Education Solutions

Higher Education RFP Creation & Vendor Evaluation

Simplify vendor management, procurement, and strategic planning for educational institutions. From LMS platforms to lab equipment, get stakeholders aligned and decisions documented efficiently.

Procurement in higher education is often more complex than in the private sector. Universities, colleges, and school boards have to manage tight budgets, public accountability, and a wide range of procurement needs — from IT infrastructure and facility upgrades to academic program services and campus operations.

The problem? RFP creation and evaluation processes are still dominated by manual document assembly, fragmented stakeholder input, and time-consuming vendor evaluation.

Paperfly changes that. We help educational institutions create clear, compliant RFPs in English and French, collect vendor responses in a structured format, and instantly grade submissions as soon as they arrive — ensuring a fair, transparent process for every procurement project.

Why Higher Education RFPs Are Challenging

Colleges, universities, and school boards face unique obstacles in their RFP processes:

Multiple approval layers — procurement, academic departments, IT, facilities, and finance

Bilingual documentation requirements in many regions

Variety of procurement needs, from highly technical IT systems to construction and service contracts

Compliance with public procurement rules and internal policies

Manual vendor evaluation that eats up staff time and delays decision-making

When these challenges pile up, procurement teams risk issuing RFPs that are inconsistent, unclear, or incomplete — leading to weak vendor responses and longer project timelines.

How Paperfly Solves These Problems

Paperfly was designed to bring clarity and speed to the higher education procurement process.

Education-Specific Templates

Start with RFP templates tailored for academic institutions — whether you’re sourcing new campus security systems, learning management platforms, or food service vendors.

Bilingual Document Creation

Generate your RFP in English, French, or both, without duplicating work.

Structured Vendor Q&A Forms

Each RFP includes an auto-generated vendor Q&A form link. Responses match your RFP structure, making vendor comparisons straightforward.

Automatic Grading & Ranking

Submissions are graded against your chosen rubric immediately upon arrival, giving you an instant ranked list of vendors.

Multi-Department Collaboration

Share RFP drafts with department heads and stakeholders for sequential review. Live simultaneous editing is coming soon.

Audit-Ready Record Keeping

All RFPs, vendor responses, and scores are stored securely for compliance with public procurement requirements.

Bulk Vendor Notifications

Notify vendors of their selection status in one step, directly from the Paperfly platform.

Example: University Learning Management System RFP

Scenario

A large university is replacing its outdated learning management system (LMS). The procurement team needs to gather requirements from IT, academic departments, accessibility services, and legal.

Outcome

RFP drafted and finalized in under 4 days

All vendor responses in a consistent format

Vendor scoring completed automatically

Step 1 – Gathering Requirements

Each department’s requirements are uploaded into Paperfly for consolidation.

Step 2 – RFP Drafting

Paperfly generates a bilingual RFP that includes technical specifications, accessibility compliance, and support requirements.

Step 3 – Vendor Q&A Link

Vendors receive a link to a structured response form, ensuring each submission addresses the same points for easy comparison.

Step 4 – Auto-Grading Responses

Responses are scored instantly based on criteria such as feature set, accessibility, technical compliance, and cost.

Step 5 – Final Decision

The procurement team reviews the top-ranked submissions in detail before notifying vendors of the results via bulk messaging.

The Benefits of Automating Your RFP Process

Faster Procurement Cycles

Reduce the time it takes to draft, issue, and evaluate RFPs, so you can get critical projects moving faster.

Improved Compliance & Transparency

Maintain a clear, auditable trail for every procurement project, ensuring fairness and compliance with public sector rules.

Better Vendor Selection

Structured responses and automated scoring help you identify the best-fit vendors based on objective, consistent criteria.

Reduced Administrative Burden

Free up your procurement team from manual tasks so they can focus on strategic sourcing and vendor management.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Paperfly is the Right Choice for Higher Education

Built for the unique needs of public sector procurement

Intuitive platform that’s easy for all stakeholders to use

Reduces RFP timelines from months to weeks

Ensures a fair, transparent, and auditable process

Ready to Streamline Campus Procurement?

Join educational institutions that have reduced committee review time by 30-40% while maintaining full compliance and transparency.

Draft RFPs in ~30 minutes

From kickoff to first draft