Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content. Information which the vendor desires to present that does not fall within any of the requirements of the RFP should be inserted at the appropriate place or be attached at the end of the proposal and designated as additional material and/or optional features or services. Proposals that are not organized in this manner risk elimination from consideration if the evaluators are unable to find where the RFP requirements are specifically addressed. As used in this RFP, the terms “must”, “shall”, “should” and “may” identify the criticality of requirements. “Must” and “shall” identify requirements whose absence will have a major negative impact on the suitability of the vendor solution. Items labeled as “should” or “may” are highly desirable, although their absence will not have a large impact and would be useful but are not necessary. Depending on the overall response to the RFP,some individual “must” and “shall” items may not be fully satisfied, but it is the intent to satisfy most, if not all, “must” and “shall” requirements. The inability of a vendor to satisfy a “must” or “shall” requirement does not automatically remove that vendor from consideration; however, it may seriously affect the overall rating of the vendor’s proposal.
