This guide covers what a video production RFP needs to contain to attract qualified vendors, produce comparable responses, and support a defensible evaluation process.
Section One: Organization and Context
Include: organization overview, communications context where the video will be published, existing brand and visual standards, previous video productions, and procurement context.
Section Two: Scope of Work
Define the communication objective clearly and allow vendors to propose a production scope that serves that objective, rather than prescribing a scope that vendors are asked to price.
Include: communication objective, target audience, key messages, constraints, deliverables, and what is not included.
Section Three: Vendor Qualification Requirements
Common qualification requirements include:
- Business registration and legal status
- WorkSafeBC coverage or equivalent
- Commercial general liability insurance
- CanadaBuys registration for federal and provincial procurement
- Relevant experience with comparable productions
- References from previous clients
- Accessibility credentials
Section Four: Proposal Requirements
Request: technical proposal, team and credentials, portfolio samples, work plan and timeline, detailed budget proposal, and references.
Section Five: Evaluation Criteria
Suggested weighting:
- Understanding of the objective and proposed approach: 30 percent
- Relevant experience and portfolio quality: 25 percent
- Team qualifications: 15 percent
- Work plan and timeline: 15 percent
- Price: 15 percent
Price should carry less weight than in commodity procurement because the quality and relevance of the production approach has a greater impact on the outcome than the price difference between comparable vendors.
Section Six: Accessibility Requirements
State caption requirements, transcript requirements, audio description requirements where applicable, plain language requirements, and WCAG compliance requirements explicitly in the RFP.
Common RFP Errors to Avoid
- Setting the budget as confidential when it is defined
- Defining the scope too rigidly
- Requiring experience that is not relevant
- Setting unrealistic timelines
- Evaluating on price alone or too heavily
Frequently Asked Questions
Should we disclose our budget in the RFP?
Yes, if the budget is defined. Disclosing the budget allows vendors to propose the best possible scope for the available resources and produces more accurate, more comparable proposals.
How many vendors should we invite to respond?
For a competitive RFP process, three to five qualified vendors is a practical number.
What is a fair timeline to give vendors for responding?
Three to four weeks is a reasonable response window for a straightforward video production RFP.
