Request for tender

A request for tender (RFT) is like sending out a big invitation to a group of people who are interested in doing a specific job. Let's say your mom and dad want to build a new house, but they don't know how to build houses themselves. So, they need to find someone who can build a house for them.

First, they will make a list of everything they want in their new house - like how many rooms it should have, what kind of floors they want, whether they want a backyard or not, and so on. This list is called a "specification".

Then, your parents will send out a request for tender to a group of people who can build houses. The request will ask them to give an estimate of how much money it will cost to build the house, and how long it will take to finish the job.

The people who get the request for tender will look at the specification and decide if they want to try to build the house. If they do, they will prepare a special document called a "tender" that has all their own estimate of the costs and how long it will take them to do the job. Then they will send their tender back to your parents.

Your parents will look at all the tenders they receive and choose the one they think is the best value for money. Then they will hire the person who made that tender to build their new house! And that’s how a request for tender works!