I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Florida’s Chief Financial Officer — and an old friend from the Tea Party days — Blaise Ingoglia. Of course, our topic was DOGE (Defenders of Government Efficiency) and how to make government work smarter, not pricier.
Somewhere in the conversation, we got onto three little letters that carry a big price tag for taxpayers: RFQ vs. RFP.
I asked Blaise why so many local governments — including ours — keep using RFQs (Request for Qualifications) instead of RFPs (Request for Proposals) when hiring design or construction firms.
His answer came fast and honest:
“There’s too much emphasis on qualifications and not enough on price,” Ingoglia said. “Government is artificially narrowing the applicants, thereby reducing competition. Then the prices keep going up.”
And there it was — the truth taxpayers have felt for years but rarely hear out loud.
What’s the Difference?
Here’s the simple version:
• RFQ means the government checks if someone is qualified to do a project — but never asks how much it will cost.
• RFP means the government requests real bids — with price tags attached.
Common sense tells you to ask what something will cost. But RFQs let governments skip that step — no price comparisons, no competition, no accountability.
Why It Matters
RFQs create an uneven playing field. Big firms roll out glossy brochures filled with skyscrapers and six-lane bridges to prove they’re “qualified.” Meanwhile, small, local businesses — our friends and neighbors — get tossed aside because they haven’t built a theme park in Orlando.
So our small-town sidewalk or drainage project ends up being handled by a big-city firm charging Ritz-Carlton prices for an Applebee’s job.
Costs balloon. Deadlines slip. And taxpayers foot the bill.
The Perverse Incentive
Design firms often get paid a percentage of the total project cost. So, the more expensive a project becomes, the more the designer earns.
That’s like handing someone your credit card and saying, “Spend whatever you think is best.”
What’s the Fix?
If county staff can estimate the cost of a project well enough to issue an RFQ, they can surely issue an RFP and get actual bids. That would mean more competition, more transparency, and better value for taxpayers.
We don’t need rocket scientists for every local project. We need qualified, local professionals who will do the work efficiently and affordably — with our tax dollars in mind.
The Bottom Line
It’s worth repeating the wise words of Florida’s CFO Blaise Ingoglia:
“There’s too much emphasis on qualifications and not enough on price. Government is artificially narrowing the applicants, thereby reducing competition. Then the prices keep going up.”
He’s right — and it’s time for that to change. It’s not anti-expertise. It’s pro-competition.
When government stops shopping for shiny résumés and starts shopping for real value, the taxpayers finally win.
