# Responding To Rfis > Drafts pre-RFP shaping responses for US Federal opportunities. Use when the user needs to respond to a sources-sought notice, a request for information (RFI), or a draft RFP, or to draft a capability statement, a white paper, or a draft-RFP comment matrix. Produces responses that demonstrate capability, inform the government's market research and set-aside decision, and legitimately shape the requirement and the evaluation before the RFP releases. - Skill: `danielkinneyspears/responding-to-rfis` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add danielkinneyspears/responding-to-rfis` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/danielkinneyspears/responding-to-rfis/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Research & Search - Author: danielkinneyspears (https://skillmd.com/u/danielkinneyspears) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/danielkinneyspears/responding-to-rfis --- # Responding to RFIs Draft the pre-RFP shaping responses — sources-sought responses, RFI responses, draft-RFP comments, capability statements, white papers. This is real capture work, not paperwork. A sources-sought response can influence whether an acquisition is set aside; a draft-RFP comment can change Section L or Section M; a white paper can teach the customer what to ask for. The package's capture skills name these vehicles — this skill actually writes them. ## When to use this skill Use this skill during the capture phase, whenever the government issues a pre-RFP instrument that invites an industry response: a sources-sought notice, a request for information, an industry-day request for input, or a draft RFP released for comment. Also use it to produce capability statements and white papers offered to the customer as shaping vehicles. It does not respond to the actual RFP — that is the proposal-development skills. This skill operates before the RFP exists. ## Inputs **Required:** the government instrument being responded to — the sources-sought notice, RFI, draft RFP, or industry-day announcement — and its response instructions (what the government asks for, the format, the deadline). **Preferred upstream artifacts:** - `02-capture-plan.md`: the customer knowledge, hot buttons, and shaping objectives the response should advance. - `00-opportunity-profile.md`: the opportunity facts. - `05-win-strategy.md`, `03-competitive-assessment.md` — where they exist, to align the response with the emerging win approach. Read `../../shared/glossary.md` and `../../shared/pursuit-workspace.md` if not already read this session. The procurement-integrity limits in `references/shaping-response-types.md` govern this skill — read them before drafting anything. ## Intake Ask these as a numbered list. Skip what the instrument answers. 1. **The instrument.** What is it — a sources-sought notice, an RFI, a draft RFP, an industry-day request, or an offered white paper/capability statement? What exactly does the government ask for, in what format, by when? 2. **The shaping objective.** What does the team want this response to achieve — demonstrate capability, influence the set-aside decision, shape the scope, shape Section L or M, build customer awareness? (From `02-capture-plan.md` if available.) 3. **Capability facts.** What true capability, past performance, and qualifications can the response draw on? 4. **The set-aside angle.** For a sources-sought notice: is the team a small business or in a socioeconomic category, and does the response need to support a set-aside the team would benefit from? 5. **Draft-RFP specifics.** For a draft RFP: which parts (scope, Section L, Section M) does the team want to comment on, and what change does it want? ## Workflow ``` Shaping Response: - [ ] Step 1: Read the instrument and the shaping limits; complete intake - [ ] Step 2: Identify the response type and the shaping objective - [ ] Step 3: Draft the response for that type - [ ] Step 4: Run the legitimacy and value check - [ ] Step 5: Write the artifact (06-shaping-response-.md) ``` **Step 1: Read.** Read the government instrument and the procurement-integrity limits in `references/shaping-response-types.md`. Confirm the response stays inside the rules. **Step 2: Type and objective.** Identify the response type and the single shaping objective it serves. Use `references/shaping-response-types.md`. A response with no shaping objective is a wasted opportunity to influence. **Step 3: Draft.** Draft the response using the type-specific guidance in `shaping-response-types.md`: - Sources-sought response: demonstrate capability and relevant experience concisely, address the qualifications the notice asks about, and (where the team would benefit) substantiate the basis for a set-aside. - RFI response: answer the government's questions substantively and, where the RFI invites it, offer informed input on approach and feasibility. - Draft-RFP comments: a comment matrix: the section, the issue, the recommended change, and the rationale framed as making the eventual competition clearer and fairer. - White paper / capability statement: educate the customer on what is possible and what good looks like; substance over salesmanship. **Step 4: Legitimacy and value check.** Verify the response (a) stays within the procurement-integrity limits — no request for source-selection-sensitive information, no improper advantage, truthful capability claims; and (b) actually advances the shaping objective. A draft-RFP comment that only helps the team by secretly disadvantaging competitors is a risk, not shaping — cut it. **Step 5: Write.** Write `06-shaping-response-.md` (e.g., `06-shaping-response-rfi.md`) using `templates/shaping-response.md`. If the team responds to several instruments over a capture, each gets its own file. ## Output One artifact per response: `06-shaping-response-.md` in the pursuit workspace. Present the user with: the drafted response, the shaping objective it advances, and confirmation it stays within the procurement-integrity limits. ## References - `references/shaping-response-types.md`: the procurement-integrity limits, and sources-sought, RFI, draft-RFP comments, white papers, and capability statements: what each is for and how to write each, including the set-aside angle. - `templates/shaping-response.md`: the shaping response artifact template. ## Guardrails - **Stay inside the integrity limits.** Follow the rules in `references/shaping-response-types.md`. Never seek source-selection-sensitive information, never seek an improper advantage, never misrepresent capability. - **Truthful capability only.** Sources-sought and RFI responses inform real government decisions. Overstating capability is both an integrity problem and a credibility loss when the RFP arrives. - **Shape by educating.** Legitimate shaping makes the customer's requirement better. A "shaping" idea that works only by disadvantaging competitors or relying on private information is not shaping — drop it. - **Mind the deadline.** Pre-RFP instruments have response deadlines; a late shaping response forfeits the influence.