Request for Information

A Request for Information (RFI) is a structured inquiry issued by a public body, international organization, or private institution to collect information from the market or interested parties on capabilities, costs, technical options, or policy approaches. Unlike a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ), an RFI does not commit the issuer to award a contract or take any specific action; it is a fact-finding instrument that helps clarify requirements before a formal procurement or decision-making process begins.

In the policy and research world, RFIs are widely used to:

• Scope a future procurement. A ministry or UN agency may issue an RFI to learn what vendors can deliver, at what price ranges, and under what timelines, before drafting a binding tender.
• Consult stakeholders on policy. Regulators frequently use RFIs as public consultations. The US Office of Science and Technology Policy, for example, has issued RFIs on artificial intelligence governance to inform executive branch policy.
• Benchmark capabilities. International organizations such as the World Bank or UNDP use RFIs to map supplier markets in specific regions or sectors.

Typical RFI documents specify the issuer, a background statement, the questions or information sought, a response format, a deadline, and confidentiality terms. Respondents are usually told that their submissions will not be evaluated competitively and that no contract will result directly from the RFI.

For MUN delegates and junior researchers, RFIs are useful primary sources: published responses (where disclosed) often reveal how industry, civil society, or other governments frame a problem. They are especially valuable in technology policy, defense acquisition, and development finance, where formal positions in treaties or resolutions are sparse but RFI dockets can be voluminous.

RFIs are governed by the procurement rules of the issuing entity — for instance, the US Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 addresses pre-solicitation exchanges, and the EU Public Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU permits "preliminary market consultations" under Article 40.