.
But mentally? You're not fully present in either place. Part of your brain is still in that proposal, replaying decisions, second-guessing assumptions, wondering if you should have positioned the timeline differently.
From an operational standpoint, this waiting period creates real challenges:
Resource Planning Becomes a Guessing Game: Remember that PM you tentatively selected for this project? You can't officially allocate them yet because you don't know if you've won. But you also can't fully release them to other opportunities because what if the sponsor comes back next week wanting to kick off immediately? So everyone exists in this uncomfortable "maybe" state.
You Can't Fully Let Go: Even though you need to focus on your current projects, you can't completely context-switch away from the proposal. You need to stay sharp on the details in case that bid defense invitation comes. So you're carrying this mental load—this "background application" running in your brain—that drains your cognitive resources even when you're supposedly working on something else.
The Emotional Toll Adds Up: Hope mixed with doubt. You want this win—you've invested so much time and energy into crafting that proposal. But you also know the odds. Not every bid turns into a project. You start to wonder: Was our strategy competitive enough? Did we price ourselves out? Did we miss something critical in our response?
The Reality of the Timeline
This limbo period can last days, weeks, or even months. I've had sponsors come back within 48 hours ready to schedule a bid defense. I've also had sponsors go radio silent for six weeks before suddenly resurfacing with a long list of clarification questions. There was an extreme case where we prepared 18 proposals before knowing whether we were invited to the bid defense meeting or not!
And here's what makes it even more complicated: you can't fully move on emotionally or operationally, but you also can't stay in full proposal mode. You need to find a way to manage this uncertainty while still being effective in your day-to-day work.
Brain-Based Strategies to Manage the Chaos
The good news? Understanding how your brain works during high-stress, high-uncertainty periods can help you develop strategies to manage this phase more effectively.
In the next post, we’ll tackle The PML’s Survival Guide part 2of 3 (2/3). Subscribe so you don’t miss out.
