Members of Americans for the Arts have endorsed RFQs above RFPs and consider RFQ’s best practice, because RFQs have been more efficient and effective in producing high-quality public artworks and are generally seen as being more fair to artists.
Requests for Qualifications ask artists interested in a commission to submit information about their training, previous work, and other forms of evidence of their ability to create a public artwork. Requests for Proposals ask artists to develop and submit their ideas for a commission. Both options have advantages and disadvantages for artists and arts agencies, and both try to strike a balance between giving the artist a free hand and also ensuring that the artwork produced is desirable and appropriate to the public and commissioning agency.