We’ve been involved with responding to many RFPs over the years and I have a general inquiry that is in your bailiwick. I often see RFPs that are quite lengthy and well-considered, and looking for a system that has huge strategic value to an organization, but the required turn-around time to respond to the RFP is very short – often only 2 or 3 weeks.  I then see software vendors, who are already busy with other prospects, scrambling to pull together responses and often (quite frankly) not able to deliver their best because of the timeframe. Finally, I’m often witness on the client side to the returned RFP information languishing for weeks beyond their own deadlines (and/or this being characteristic of earlier deadlines in designing the RFP). What’s the thought behind requiring quick responses from the vendors? Or do the clients often not understand that vendors are working with multiple other organizations at the same time? It seems to me that if response deadlines were less compressed, vendors could craft a more appropriate response in a less stressful manner and that organizations would get higher quality and value from the responses.

My response:

Hi Keith,

You know the office proverb: "Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." But if you're a vendor it often does.

In most cases I don't think nonprofits understand what they're asking of the vendors. I advise my clients to allow 2 weeks for a simple Request for Proposals and up to 6 weeks for a complex one. At the same time many nonprofits don't understand what's involved in reviewing RFP responses. They haven't thought about how they'll score each one, and may not have set aside staff time (or enough staff time) for the task. So even if the turnaround is driven by real deadlines on the client's side, they're too overwhelmed by the responses to turn them around quickly.

A more cynical possibility is the dark side of RFPs -- the winner was predetermined but the organization was required to get multiple bids. That could explain the unrealistic turnaround time--the organization knows the chosen vendor can meet the timeline (and the RFP may have even been created using a template supplied by that vendor). The delays in getting back to bidders could still be legitimate overwhelmedness. They could also mean that the other bids weren't that important to begin with so there's no rush to respond to those vendors.

What do you think?   If you're with a nonprofit, do you think your RFP deadlines are reasonable and realistic?  If you're with a vendor, how do you cope with these sometimes-artificial emergencies, and with the RFP process in general?  Are you one of the many who simply do not respond to over-the-transom RFPs?

Resources:

My article Finding the Perfect Fundraising Database in an Imperfect World includes a section called "To RFP or not to RFP"

Idealware article: The Perfect Fit: A Guide to Evaluating and Purchasing Major Software Systems

Techsoup article: The RFP Process: An Overview

Techsoup article: Nine Tips for Navigating the RFP Research Phase

What types of software should your nonprofit be using? It's hard to even know even what types exist, let alone what might work for you. Through a friendly, easy-reference format, this book helps you pinpoint the types of software that can help your organization based on your needs and your level of technology savvy, and provides user-friendly summaries to demystify all the possible options.

The 84-page Field Guide includes an overview of 35 different types of software, helping you to understand what each is, how it fits in with your needs, how much you might expect to pay, and some of the most common vendors in the area.

 

Full disclosure: I reviewed an early draft, but haven't seen the final version. It's likely to be a useful guide to nonprofits who are planning to purchase (or request donations) of a lot of software in the near future.

You can get more information and order a copy on their site.

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After transferring my data and software using Laplink (and after figuring out that I had to decrypt my files first) I found that everything was owned by some mystery account.  I couldn't access my files or apps from my account or the Administrator account.  I fixed that with an application called TakeOwnership.

Once I got my stuff moved over I started playing with the laptop and found that it had no sound.  The Lenovo system diagnostics and Device Manager said everything was functioning normally, but I had no sound through the speakers -- only through the headphone jack. I tried all of the troubleshooting tips I could find, and finally took it in for service (fortunately, there's a service depot near my house). Replacing the speakers didn't have any effect, so they replaced the motherboard. That did it. Their theory is that the headphone jack turns off the speakers when in use, and that the jack was "stuck" in this position.

I use an off site backup service from Backup Solutions.  I found that their software wouldn't install under Windows 7.  The company got me a new version that works with Win 7, but I found that the failed installation (or maybe Laplink) left traces of the software behind such that the new software said I needed to uninstall the old version, but the old version wouldn't uninstall.  I had to use Revo Installer to fix that.

I got the docking station set up for the new PC and found that it only has USB ports, so my old PS/2 keyboard won't work.  Tried using a $3 PS/2 to USB adapter, but no luck.  I either needed a $17 converter or a new keyboard.  I went for the converter, since I like my current keyboard. All my other peripherals work. 

