Recently, I came across a government RFP whose cover page still displayed the same diagonal slashes that have appeared on its documents for years. These lines were published exactly as shown — not because they were intentional design elements, but because they were part of the default template. They stayed simply because they were already there, and once something becomes the default, it tends to stay that way.
Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler and Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, in their book Nudge, describe why this happens. Defaults aren’t passive settings — they actively shape behavior and decisions because people overwhelmingly stick with them. They feel recommended, require no additional effort, and create stability in complex systems. Once defaults are in place, they become nearly invisible, yet incredibly persistent.
And if a small visual detail can persist for years simply because it lives inside a template, imagine how many deeper elements of an RFP — structure, sections, attachments, formatting, even language — persist for the same reason.
Understanding defaults is one of the most underrated tactics a business can use when navigating state and local RFPs.
Defaults Shape More of Procurement Than You Think
When you open an RFP, you’re not just seeing a government entity’s intentions for this specific project. You’re also seeing layers of decisions inherited over time:
Template sections designed for consistency
Attachments reused to maintain continuity
Scope language modeled after previous procurements
None of these is a mistake. They’re practical defaults — systems that help governments maintain compliance, efficiency, and continuity amid shifting staff and workloads.
But this also means something important: Not everything in an RFP reflects what will drive the award decision.
Why This Matters for Businesses
Every state and local RFP comes with a set of materials that government entities are required to publish — not because they’re specific to this RFP, but because they’re part of the standard procurement process. These include:
Terms and conditions
Standard proposal instructions
Language added for legal or policy reasons
These are default materials — essential for transparency and accountability, but not necessarily indicative of what evaluators will prioritize.
Here’s the key insight:
Default materials explain how the government entity publishes RFPs. They do not always explain how the government chooses a business.
When businesses understand this distinction, RFPs become far easier to interpret. You stop treating every page as an expression of intent and start recognizing which portions are inherited, required, or purely structural.
Businesses that read RFPs through this lens can:
Focus their time on sections that genuinely influence scoring
See the government entity’s real priorities even when the narrative is broad
Evaluate fit faster
And the clearest expression of that intent is found in the evaluation criteria.
Intent Lives in the Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation criteria are one part of the RFP that evaluators must use when making their decision. This makes evaluation criteria the most reliable signal of what the government entity values.
Reading them first cuts through defaults immediately:
The highest-weighted items reveal the real priorities
Repeated or emphasized criteria show where evaluators want reassurance
Pass/fail categories indicate the minimum requirements that you must meet
A scope might mention community engagement once, but if it accounts for 30% of the scoring, that tells you exactly how important it is. A template may include pages of standard requirements, but if methodology and approach carry the most points, that’s where proposals are won or lost.
Defaults shape the document. The evaluation criteria shape the decision.
What This Means Heading Into 2026
Small consultancies and founder-led teams gain a real advantage when they read RFPs through this lens:
Read the evaluation criteria before reading the full scope
Use amendments and Q&A to understand where priorities sharpen
Make bid/no-bid decisions based on your business’s current and/or near-term ability to succeed against the evaluation criteria
Taken together, these suggestions will help small teams move faster, focus on what actually matters, and compete with far greater clarity in 2026.
The Takeaway
The evaluation criteria tell you how to win; much of the rest highlights defaults.
Once you see that difference, RFPs stop feeling like dense requirements and start revealing the priorities that actually drive selection.
