FEATURE STORY
How to Write an RFP for E-Learning Services
HOW CAN YOU NARROW THE LIST OF POSSIBILITIES BEFORE CONTRACTING FOR SERVICES? HOW CAN YOU ENSURE THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S BUSINESS NEEDS WILL BE MET?
Fall2005
EDITED BY LARRY TUCK

RFPs are a lot of work, but they’re worth it. If you are planning on purchasing a learning management system and e-learning courseware that you hope to use for 3 to 5 years, it obviously makes sense to find the vendor or vendors whose products match your needs as closely as possible.

It’s certainly easy to take shortcuts. Industry gossip, fancy ad campaigns, anecdotal stories and conversations over lunch might provide you with a few tips. But deciding on an e-learning vendor is much different than using the latest Consumer Reports to choose a lawnmower. You need to be educated, and there should be no guessing involved.

An RFP is a document produced by a company seeking goods and/or services and distributed to prospective vendors. Vendors then provide proposals based on the criteria specified within the RFP. A well-written RFP will outline specific information about your organization, the services and products you need, and the specific requirements suppliers must meet in order to win your business. It forces your to identify your business and technical requirements. It also forces the vendor to state in writing to what extent they can meet your requirements.

TOP FIVE THINGS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR RFP
The key to getting the best quality services required for your e-learning project is a carefully written RFP.

STEP1Establish Your Overall Training Goal
Within your RFP you should include the general business goals which need to be met by the proposed e-learning program. This includes measurements of success—how your organization will determine whether your e-learning initiative has been successful.

STEP2Define The Trainees/Audience
Your RFP should also include a brief summary of the roles/jobs of the trainees. This information should include details regarding how job roles and processes are currently taught, and how trainees’ responsibilities will change as a result of the introduction of the proposed e-learning program. Be sure to include the number of people—by job category and geographic location—expected to be trained. This type of information will assist vendors in understanding your target audience for whom the program will be developed.

STEP3State Your Objectives
The objectives within the RFP should describe exactly what the trainees will be required to do as a result of going through the e-learning training program. Each objective should be detailed within the RFP so vendors can better understand the training goals of your proposed e-learning program.

STEP4Provide Project Details/Specifications
An effective RFP should also include specific details about the project such as:

• Information about your organization’s technical infrastructure, end-user hardware, etc.
• Details regarding the training program content required.
• Anticipated project team organization and implementation schedule.
• Budget/schedule criteria.

STEP5Request for Vendor
Suggestions/Input It’s always a useful idea to include a request for feedback from vendors when there are specific needs you aren’t sure how to address.

USING AN RFP TEMPLATE
RFP templates can be used to develop your own request for proposal. The first sections
should be completed by the manager spearheading the project in order to provide vendors with enough information to formulate a response. (Sections A and C) A list of questions should also be formulated and directed toward vendors about their capabilities, products and services. (Sections D and E) A sample RFP Template should be editable to meet your organization’s specific requirements and informational needs.

YOUR E-LEARNING RFP TEMPLATE — A. INTRODUCTION
Company Background Include a short company overview. Include information such as a brief history, industry background, company size, number of employees, web address, etc.

Project Purpose Outline for vendors the business reasons for pursuing an e-learning solution. What problems or challenges do you face? What opportunities do you want to capitalize on? How do you foresee e-learning helping you achieve these initiatives?

For Example: Current sales training efforts are too costly because sales representatives are spread across the country. An e-learning version of the sales training program will result in more timely training that is less expensive to deliver than current training approaches.

Briefly outline the solution you are seeking. For example:

• Single vendor for LMS, courseware and development.
• A web-based, thin-client, hosted solution.
• Scalable platform capable of supporting ________users.
• 24x7 access.
• Support for synchronous and asynchronous training.
• Integration/connectivity with __________________________ (existing legacy system(s).
• Customized and off-the-shelf courseware in the following areas: _________________________.

Outline any important issues or considerations that will be critical to the e-learning solution. This may include information about your organization’s approach to learning, technical knowledge of employees, existing training framework, etc.

Project Scope Provide a short synopsis of how the elearning solution will be implemented. For example, you may break the full implementation down into phases:

Phase #1: Pilot Program with ____ employees from ____ divisions.

Phase #2: Beta Test with North American facilities.

Phase #3: Launch with worldwide operations.

You may also include information about the future growth of your e-learning initiative,
long-term goals and strategies, etc.

For example: The primary objective is to convert the current product sales training program into a self-paced, web-based training modules that will be tracked via a learning management system.

Audience
Provide information about the end-users of the e-learning solutions. For example, see chart below.

Another Example: The audience for this program is ________. The size of this
group is _________ and they are located ________________. The audience all
speak/do not all speak English and there is no need for other language versions. The
audience is/is not computer literate.

Target Hardware, Software & Platform
Provide as much detailed information as possible about the hardware, software and Internet connectivity that each distinct employee group has access to including: processor type, RAM/ROM, CD/DVD, networking, sound card, operating system, applications, browser, Internet connectivity, screen resolution, plug-ins. You should also provide information about your IT infrastructure, including hardware and
software, firewall specifications, etc.

B. VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS
Schedule for Evaluation Process
Provide an expected timeline for your evaluation and decision-making process. For example:

RFP distributed to vendors .............................................................January 15
Deadline for RFP responses ...........................................................February 10
Invitations for formal presentations.................................................February 17
Vendor demonstrations/presentations .............................................March 1-2
Selection of vendor/contract negotiation ..........................................March 10

Number of Copies & Contact Information
Please submit ___ original copies and an electronic copy (on disk or via e-mail) of
your proposal, including all supporting documentation, to:
Name _____________________________
Company __________________________
Address ___________________________
City, State ZIP______________________
Phone_____________________________
E-mail ____________________________
Please contact _____________________at _____________________ or via e-mail at
___________________________ with any questions about the RFP.

Proposal Format
Outline any specifics regarding how you want vendors to format their responses to your RFP.

Confidentiality
Include a confidentiality statement if deemed necessary.

Notifications
Describe how and when vendors will be notified regarding requests for additional
information, formal presentations and the outcome of the selection process.

C. BASIS OF AWARD
Outline the criteria you will use to evaluate each RFP response. Provide as much detail as you can. This will help vendors understand what is important to you, and address your needs accordingly. Areas to consider include:

• Technical capability
• Software capability
• Functionality
• Vendor support, responsiveness and follow-up
• Ease of use
• Flexibility and ease of product implementation
• Implementation plan and support
• Pricing
• Timely and complete response to RFP
• Vendor client references
• Results of requested demonstrations and presentations

D. VENDOR QUESTIONNAIRE
See pages 27 and 28 where the list of questions is located.

E. AVAILABILITY OF FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
This section identifies the functionality of the current, planned and future solutions evaluated. Areas of evaluation should include: Interface, content, hosting and support services, e-commerce capabilities, collaboration and communications tools, administrative functions, live classroom management, LMS reporting, competency management, learning content management systems, implementation and configuration requirements. You can secure the complete check list online at: www.elearning.b2bmediaco.com under Resource Center or visit: www.geolearning.com
and request RFP Template.

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
By using the E-learning RFP Template, your organization will be on the right path toward finding the right fit. In the process, you will learn about your organization’s training needs, while sourcing the solutions that meet your needs now and for the future. It may be easier to take the first solution—but in the long run may be the first step to a miss fit. Elearning! Magazine thanks GeoLearning for furnishing these resources.

For the complete RFP template and details, please visit www.geolearning.com or www.elearning.b2bmediaco.com

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