Proposal feedback contradicts RFP
I led a team comprising of a software small business and a university partner for pitching to an IARPA project. The RFP had a very clear 12 month expected timeline with explicit milestones and deliverables.
We put together a really strong Phase I - White Paper submission and waited for a response. We got rejected from submitting a full proposal. This is the feedback we got:
"The white paper shows a highly innovative approach to {redacted}. However, after extensive review, we have concerns regarding the high-risk schedule for accomplishing the claims in a 12-month program. The scalability of the proposed design presents significant challenges that we are not willing to take on at this time. For this reason, we are not requesting a proposal from this team"
It was their timeline! Their expectation! And if I pitched less than that, I would be non-compliant! we have extensive past federal experience and showcased that front and center of our submission.
I'm truly on the verge of burn out at this point. Too many hours have been spent on proposals that were either pulled by the PO, or were awarded through shady background deals, or rejected for what seems to be the most fickle of reasons.
Does anyone have any insight or suggestions? Experiences similar?