I found that the T400S doesn't have a modem jack (maybe it was an option that I neglected to choose?).  Sometimes it's handy to be able to fax from the computer rather than printing something out and running it through the fax.  However, I don't want to have to pay a monthly fee for something like eFax for those rare instances when I need to fax from the computer. Maybe there are other alternatives.

I wasn't able to get ZoneAlarm to install.  I finally gave up and switched to PC Tools' firewall.  The tests I've run say it's not as secure, but it's something.  I'll try installing ZoneAlarm again when I have time.

I had a devil of a time getting Avast! to run but upgrading from version 4 to 5 fixed that. 

I'm still tinkering with Outlook 2003.  Tried running it as an Administrator, and in Compatibility Mode for XP and Vista, but it keeps crashing.  PC Doctor (the crash diagnostic program) just said the problem might be the "Send to Bluetooth" plug-in, so I disabled that.  We'll see.

I figured out how to restore the handy Quick Launch tolbar by following these instructions.

Some of the hardest problems have been getting Adobe products to install. I couldn't get TweetDeck or Adobe Air to run (TweetDeck requires Air).  I solved that by following the instructions for solving Error # 0 problems at http://support.tweetdeck.com/forums/63876/entries/91753  Now I have a second program ( Microsoft Installer Cleanup utility) to forcibly uninstall uncooperative software.

I also couldn't get Adobe Flash to install.  I tried the instructions to install and run Microsoft's SubInACL program, but that didn't fix it.  Finally submitted a trouble ticket to Adobe and got a quick response.  They had me do the following:

In Internet Explorer 8 click on Tools then Internet options then the Advanced tab then choose "Reset Internet Explorer settings".

Download and run install_flash_player_10_active_x.exe from Adobe

Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash

Right-click FlashUtil10d.exe, click the Compatibility tab and select "Run as Administrator."  Click OK and run the program.

That did it.  Resetting IE seems to be the key -- I had done all the other steps previously.

From the announcement:

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The nonprofit ecosystem is a way of thinking about how data is shared by and flows across the different departments and activities in your organization. Similar to the interconnectedness in natural ecosystems (for example: marsh, birds, plants), we think of the data ecosystem as the interconnectedness of software tools and the data they hold. Thus, in a well functioning data ecosystem, tools are connected so that the information gathered from online donations, for example, is easily commingled with the information gathered from an event which is commingled with the information collected about other supporters. In a poorly functioning data ecosystem, each pool of data stands alone with little or no interconnectedness.

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I got email from Vindigo in March saying the service was shutting down. Their home page is a blank screen. However, the software continues to work. I'm still able to download info for new cities, and the sync with vindigo.com appears to be functioning.  It's a zombie.

A month ago Vindigo started presenting an error message saying "Your Vindigo 2.0 subscription was scheduled to renew on 4/11/2009 but you haven't synced your device recently. As a result, we are unable to verify the status of your account. Please sync within the next 19 days to avoid a disruption in service." I thought it was about to die at the hand of its billing module. But the warning message went away after a few weeks and Vindigo still works.

Since no new data is being provided, movie and museum info are useless and there won't be any updates to the restaurant info. But it's tolerable for now. I feel like the app is on life support and could go any day. And , assuming it continues to work, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to transfer it to a new phone (assuming I stay with Palm).

Lots of people are mourning the loss of Vindigo and looking for a replacement. So far the best bet seems to be running web searches on one's phone -- a poor substitute in my opinion.  Or maybe a return to Avantgo, which I used before finding Vindigo.

I'd love to hear about options for a downloadable guide to restaurants, movies, and shops that works even when you can't get connected to the web.

Ad-Aware -- Anti-spyware and malware tool for PCs: http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Avast! -- Free anti-virus for home use: http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

BookmarkBridge -- Keeps bookmarks in sync between multiple browsers: http://bookmarkbridge.sourceforge.net/

CCleaner -- Windows registry cleaner and program uninstaller http://www.ccleaner.com/

CoreFTP -- FTP client software: http://www.coreftp.com/

eFax Free -- Free fax number for receiving up to 20 pages/month. Faxes arrive as email attachments: http://www.efax.com/efax-free (Be aware that they do things like periodically changing your fax number to induce you to pay. But that's why it's free.)

