The trends that are presently converging to make the utilization of the RFP increasingly apparent in Federal funding are discussed. These trends include: (1) greater emphases on social policy issues by the government; (2) increased number of government operated programs; (3) increased management requirements for an operations planning system; (4) increased number of organizations, both private and public, prepared to respond to RFP's; and (5) the uncertainty of unsolicited proposals addressing themselves to policy related research. In connection with the social policy issues, the Federal Government has become involved with issues which have direct or indirect bearing on young children and which, therefore, require information or knowledge about young children. (Author/DB)