Many organizations – public and private – use formal competitive bidding instruments to procure technical products and services. This may be done by law, policy or practice. The driving reasons are to help ensure both clear understanding of the organization’s requirements and expectations, as well as fairness in the marketplace to all potential respondents who wish to do business with the organization. HLN’s new white paper, Effective Technical RFP Development: A Guide for Jurisdictions and Other Organizations, offers some practical advice for organizations issuing competitive solicitations.