How to Write an eLearning RFP – Template and Scoring Guide

You've decided to bring in a vendor for a training project, and procurement says you need a formal request. You open a blank document and realize you're not sure what to include. Ask for too little and every vendor guesses differently, but ask for too much and the strongest vendors won't bother to respond. How do you write an eLearning RFP that gets clear, comparable proposals?

A good eLearning RFP (request for proposal) describes the learners, the performance goal, the scope and the technical requirements clearly enough that every vendor prices the same project. It also tells vendors exactly what to submit and how their proposals will be evaluated. The essential sections are background, goals, audience, scope, technical requirements, content and subject matter expert support, timeline, budget range, proposal instructions, evaluation criteria and key contract terms. Score responses with weighted criteria that you establish before you read a single proposal, which keeps the decision fair and defensible.

When Do You Need an eLearning RFP?

You need an eLearning RFP when the project is large enough that your organization requires competitive bids, or when you want to compare several vendors on equal terms. Public agencies and large corporations often require one above a specified spending threshold.

For smaller projects, a simpler request for quote or a few discovery calls may be sufficient. The template below is still useful, because the same information makes any conversation with a potential vendor faster and more precise.

What Should an eLearning RFP Include?

An eLearning RFP should include ten sections, and you can copy this structure directly and fill it in. Keep each section brief and specific, because vendors read dozens of these documents and clarity earns better responses.

Sections 1 to 3: Background, Goals and Audience

1. Background. Who you are, what prompted the project and any history, such as an earlier course that didn't work.
2. Goals. What learners should be able to do after training, written as observable behaviors. "Process a return in the order system without supervisor help" beats "understand the return policy."
3. Audience. Who the learners are, how many there are, where they work, what devices they use, their comfort with technology and any language or accessibility needs.

Sections 4 to 6: Scope, Technical Requirements and Content

4. Scope. Number of courses or modules, estimated seat time, desired interactivity level, media expectations (narration, video, custom graphics) and languages. Describe interactivity with an example, because "interactive" means something different to everyone.
5. Technical requirements. Your learning management system (LMS), the tracking standard it supports (such as SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004, versions of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model), target browsers and devices, and the accessibility standard you require. Government buyers and many others follow Section 508; Section508.gov explains what that means for procurement.
6. Content and subject matter experts (SMEs). What source material exists, how ready it is, and how much SME time you can commit each week. Be honest. This affects the price more than almost anything else.

Sections 7 to 10: Timeline, Budget, Instructions and Terms

7. Timeline. The RFP schedule (questions due, proposals due, decision date) and the project schedule, including any fixed launch date and why it's fixed.
8. Budget range. A range, even a broad one, helps vendors propose a fitting solution instead of guessing. Some public agencies can't publish a budget; if your rules forbid it, describe the scale instead (number of modules, seat time and interactivity level with an example) so proposals still land in the same ballpark.
9. Proposal instructions. Exactly what to submit: approach, project plan, team bios, two or three relevant samples, references and a pricing breakdown by phase. Set a page limit.
10. Evaluation and terms. Your scoring criteria and weights, plus key terms like ownership of source files, payment milestones, review rounds and warranty.

If two vendors could read your scope section and picture two very different courses, the scope section isn't done yet.

How Do You Score eLearning RFP Responses?

Score eLearning RFP responses with a weighted rubric you finalize before proposals arrive. Each reviewer scores each criterion from 1 to 5 independently, and then the group compares scores and discusses significant differences.

Here's a sample rubric that you can adjust to your project's priorities, as long as the weights still total 100%.

To calculate a weighted score, multiply each rating by its weight and add the results. Here's a worked example with two hypothetical vendors. Vendor A rates 5, 4, 4, 4, 3 and 3 across the six criteria. Its weighted score is (5 x 0.20) + (4 x 0.20) + (4 x 0.15) + (4 x 0.15) + (3 x 0.10) + (3 x 0.20) = 3.90. Vendor B rates 3, 3, 4, 3, 4 and 5, for a weighted score of 3.65. Vendor B is less expensive, but Vendor A understood the problem better, and the rubric makes that difference visible.

Price deserves separate consideration. Rather than automatically giving the lowest bid the highest score, evaluate how well the price matches the proposed scope. A very low price for an ambitious scope is a risk rather than a bargain.

Which Contract Terms Belong in the RFP?

The contract terms that belong in the RFP are the ones that change how vendors price the work. If you wait until after selection to raise them, the winning vendor may need to re-quote, and you lose the fair comparison you worked for.

• Ownership. State that you'll own the finished course and all editable source files on payment.
• Review rounds. Say how many rounds you expect at each deliverable. Two is a typical starting point.
• Payment milestones. Tie payments to approved deliverables, such as design document, storyboard, beta and final.
• Acceptance. Define what "done" means: tested in your LMS, meets the accessibility standard, no open defects.
• Warranty. Ask for a bug-fix period after launch, such as 60 or 90 days.
• Change requests. Ask vendors to describe how they estimate and approve changes.

Putting these terms up front also signals that you're an organized buyer. Vendors notice, and they tend to assign their best people to clients who appear likely to run a well-managed project.

How Many Vendors Should You Invite?

Invite three to six vendors for most projects. Fewer than three limits your comparison, while more than six creates a heavy evaluation workload and discourages strong vendors, who know their odds decline with every additional competitor.

Give vendors a window to submit questions, and share every answer with all bidders at the same time. That keeps the process fair, and the questions themselves often reveal gaps in your RFP. Allow two to four weeks for responses, because thoughtful proposals take time and a rushed timeline mostly attracts generic boilerplate.

For the final round, invite the top two or three vendors to present. Ask them to walk through one sample in depth and answer questions from the people who'll work with them day to day, not just the decision-makers.

What Mistakes Make an RFP Fail?

Most RFP failures come from vagueness, unrealistic requirements or a process that ignores how creative work is actually priced. Here are the mistakes that come up most often:

• Describing topics instead of performance goals.
• Asking for "engaging, interactive" content without an example.
• Hiding the budget, which leads to proposals at wildly different levels.
• Requiring a full custom sample module for free. Strong vendors often decline.
• Leaving out your LMS details until after the contract is signed.
• Scoring mostly on price.
• Skipping reference checks because the presentation was impressive.

Each one is easy to correct with a sentence or two in the appropriate section, and the template above is designed to prevent all of them.

Should You Outsource the Project at All?

Before you send an RFP, confirm that an external vendor is the right answer. Sometimes the project suits your in-house team better, or a combination of internal design and outside production works best. Our guide to eLearning outsourcing walks through that decision with an example cost comparison.

If you do work with an external partner, the RFP becomes the foundation of the project. The scope you describe becomes the scope in the contract, so the time you invest in getting it right pays off long after you select a vendor.

A Clear eLearning RFP Gets You Comparable Answers

Writing an eLearning RFP is mostly about eliminating guesswork. Describe the learners and the performance goal, define scope with examples, list technical requirements, share a budget range and tell vendors exactly what to submit.

Then score every response against weighted criteria you set in advance. That approach gives you proposals you can compare side by side, a decision you can explain to procurement, and a vendor who knows exactly what they agreed to build.

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