From Transactional to Strategic: Transforming the RFP Process in the Meetings Industry

Across the global meetings industry, there is one topic that is gaining momentum: the need to rethink the traditional Request for Proposal (RFP) process for association conferences. As associations seek more strategic, outcome-driven events, industry leaders argue that the current model – often rigid, transactional, and unclear – no longer serves the needs of associations or their partners.

Article kindly provided by World PCO Alliance based on their Members' Insights

The issue gained momentum at the 2025 ICCA Congress in Porto, Portugal, where stakeholders across markets recognised the same frustrations with regards to the traditional RFP process, which directly impacts the quality of delivery and long-term outcomes. The congress provided an opportunity to confirm that these concerns were shared worldwide. From there, a white paper emerged as a way to move from conversation to action, capturing best practices, structuring the dialogue, and offering practical recommendations. The white paper, Reimagining RFP Processes for International Association Meetings: A Blueprint, is the result of a collaboration between the World PCO Alliance and ICCA. The Alliance had several of its partners involved in the drafting of the article, namely, Juan Jose Garcia (Bco Congresos), Maria Mariscal Escalera (Bco Congresos), Ksenija Polla (Talley Management Group), Gregg Talley (Talley Management Group) Liu Ping (China Star), and Patranuch Sudasna (CDM-Conference & Destination Management).

The white paper proposes a fresh perspective on the RFP process, so that the process can adapt to an industry that is constantly shifting. In this article, the Alliance partners involved in the white paper offer their insight on the current challenges with the traditional RFP process and how the industry can move toward a more effective, collaborative approach.

Why the RFP Process Needs to Change

The core challenge is simple: this is not a static issue. The way we plan, procure, and deliver congresses keeps evolving, but the RFP process has not kept pace. As Ksenija Polla notes, “the world around meetings has changed, but many of our RFP frameworks have not.”

What may once have been fit for purpose is now often too disconnected from the real goals associations and partners are trying to achieve. Associations increasingly prioritise impact, sustainability, legacy, and community alignment, yet these values are not always reflected in their RFPs. This disconnect leads to confusion, misaligned proposals, and wasted effort on all sides. For destinations, venues, and PCOs, unclear RFPs create significant challenges, and it is impossible to effectively respond to an RFP without a clear definition of expectations or evaluation criteria. If associations want to identify the best partners for their objectives, then they need to be clear about these objectives. That means greater transparency around priorities, clearer evaluation criteria, and clearer distinction between what is essential and what is simply a nice-to-have.

Patranuch Sudasna echoes this from a local PCO perspective, emphasising that expectations and event design have evolved, and the RFP process must evolve with them. “By allowing a bit more flexibility and earlier dialogue, it enables PCOs to contribute with more meaningful ideas, bring in local insights, and tailor solutions more effectively.”
 

Why This Must Remain an Ongoing Conversation

Every meeting brings different dynamics: new stakeholder expectations, changing budgets, sustainability priorities, and increasingly complex local coordination.

The RFP process is shaped by governance, culture, risk, and long-standing habits. Real change requires ongoing dialogue, continuous refinement, and shared learning across the ecosystem. If the conversation stops, the danger is that the industry reverts to outdated practices that no longer reflect current needs.
 

What Practical Changes Does the Industry Need?

On a practical level, the Alliance partners involved in the white paper hope to see:

• clearer articulation of priorities and evaluation criteria;
• more transparency around what truly matters to associations;
• a more proportionate, staged approach to bidding,
• earlier dialogue to test alignment before full proposals are required.

The importance of reducing wasted time and effort cannot be stressed enough. Preparing a personalised and tailored proposal is a huge effort. The more precise the RFPs are the better the chances to get higher quality submissions that accurately reflect an association’s expectations.

On a mindset level, the shift is even more significant. The industry needs to move away from viewing the RFP as a procurement formality and towards seeing it as the beginning of a strategic partnership, one grounded in trust, clarity, and shared purpose.

This sense of partnership is critical to the revision of the RFP process, because associations are not simply selecting their PCO, destination or venue, but a partner that can bring the value the association needs to ensure that the event is of the highest quality. Yet, associations do not necessarily view their partners, particularly PCOs, in this strategic context. As a result, often PCOs are being selected too late, expected to navigate rigid structures, and struggle to be recognised as strategic partners rather than logistical executors.

Why This Matters for PCOs

Challenges around the RFP process strike at the heart of how PCOs demonstrate their value. “PCOs serve as the central link between associations and local partners,” says Juan Jose Garcia, “making their insight essential to improving the RFP process.” In the end, the call to rethink the RFP process is not about adding complexity, it is about stripping away what no longer serves us. PCOs do not need a more complicated RFP process. They need a clearer and more transparent one.

Reframing the RFP as the beginning of a partnership rather than a transactional checkpoint is central to that evolution. When associations lead with intention, clearly articulating what they value, how decisions will be made, and what success truly looks like, everyone benefits. If associations lead this change, the rest of the ecosystem will follow.

At the heart of this transformation are PCOs. More than just delivery teams, PCOs are uniquely positioned to bridge perspectives and illuminate the gaps that often go unseen. PCOs can help drive this shift because they see the disconnect from every side. Their insight, combined with a more open and collaborative approach from associations and partners, can reshape the RFP process into a tool that strengthens relationships, elevates outcomes, and reflects the realities of today’s meetings landscape.

The opportunity is clear: by rethinking how we begin the conversation that should lie at the heart of the RFP process, industry members can fundamentally improve how they work with each other and with associations… and ultimately, how meetings can deliver the impact they want.
 

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