What is an RFA in Government Contracting? (2026 Guide)

If you are new to government contracting in DC, Maryland, or Virginia — and have ever opened a government solicitation with the letters R-F-A on it — this guide is for you. The most common and costly mistake new contractors make with RFAs is treating them like contract solicitations. They are not. Confusing an RFA for an RFP can waste months of preparation on an opportunity you were never eligible to win.

What is an RFA?

RFA stands for Request for Application. It is a formal funding announcement issued by a government agency — federal, state, or local — that invites eligible organizations to apply for grant funding. The agency publishes the RFA, applicants prepare and submit detailed applications, the agency reviews them on the merits, and a subset of applicants are awarded grants.

You will also see RFAs called FOAs (Funding Opportunity Announcements) or NOFOs (Notices of Funding Opportunity). These are the same kind of document under different agency naming conventions. NOFO has become the federal-wide preferred term under recent Uniform Guidance reforms, but RFA and FOA remain in active use, particularly at NIH, NSF, HRSA, DOE, and EPA.

The grant vs. contract distinction (this is the whole point)

The single most important thing to understand about RFAs is that they fund grants, not contracts. The legal and operational differences between the two are significant.

When the government issues a contract — through an RFP, RFQ, or IFB — the agency is purchasing something from a vendor. The agency defines the deliverable, the schedule, the acceptance criteria, and the price. The vendor performs and the agency pays. It is a buyer-seller relationship.

When the government issues a grant — through an RFA, FOA, or NOFO — the agency is supporting a recipient organization to carry out work the agency wants to see happen. The agency does not direct day-to-day execution; it sets program goals, defines reporting and compliance obligations, and disburses funds. It is a funder-recipient relationship.

That distinction reshapes everything downstream — eligibility rules, application structure, timeline, post-award management, and audit obligations. A small business that tries to bid on an RFA the way it would bid on an RFP will waste weeks and end up ineligible.

Which agencies issue RFAs?

RFAs are issued primarily by federal agencies whose mission involves funding research, public programs, and services rather than buying goods. The major issuers include:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) — biomedical and behavioral health research grants. NIH is the largest RFA issuer in the federal government.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) — basic and applied science research, education, and infrastructure.
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) — community health centers, workforce, maternal/child health.
• U.S. Department of Education (ED) — K-12, higher education, special education, and adult learning programs.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — rural development, agricultural research, nutrition, and conservation.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — environmental research, monitoring, and community programs.
• Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science — scientific research at universities and national labs.

State and local governments across the DMV issue their own grant solicitations under similar formats — sometimes called RFAs, sometimes NOFOs, sometimes RFGAs. Common DMV grant-issuing offices include the DC Office of Partnerships and Grant Services, the Maryland Department of Health and Maryland Department of Human Services, and Virginia's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Department of Social Services. These are separate from the procurement portals like DC OCP eSourcing, eMMA, and eVA — those are for contract solicitations (RFPs, RFQs, IFBs), not grants.

Anatomy of an RFA

A typical federal RFA has a structure unique to grants. Expect to see the following sections, often in this order:

• Funding Opportunity Title and Number — the official identifier (e.g., RFA-CA-25-001).
• Issuing Agency and Program — which agency office is administering the funding.
• Total Funding Available — the entire pool the agency expects to award through this RFA.
• Expected Number of Awards — how many separate grants will be funded.
• Individual Award Amount or Range — the per-grant ceiling and floor.
• Project Period — how many years the funding covers.
• Application Deadline — typically 60 to 120 days from the announcement.
• Eligibility Information — exactly which entity types may apply.
• Application and Submission Information — required forms, page limits, attachments, formatting.
• Application Review Information — the criteria reviewers will use to score and rank applications.
• Federal Award Administration Information — what happens if you win — reporting, financial management, audits.

The eligibility section is the first place to read. If your entity type is not listed there, you are not eligible — full stop. Do not assume you can find a workaround.