Glary Utilities -- Another Windows registry cleaner: http://www.glaryutilities.com/

Google Desktop -- Use Google to search your desktop files: http://desktop.google.com/

Google Talk -- An alternative to Skype, but only for 1 to 1 calls: http://www.google.com/talk/

Express ClickYes -- Gets around the Outlook security feature that prevents mass emailing by malware. Essential when you want to do an email merge through Word, etc. http://www.contextmagic.com/express-clickyes/

Hijack This -- Restores Windows settings that have been altered or hijacked by software and malware: http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html

Paint.Net -- Fantastic graphics editing tool: http://www.getpaint.net/

Process Explorer -- A Windows task manager & monitoring tool, much richer than the Windows Task Manager: http://www.download.com/Process-Explorer/3000-2094_4-10223605.html

ScreenHunter Free -- Screen capture program: http://wisdom-soft.com/sh/index.htm

Skype -- Free VOIP calls, conference calls, and video calls: http://www.skype.com

SpamBayes -- Trainable anti-spam plugin for Outlook (may work with other clients as well): http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/download.html

SpyBot Search & Destroy -- Anti-spyware and malware tool for PCs. Can also provide continuous monitoring: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

ZoneAlarm -- PC firewall software: http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm

Other products mentioned by participants in the discussion:

John Elbare recommended:

Wink -– Free program for creating flash movies out of screen shots: http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

ColorPix –- Gives you an exact RGB or hex code for any color on your monitor screen:http://www.brothersoft.com/colorpix-63923.html

TrueCrypt –- Very well-designed and easy-to-use program for encrypting your files and folders: http://www.truecrypt.org/

Koyote Free CD -- Ripper and Free Audio Converter:http://www.koyotesoft.com/indexEn.html

TopStyle Lite –- Free version of HTML/CSS editor: http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/topstyle/default.aspx

OpenOffice –- Very good emulation of MS Office: http://www.openoffice.org/

PHP and MySQL -– Really good open source code for building dynamic web sites: http://us3.php.net/ and http://www.mysql.com/

Charlie Hunsaker recommended Google Gadgets – an analog clock, local weather, an always available to-do list, current sports scores, Google Search.

John Taylor at North Carolina State University recommended PDF995 which installs as a printer driver, allowing you to print to a PDF instead of a printer: http://www.pdf995.com/download.html

Mary Kern at the University of Toledo Foundation recommended PrimoPDF and TextPad (but noteed that there is a nominal charge to get rid of the nag screen.)

I can still use Acrobat Distiller as a printer to create PDF output, and use Acrobat Pro to edit the output. What I can't do is automatically create an Acrobat file that has a hyperlinked Table of Contents (clicking on a page number take you to that page) or live URLs. I've tried lots of free PDF creation software and haven't found one that resolves these problems. It's not worth it to me buy an upgrade to Acrobat just to resolve this issue. Instead I've found some workarounds. The first one is tedious, the second is easy.

To insert bookmarks (internal links) in an Acrobat Table of Contents

• Print the document using Acrobat Distiller.
• Open the document in Acrobat Pro.
• Click the Link Tool icon on the toolbar.
• Select the page number in the Table of Contents.
• In the Link Properties dialog box, set the Type as Invisible Rectangle.
• With the Link Properties dialog open, scroll to the page where the bookmark should be placed.
• Click Set Link.

To insert URLs in an Acrobat document

• Print the document using Acrobat Distiller.
• Open the document in Acrobat Pro.
• Select Tools, then Locate Web Addresses, then Create web links from URLs in text.
• Select the pages where the URLs are found, or select All.

The Tides Foundation Invites Nominations for Award Honoring Open Source Software Developers Who Add Value to Nonprofit Sector
Deadline: March 2, 2009

The Tides Foundation is accepting nominations for the $10,000 Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. The annual prize — now in its third year — honors a software developer whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the nonprofit sector and to ongoing efforts for positive social change.

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The book looks to be filled with useful and insightful information from leading experts, consultants, nonprofit managers, and technology strategists who work with nonprofits and social benefit organizations. I imagine it will be a staple on the bookshelves of nonprofit technologists, accidental techies, and IT managers for years to come.

Here's a preview of what's to come from the table of contents:

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