State of Collaboration Advance Your RFP Knowledge 1 1 Agenda - PDF document

10/17/2019 State of Collaboration Advance Your RFP Knowledge 1 1 Agenda • Introduction • Nine RFP Case Studies • Q&A • Conclusion 2 CASE STUDY 1 CASE STUDY 1 3 1

10/17/2019 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) • What is a Solicitation of Interest (SOI)? • Process to determine whether there is any interest in a procurement • A method of outreach to support a single source justification • A vendor’s response does not create obligation or commitment of any kind • A vendor’s response is neither a binding agreement nor an agency’s acceptance of offer. 4 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) • How should an SOI be used? • Announce required services in the Contract Reporter for 15 business days • Describe required activities • Identify minimum qualifications 5 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) • Things to consider after an SOI has been conducted: • Not all vendors that provide this service may respond to an SOI. • SOI does not typically request cost information and cannot be used for evaluation and award. • Vendors that do not respond to an SOI should not be excluded from participating any future formal procurement. • Agency must still submit CRER to OSC and post advertise. 6 2

10/17/2019 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) – Case Study • Agency Z requires specialized services that they believe can only be offered by Vendor X. • Agency Z conducts an SOI to determine if there are other vendors that can also provide these services. – The SOI identifies required activities and minimum qualifications. 7 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) – Case Study A • Recommended: • Only one vendor responded to the SOI and provided their qualifications. • As a result of the SOI, Agency Z supported the single source nature of the services. • Agency Z submitted a single source Contract Reporter Exemption Request (CRER) to OSC including: – Justification of vendor selection – Reasonableness of cost 8 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) – Case Study B • Recommended: • Two vendors responded to the SOI and provided their qualifications. • As a result of the SOI, Agency Z determined there are other potential vendors for these services and conducted a formal competitive procurement. • Both vendors were included on the bidders list. 9 3

10/17/2019 Solicitation Of Interest (SOI) – Case Study C • Not Recommended: • Four vendors responded to the SOI and provided their qualifications. • Agency Z evaluated each response and determined that Vendor 4 was the most qualified. • Concerns with this process: – SOI is not a procurement vehicle and should not be evaluated. – SOI is not a formal procurement. When the potential for competition exists, the process shall not result in a contract. [SFL § 163.7 Method of Procurement] 10 CASE STUDY 2 CASE STUDY 2 11 RFP Requirements • Research* indicates that suppliers add, on average, approximately 20% to most fixed price contracts because of uncertainty and risk caused by unclear specifications. • The research also revealed that most public organizations consider their distributed specifications to be of a high quality and easy to comprehend. * Pettijohn, Carole and Qiao, Yuhua (2000). Procuring Technology: Issues Faced by Public Organizations, Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Management 12 (2): 441‐461 12 4

10/17/2019 Mandatory Requirements • What are Mandatory Requirements or Minimum Qualifications? Lowest required level of knowledge, ability or experience that a company as a whole, or any proposed staff, must possess to be considered for award of the RFP. 13 Mandatory Requirements • How do you write GOOD Minimum Qualifications? • What may be clear to you and your agency may not be clear to a potential vendor. • Minimum qualifications should encompass specific skills and abilities that your agency feels are “non‐negotiable”. 14 Mandatory Requirements • Measurable • Pass/Fail • Review by individual or team • Make sure you NEED it • Must be met without alteration • Follow evaluation plan • Match evaluation instrument 15 5

