APMP Compliance and Risk Management in Proposals 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the key difference between 'instructions to offerors' (Section L) and 'evaluation criteria' (Section M) in a U.S. federal RFP?
- Section L tells you how to prepare the proposal; Section M tells you how the government will score it (Correct answer)
- Section L defines pricing and Section M defines technical requirements
- Section L is optional guidance; Section M is mandatory
- Section L applies to subcontractors; Section M applies to the prime
Correct answer: Section L tells you how to prepare the proposal; Section M tells you how the government will score it
Understanding both sections is essential: L drives your proposal structure and M drives your content emphasis for maximum evaluation scores.
Question 2: What is 'risk mitigation' in the context of a technical proposal?
- Identifying potential project risks and describing specific plans to reduce their likelihood or impact (Correct answer)
- Submitting a lower price to reduce financial risk to the government
- Avoiding mention of risks so evaluators are not concerned
- Transferring all risk to subcontractors through teaming agreements
Correct answer: Identifying potential project risks and describing specific plans to reduce their likelihood or impact
Proactively identifying risks and demonstrating mitigation plans increases evaluator confidence in the bidder's ability to perform.
Question 3: Why is it important to answer evaluation criteria directly in proposal responses?
- Because evaluators score only what they can find; unaddressed criteria receive no credit (Correct answer)
- Because the contracting officer requires a point-by-point restatement of criteria
- Because it reduces the total proposal page count
- Because it eliminates the need for a compliance matrix
Correct answer: Because evaluators score only what they can find; unaddressed criteria receive no credit
Evaluators must score what is written, so failing to address a criterion explicitly means leaving points on the table.
Question 4: What does 'technical risk' in a government proposal evaluation typically refer to?
- The probability that the proposed technical approach will not successfully meet program requirements (Correct answer)
- The risk that the technical volume exceeds the page limit
- The risk that the contracting officer will ask for clarifications
- The cost overrun risk associated with the technical approach
Correct answer: The probability that the proposed technical approach will not successfully meet program requirements
Evaluators assess whether the proposed solution is credible, feasible, and backed by adequate resources and past experience.
Question 5: What is the purpose of a 'risk register' when managing a proposal effort?
- To document identified risks to the proposal process, their likelihood, impact, and mitigation actions (Correct answer)
- To record all RFP amendments received from the government
- To list all subcontractors and their risk classifications
- To track proposal budget overruns for management reporting
Correct answer: To document identified risks to the proposal process, their likelihood, impact, and mitigation actions
A proposal risk register helps the team proactively manage schedule, resource, and content risks before they affect submission quality.
Question 6: How should a proposal team handle an RFP amendment issued five days before the submission deadline?
- Immediately assess the impact on existing proposal content, update affected sections, and adjust the schedule (Correct answer)
- Submit the proposal as-is since the amendment came too late to incorporate
- Request an extension from the contracting officer before reading the amendment
- Only revise the pricing volume to reflect the amendment
Correct answer: Immediately assess the impact on existing proposal content, update affected sections, and adjust the schedule
Late amendments must be rapidly triaged for impact so the team can focus revision efforts on the most affected areas without missing the deadline.
APMP Compliance and Risk Management in Proposals 2
What is the key difference between 'instructions to offerors' (Section L) and 'evaluation criteria' (Section M) in a U.S. federal RFP?