According to a 2020 study, the top challenge in the RFP process is accurately answering RFP questions in a limited time. This requires collaboration with the experts, which is the second most prominent challenge. Along with these, educational services providers face another critical challenge – leading-edge competition in the burgeoning space. The key to winning adoptions is submitting a compelling RFP response, for which you need a digital learning platform equipped with the right tools to fulfill all the requirements put forward by states and districts.
Prominent Challenges Faced by Educational Publishers
In the increasingly digitized learning landscape, RFP bidding has also moved online. While this increases the accessibility of opportunities for educational publishers, proposals are filtered with binary go/no-go frameworks, eliminating the opportunities for further discussion. In this scenario, the failure to submit a compelling yet differentiated proposal affects the chances of winning. Some of the challenges leading to this are:
1. State and national boards often list RFPs irrespective of regional and industry segmentation. Educational publishers may miss out on relevant and high-value opportunities while spending time to sift through large bid boards.
2. Generic explanations on popular sources may fail to pinpoint industry-specific expectations, such as those from K-12 and higher-ed publishers. With generic RFP requirements, educational publishers and institutions cannot demonstrate demand fit effectively in their responses.
3. Lack of compliance is another common reason for educational publishers losing out on adoption opportunities.
Often, RFPs are quite generic and most applicants rely on so-called “popular sources” to ensure compliance. Digital learning platforms must support you in creating RFP responses that address the needs of the school/district. This is where an experienced learning technology provider comes to the rescue.
Key Features Every Platform Needs to Win RFPs
Your digital learning platform must possess the following to win RFPs:
Customizability and Flexibility
Customizable content design, curriculum planning, and user interfaces are critical to winning RFPs. Offering flexible interfaces that cater to diverse users with minimal administrative overheads addresses inclusivity and accessibility requirements. Augmenting the learning management solution with time-bound and role-based access management can help you pitch a solution that seamlessly caters to all user segments.
Standards and Compliances
The digital learning platform must comply with the privacy and learning standards applicable to the target market. These may include SCORM, WCAG, ADA, COPPA, FERPA, GDPR, etc. AI plays a critical role in education by facilitating compliance and validation. Equipping your K-12 solution with a compliance management platform can enable schools and districts to reduce manual overload while increasing chances of adoption.
Interoperability
The digital education ecosystem works with cooperating learning tools, student information systems, content management solutions, educational authoring and publishing systems, DRM solutions, and more. Ensuring interoperability of your digital learning platform or educational publishing tools with LTI and TinCan standards can improve the chances of adoption. This is because schools and districts often have different budgets and timelines for each system. API-based plug-and-play or turn-on and off edtech solutions for K-12 allow them to pick and choose and pay for only what they need, eliminating complexities.
Scalability
Given the Sustainable Development Goal of Education For All, allowing schools and districts to scale the solution on-demand is critical. Cloud-based digital learning platforms can help you offer equitable learning opportunities to remote and classroom learners. Offline eReaders that allow students in low-connectivity areas to access quality education 24/7 can work as a differentiator.
How MagicBox™ Ensures RFP-Readiness
MagicBox™ is an experienced player in the RFP battlefield. Our All-in-One learning platform is a comprehensive solution that allows educational publishers and K-12 education technology providers to offer standard-based curriculums, comply with regulations, ensure seamless integrations and win state adoptions. Simplified processes to update and modify curriculums and standardization facilities, without additional overheads, make it a perfect fit for state and district adoptions. Powerful analytics support adopters to track class, school, district, and state-level learning progress and compare it with national and international benchmarks. In addition to an RFP-ready platform, partnering with MagicBox™ means you receive ongoing support for adoptions and meeting deadlines to give your organization the necessary push to enter larger markets.
Strategic Partnerships to Win More RFP
Did you know high pricing is increasingly becoming the metric adoption boils down to? Offering an affordable solution, leveraging the expertise of industry experts, without incurring excessive cost overheads, can position you as a winner in the competitive learning space. Therefore, you need to collaborate with a white-label solution provider to help you get market-ready in no time at low cost. The MOOC and freemium models to growth are slower, with unstable revenues. Winning RFPs can position you as a leader in the education market and accelerate growth. You need two things to get the contract – a captivating proposition and a platform aligned with district and state requirements. Having covered numerous adoptions, MagicBox™’s digital learning platform is equipped with insights into the pain points of schools and districts and technologies to alleviate them. Explore how MagicBox™ can help ensure your platform is always prepared for RFP success.
