The benchmarks behind the defaults
Why these numbers are realistic
Drawn from public proposal-industry data. No disaster-recovery-specific benchmark is published, so these reflect government and professional-services proposals — representative of recovery pursuits.
~33 hrs
spent on a single RFP response — and top-performing teams still average ~35.
Loopio, 2026 RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks (1,500+ teams)
62%
of proposal professionals work 40+ hours a week on proposals; 14% regularly exceed 50.
APMP U.S. Bid & Proposal Industry Benchmark Report
~$107K
median proposal-manager base pay — before loading a full team of writers, coordinators & SMEs.
APMP 2024–25 U.S. Compensation Report
$20K–$60K
to compete on a mid-size pursuit — roughly 1.5–3% of contract value on a $1M–$4M opportunity.
Organizational Communications Inc. (OCI) proposal cost analysis
$250K–$300K
base development cost on a $10M solutions proposal — before Price-to-Win and orals coaching.
Organizational Communications Inc. (OCI)
FAR 31.205-18
makes bid & proposal (B&P) cost an allowable indirect cost — this spend is real, and tracked.
Federal Acquisition Regulation
Figures come from the cited third-party sources and describe the broader proposal industry, not RFP Pilot customers. Loopio's survey skews toward commercial/enterprise RFPs; the OCI figures are that firm's published cost model. Use them as orientation, not a guarantee.
