A major reason for considering public private partnerships is that the competitive marketplace can bring operating efficiency, innovation and cost savings to a project. The goal of local government in issuing an RFP for a public private partnership is to provide clear guidelines for submissions resulting in innovative and cost-efficient proposals.
There must be a balance between flexibility and mandatory requirements in an RFP. An inflexible RFP stifles private sector creativity and may also reduce potential cost savings. An overly flexible RFP may yield innovation and cost
savings but may not satisfy the specific requirements of the local government. Regardless of how inflexible or flexible RFP documents are, private sector faith in a potential partnership is diminished substantially by a poorly constructed RFP. This may in turn limit quality participants from responding to the RFP.
A good RFP is one where the specific requirements of the local government and areas where innovation is encouraged are clearly outlined. This type of RFP helps the private sector achieve the goal of developing a quality proposal incorporating innovation and cost-saving measures while also satisfying the goals and objectives of the local government. Clarity in purpose and attention to detail from the outset of the RFP process will make the entire public private partnership process run smoother. It will also build local government credibility to the private sector to the benefit of future projects.