Eligibility — who can actually apply

Most RFAs restrict applicants to one or more of the following entity types:

• Nonprofit organizations (often must hold IRS 501(c)(3) status)
• Accredited colleges, universities, and minority-serving institutions
• State, local, county, and tribal governments
• Faith-based and community-based organizations
• Hospitals and public health departments

Many RFAs explicitly exclude for-profit entities. Some allow for-profit small businesses to participate only as a subrecipient or partner under a primary nonprofit or academic applicant. A handful of programs — such as the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs — exist specifically to fund for-profit small businesses, but those have their own dedicated solicitation processes outside the typical RFA.

RFA timelines vs. contract timelines

RFAs move slowly. Plan for the following:

• Application period: 60 to 120 days from announcement to deadline.
• Peer review: 3 to 6 months after submission.
• Council or board decision: additional 1 to 3 months.
• Award issuance: roughly 9 to 12 months from RFA publication to first dollar.

Compare this to a typical contract RFP, which often gives you 30 days to respond, awards within 60 to 90 days, and can have a contractor on the ground within 4 months of the original solicitation. If your business needs revenue inside the next 12 months, RFAs are not the right vehicle.

Where to find RFAs in the DMV (and federally)

For DMV-area grant opportunities, check each jurisdiction's portal directly:

• DC: the DC Grants Management portal and the DC Office of Partnerships and Grant Services issue and track most District grant solicitations.
• Maryland: Maryland Grants and the Maryland Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FATA) database centralize state grant postings; individual departments (Health, Human Services, Commerce) also publish on their own pages.
• Virginia: Commonwealth Grants Search aggregates state grant solicitations; major departments (Behavioral Health, Social Services, Education) also post directly.

For federal grant opportunities, grants.gov is the central database. All federal grant opportunities are required to be posted there. To apply for a federal grant, your organization must be registered in SAM.gov with an active Unique Entity ID (UEI). Individual federal agencies — NIH, NSF, HRSA, USDA, EPA, ED, DOE — also maintain their own opportunity boards with additional context.

Should small businesses chase RFAs?

For most government-contracting small businesses operating in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia), the honest answer is no — at least not directly. If your business sells products or services and you are looking for revenue, focus on contract solicitations: RFPs, RFQs, and IFBs. These are issued by procurement offices like DC's Office of Contracting and Procurement, Maryland's eMMA portal, Virginia's eVA portal, and federal procurement at SAM.gov.

RFAs are the right vehicle if you are:

• A nonprofit or academic institution doing research, public health, education, or community programs
• A consortium that includes a nonprofit lead and a small business technical partner
• A small business pursuing SBIR/STTR funding (a separate but related federal grant program for for-profit innovators)

Knowing this — instead of chasing the wrong type of solicitation for six months — is the whole reason it pays to understand the document types before you start bidding.

RFA vs. RFP vs. RFQ vs. RFI vs. IFB at a glance

Each acronym refers to a different kind of government solicitation document. The short version:

• RFA — Request for Application. Federal grant solicitation. Most for-profit small businesses cannot apply directly.
• RFP — Request for Proposal. Procurement contract solicitation. Used for complex services or solutions where the agency evaluates technical approach plus price.
• RFQ — Request for Quotations. Simpler procurement contract, typically for commercial items or smaller-dollar work, often awarded on lowest price technically acceptable.
• RFI — Request for Information. The agency is gathering market intelligence — no contract is awarded from an RFI directly. RFIs often precede an RFP.
• IFB — Invitation for Bid. Sealed-bid procurement, awarded strictly on lowest responsive and responsible bid. Common in construction and standardized goods.

Future videos in our GovCon Documents Decoded series will break down each of these in plain English, plus every pairwise comparison so you can quickly identify what you are looking at.

How DuoGov fits

If your business is focused on government contracting in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, DuoGov tracks live procurement opportunities (not grants) across DMV agencies and helps match them to your certifications and capabilities. If you have not yet decided whether your strategy should be contract-focused or grant-focused, the certification you pursue will often answer that for you — see our comparison of DC certifications for the practical breakdown.