Introduction
This post officially launches the ADPC’s RPC Service Provider Panel and Procurement Framework and invites applications from RPC Service Providers supporting Arbitrum to become whitelisted Sellers on the ADPC’s new RPC Services Panel.
We invite all prospective applicants to review the attached Application Process and Head Agreement for details on the evaluation criteria and response format.
Documents and Resources for this RFP
The Application Process, Evaluation Table and Head Agreement can be downloaded at the Sharepoint site here.
The Fillout form to complete your basic details and upload your completed evaluation forms can be found here.
A quick demonstration video walking through the entire process for completing the response on Fillout is here.
An invite to the Telegram group established for official communications to applicants will be provided on request.
Key Dates
RFP Publication Date:
Friday, 31 January 2025
Questions Deadline:
17:00 (UTC) Friday, 14 February 2025
RFP Response Deadline:
17:00 (UTC) Friday, 21 February 2025
This is the only official RFP issued by the ADPC. It replaces all prior summaries, commentaries and drafts in relation the RPC Services Procurement Framework.
Background to the RPC Services Panel
This new panel will:
- Establish the marketplace to allow whitelisted RPC Service Providers to offer services to Buyers (i.e. project teams and ecosystem participants) under pre-agreed terms, conditions, service levels and pricing;
- Support Arbitrum DAO’s mission to take advantage of strategic sourcing opportunities available to market leaders;
- Where grant funds are offered, to have them used in a transparent manner with a focus on value-for money considerations and probity with respect to the procurement process;
- Improve efficiency and automation in the acquisition of commonly used services such as those offered by the RPC Service Provider industry.
The Procurement Framework is a non-mandatory procurement framework at this stage but this may change should a separate grant/subsidy program be initiated (none are planned as at date of publication).
The expectation is that Buyers and Sellers will abide by the terms of the Procurement Framework in order to take advantage of the accelerated evaluation, quote and ordering process.
This includes the requirement for Buyers and Sellers to agree to the Head Terms and Work Order Terms as well as executing the mandatory waivers referred to in Appendix A of the Application Process and the Head Agreement.
What is the Procurement Framework?
To provide some context on the undertaking here: the Procurement Framework Head Agreement, Templates and Application Process will establish the RPC Service Industry’s first ever strategic sourcing procurement framework. You can find out more about the background to this in the Tally vote establishing the ADPC here.
The Application Process Document is effectively an RFP allowing the ADPC to evaluate and select whitelisted RPC Service providers who can then engage with buyers under a pre-agreed set of marketplace rules and pricing under the Head Agreement. The Head Agreement included within the Application Process has been prepared by the Arbitrum Foundation who will be the counter-party for service providers whitelisted by the ADPC.
The marketplace will be established with pre-agreed legal and engagement terms whereby whitelisted service providers (Sellers) can offer their services to grant recipients (Buyers).
For a high level representation of the Framework and flowchart, this diagram will help:
ADPC Procurement Framework - Overview
What is the Rationale for this Approach?
This Procurement Framework has several distinct advantages. This Framework:
- Is Arbitrum DAO focused and value accretive (as explained below);
- Allows emerging projects to rapidly engage RPC Service providers without having to run their own RFP process or pay costly legal fees associated with the typically lengthy negotiations to establish service agreements. This time/cost saving allows ecosystem builders to spend more time on building and less time on admin;
- Generates significant buying power for Arbitrum DAO which can be amplified if the framework is used as a mandatory procurement vehicle;
- Retains open market, competitive tension between service providers. Once the whitelisting process is complete, the ADPC plays no further role in selection of service providers for specific projects. The Buyer retains flexibility to choose the Seller best suited for their scope and budget;
- Establishes high levels of transparency in the procurement process; and
- Will benefit Sellers by creating a level playing field for both new entrants and established organisations.
The Framework is adaptable in nature. The strategy and model documents employed are based on well-established strategic procurement methodology that can be re-used in other procurement contexts.
These templates are designed to be used by Arbitrum DAO to facilitate any other procurement in the technology sector. Software, hardware, professional services, Cloud Services, Game Development, AI, etc. can be procured through a framework established via the Application Process template, Head Terms and Work Order Terms, adjusted to suit the vertical being procured.
There is currently no restrictions on buyers who can take advantage of this procurement framework other than they are genuinely building on Arbitrum and can satisfy some essential due diligence questions. Should a grant program be introduced to subsidise the cost of RPC Services, this Framework can be used as the basis for procurements, with some adjustments to the terms to account for the additional processes involved with issuing grant monies.
Application Process - Important Information
Points to Note
- Please complete all questions indicated in the Fillout form and download a copy of the Evaluation Criteria table (this will be supplied in Word Format for you to complete off-line). Please answer all questions in the space indicated in the Evaluation Criteria table.
- Submit the completed Evaluation Criteria table by way of PDF. There will be a space to upload documents on same page of the Fillout form.
- If you wish to add supplementary information, feel free to upload these as separate files.
- Please DO NOT use supplemental information or attachments as the basis of any of your responses in the table - all sections of the Evaluation Table must be completed in full and capable of evaluation without the need for supplemental information. While you are welcome to submit additional files and supplemental information, the ADPC may or may not read such materials as determined in their absolute discretion.
- Failure to comply with these instructions may result in your application being rejected.
- The document/s you submit via the application form should be the entire response containing all information, including confidential information.
- In addition to your submission on this form, please submit a scrubbed PDF without any confidential information as a shareable PDF link as a response to this forum post. Include the following details on your forum post response along with the scrubbed PDF link: Name, Email, Point of Contact, Company Description.
Timelines
As mentioned above in this post, applicants will have 3 weeks to respond to the RFP, starting on the day of publication and extending until the RFP Response Deadline indicated at the top of this post. You are welcome to submit your response at any time before the RFP Response Deadline.
Following this, the ADPC and our SMEs will review responses for a period of approximately 3 weeks.
Probity Standards for Questions
Any discussions and clarifications with applicants can take place during this period however all questions must be submitted to the ADPC by the Questions Deadline described at the top of this post.
For reasons of probity and to ensure a level playing field, we cannot answer questions from any individual applicant without communicating the question and response to the broader set of applicants.
Questions will be anonymised unless otherwise requested. Applicants are encouraged to join the Telegram group for further communication and updates.
Next Steps
The ADPC bi-weekly call will be used as an AMA session for applicants to ask any questions - please check the Arbitrum Community Calendar for details of these calls. For any other questions, feel free to ask them directly on the Telegram group before the Question Deadline.
