Rhode Island government bids for small agencies

Where Rhode Island, its cities and counties post their bids, how to register, and the open ones that suit a small web, software, video or marketing agency right now.

Open right now

No Rhode Island bids on our vetted list at the moment. New ones turn up most weeks; the free Monday email brings the best five.

Where Rhode Island posts its bids

State bids: Ocean State Procures (OSP) Bid Board. The Division of Purchases posts centralized state agency and RIDOT solicitations here, both open and awarded. The state FAQ says the Bid Board is open to public viewing without registration.
Register as a vendor: Ocean State Procures (OSP) Vendor Registration. You pick commodity codes when you register and get an email alert when a matching solicitation is posted. Bid responses to state solicitations are submitted in OSP.
Small business certification: Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office (MBE/WBE/DBE/ACDBE and VBE programs). The Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion certifies minority-, woman- and veteran-owned businesses so they can count toward state participation goals. Firms outside Rhode Island must first be certified in their home state.
Free bid coaching: Rhode Island APEX Accelerator (RI APEX): the state's APEX Accelerator helps small businesses with registrations and proposals at no cost.

Big city, county and agency buyers

Each of these runs its own bid page, and most want you registered in their system too.

Buyer	Bid page	Runs on
City of Providence	Open bids	Own website (also posted on BidNet Direct, Rhode Island Purchasing Group)
City of Warwick	Open bids	Own website
City of Cranston	Open bids	Own website (RFPs emailed on request)
City of Pawtucket	Open bids	Own website
City of East Providence	Open bids	BidNet Direct
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA)	Open bids	State external solicitation search (purchasing.ri.gov)

Good to know

Cities, towns, school districts and quasi-public agencies post their bids on a separate state search page, not the OSP Bid Board. source
In Providence, the Board of Contract and Supply approves purchases over $10,000 (over $20,000 for construction). source
On BidNet Direct's Rhode Island Purchasing Group, vendors can sign up for email notices of new solicitations at no charge. source

Before you bid

Registering takes time, so do it before you find the perfect bid: how to get registered, and how to write a capability statement (with a free template).