10/17/2019 Mandatory Requirements – Case Study • Agency X issued an RFP for a Point of Sales System: • Mandatory Requirement: – Two (2) Pass/Fail Requirements – Three Evaluators • Technical Evaluation: 70 points • Financial Evaluation: 30 points 16 Mandatory Requirements – Case Study • Does this vendor fail to meet Mandatory 1, Mandatory 2 or both? Vendor A’s Proposal The Bidder must have successfully managed a point of sales system, for point of sale system Point of Sale System more than five (5) consecutive years and within the past eight (8) years. five (5) consecutive years within the past eight (8) years 1 The contract for this engagement must be included as part of meeting Contract with NYC – 6 years requirement 2. 1. Rensselaer – 4 years The Bidder must have managed a minimum of three (3) contracts, three (3) contracts 2. Albany – 3 years 2 within the past eight (8) years. At least one of the contracts evidenced within the past eight (8) years. 3. East Greenbush – 6 years for this requirement must meet requirement 1. Evaluator 1 M 1 M 2 Vendor A ? ? 17 Mandatory Requirements – Case Study • Mandatory Requirement Evaluation Result: Evaluator 1 Evaluator 2 Evaluator 3 M 1 M 2 M 1 M 2 M 1 M 2 Vendor 1 F F P F P P Vendor 2 P P P P P P Vendor 3 F F Vendor 4 P P P P P P Vendor 5 P F Vendor 6 P P P P P P 18 6

10/17/2019 Mandatory Requirements – Case Study • Issues Raised: 1. Vendor one (1) was evaluated by all three (3) evaluators, which agrees with the evaluation plan. However, the pass/fail conclusions do not agree among evaluators. 2. Vendors three (3) and five (5) were evaluated by one evaluator. The evaluation process did not follow the evaluation plan. 3. The mandatory requirements were confusing and possibly too restrictive. 19 CASE STUDY 3 CASE STUDY 3 20 Technical Evaluation • Technical Criteria: • To get your RFP evaluation right, you have to consider: – What you want to score in your RFP responses (desirables) – How you’re going to score the vendor’s responses (type of scale, weight) – Who is going to do the scoring (individuals or team) 21 7

10/17/2019 Technical Evaluation • Helpful Hints: • The RFP must present the criteria that will be used for the evaluation of proposals. • Words such as “must,” “will” and “shall” will make a technical requirement a mandatory. 22 Technical Evaluation – Case Study • Technical Evaluation – 70 points: • 14 evaluation criteria • Score Key, as provided to evaluators by Agency X: Meets no aspects and/or expectations of the requirement or information is not 0 present as required Meets few aspects and/or expectations of the equipment; shows major gaps in 1 knowledge and understanding of material; substantial inaccuracies Meets most to all aspects and/or expectations of the requirement; shows 3 understanding of key aspects and requirement Exceeds aspects and/or expectations of the requirement; highly detailed 5 knowledge and understanding of the requirement 23 Technical Evaluation – Case Study • Non‐Recommended Sample of Technical Requirements: Mandatory or # Requirement Score Desirable The system must be capable of sending a confirmation to the customer’s 1 M designated preferred contact method. The system is capable of offering alternate options to customers in the event that 2 D the customer’s preference is unavailable. 3 The system offers a mobile application(s) for authorized users and/or customers. D 4 Authorized users must be able to set and modify business rules. M 5 The system must have a process in place to ensure that profiles are unique. M 6 Contractor must manage customer logins and authentications. M 7 The system must allow for variations in fees based on business rules. M 24 8

10/17/2019 Technical Evaluation – Case Study • Issues Raised: • Each technical criteria using the word “must” makes the requirement a mandatory. • Mandatories are Pass/Fail and should not be scored or included in the technical evaluation. 25 Technical Evaluation – Case Study • Recommended Sample of Technical Requirements: # Requirement Score The system is capable of sending a confirmation to the customer’s designated preferred 1 contact method. The system is capable of offering alternate options to customers in the event that the 2 customer’s preference is unavailable. 3 The system offers a mobile application(s) for authorized users and/or customers. 4 Authorized users are able to set and modify business rules. 5 The system has a process in place to ensure that profiles are unique. 6 Contractor manages customer logins and authentications. 7 The System allows for variations in Fees based on business rules. 26 CASE STUDY 4 CASE STUDY 4 27 9