As with most other aspects of a procurement, your jurisdiction will likely have very specific rules governing the publication of the solicitation, including where it is posted and by whom, whether you can directly notify prospective bidders, etc.

• Are there any restrictions or procedures for alerting prospective bidders?
• Can the RFP (or at least any required tables or forms) be released in MS Word format to facilitate the bidder responses?

Responding to bidder questions

• If you are holding a pre-proposal conference, have you established a clear process for documenting, formally (in writing) responding, and promptly publishing or sending responses to the questions asked verbally?
  • Is it scheduled early enough in the bidding process to be helpful to bidders in crafting their proposals?
• Have you established a clear process for receiving, documenting, drafting/reviewing/approving responses to, and promptly publishing or sending responses to written bidder questions?
• Are there are different requirements for oral vs. written comments?
• Is the deadline for submission and a schedule for responding clearly stated?