2014 CAPPO/NIGP Joint
Conference
Solicitation
Essentials
October 9, 2014
Demographics
The Growler
1. The Good
2. The Marginal
3. The Bad
Agenda
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9.
Definitions
Solicitation Planning
RFx Process
Specification Types
SOW
Solicitation Execution
Evaluation Criteria
Scoring RFP Responses / Evaluation Team
Additional Sources
Definitions
1. Solicitation Planning
2. GAP – Assessing difference between current state
and solicitation objectives (needs)
3. Design or Performance Specs.
4. SOW – Statement of Work / Scope of Work
5. Solicitation Execution
6. Evaluation Criteria – Factors specified in the RFP that
will be considered for award (Mandatory/Desirable)
7. Best Value – Determined by comparing solutions
against customized criteria
8. Life Cycle Cost – Total cost of acquiring, support,
operation, maintain and disposal (as applicable)
Planning Stage
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Define Business Goals
Internal and/or External Expertise
Market Research
GAP (Comparing Actual w/ Potential Perf.)
Outsource or Insource Make or Buy
Bidding and Contracting Strategy
Statement of Work Development
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RFI, RFB, RFP, RFQ?
1. Request for …….
What is a RFP?
• Rely on Market Expertise
• Innovation or Creativity is Sought
• Should reflect business objectives to allow
matching solutions
• Promotes Best Value vs. Low Bid
• Criteria based Award Determination
• Follows a structured evaluation procedure to
demonstrate impartiality
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When to use the RFP method?
• Needed items and/or services are not clearly identified
• Department need is goal or results-driven
• Proposal requirements allow potential bidders the
flexibility to respond
• Procurement may be political in nature
• Relatively high dollar amount
• Highly competitive market
• Protest Potential
*SOW should provide a clear and thorough description of the goods or
services
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RFP Planning Checklist
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Did you perform market research?
What are the evaluation team activities?
Do you have an evaluation methodology?
Do you have an evaluation guide?
Do you have debriefing/protest procedures?
Consultant roles
COI & Ethics
Evaluation rules of conduct
Obtain Board/Council blessing
BAFO
Option proposals
What makes a good RFP?
• Well organized procurement goals, objectives, and
evaluation process
• Risk management assessment
• Performance risk management
• Well defined statement of work
• Well organized deliverables
• Well defined criteria
• Well defined evaluation process
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RFI/RFB/P/Q or
Single/Sole Source?
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Bus shelters
Hybrid buses
Parking lot management system project
Professional SAP consulting services
Enterprise Network Storage system replacement
Annual Microsoft Software support
Annual custodial services
Mobile data computers/terminals and installation
Professional consultation services
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Does the prospective bidder know
which one you want?
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Specification Methods
• Performance vs. Design
–Performance = vendor risk
–Design = buyer risk
–Performance + Design = joint risk
• Consensus Standards
ANSI, ASME, ASTM, IEEE, ISO, NIST,
NFPA, SAE, UL
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What is a SOW?
Statement of Work Vs. Scope of Work
Statement of Work
• Provides a clear and thorough description of the goods
or services to be provided
• Provide the relevant environment where the
product/service will be used
• Provides a description of the existing business
processes and desired performance
• Should be organized into logical groups
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SOW Format and Contents
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Background and Objectives
Scope
Tasks / Work Description
Project Schedule
Place of performance
Deliverables
Government-furnished resources
Applicable specifications and standards
Security Requirement
Acceptance Criteria/Project Management
Payment Schedule
Statement of Work
Demo/POC
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Writing an Effective SOW
SOW Objectives
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Execution Stage
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Bidding and Evaluation Procedures
Procurement Team(s)
Conflict of Interest / Rules of Conduct
Solicitation Specific Evaluation Criteria
Outreach
Bidder’s Conferences
Demonstration Script
Documentation
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Evaluation Criteria
• Must represent key areas of importance and
reflect user’s needs
• Qualitative (subjective) and Quantitative (obj.)
• Always include Costs, think in terms of TCO
• Relied on to facilitate proposed solutions
• Published
• Acceptance Criteria (Demo/POC)
• Criteria must sync with RFP Data Requests
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Developing the RFP Evaluation Criteria
• Well developed Criteria produce market solutions
targeting your needs
• Involve stakeholders knowledgeable about goals
• How will responses be measured against criteria
• Rating Scales
• Scoring Phase(s) consideration
• Determine relative importance (Criteria Weight)
• Concurrently develop the scoring matrix / evaluation
worksheet
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Sample Criteria
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Technical Approach and Understanding
Key Personnel Capabilities
Demonstrated Successful Experience
Project Management Plan / Timelines
Risk Assessment / Fiscal Strength
Ability to meet standards
Cost (TCO)
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Evaluation Methodology Objectives
• Encourage accurate comparison of potential suppliers
against individual RFP criteria
• Align weighting to reflect overall procurement goals
• Allow criteria to be grouped into sections
• Allow the scores of multiple evaluators to be contrasted
or aggregated
• Enable multiple evaluators to contribute to the scoring
process
• Compare TCO
• Fairness/Transparency
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Criteria Publishing Decisions
Proposal criteria must be established prior to the release of
the RFP and published in the RFP document.
The evaluation criteria (not the weights?) were included in
the RFP document.
Weights?
Evaluation Criteria
Company Qualifications and
References
System Capabilities
Customer Service and Support
Pricing
Risk Assessment
Total
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Weighting Methodologies
• Fixed Weights
• Variable Weights
• Trade-off Analysis (overall value determined as
a trade-off between technical differences and
their relative worth to the agency)
• Go, no-go (are minimum technical and/or
managerial needs met?, if yes then the
proposal clears to cost evaluation)
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Evaluation Scoring Methods
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Comparing relative proposal cost
Low cost vs. points
Assigning weighting
TCO/Life Cycle
Consensus scoring
Demo/POC
*Develop standard evaluation scoring sheets.
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Typical RFP Cost Evaluation “Normalization”
Price of Lowest Cost Proposal / Price of Proposal being rated
X Maximum cost points available = Awarded Price points
Example: The total points available for cost in the RFP was
fifty (50) points. The cost of the lowest acceptable proposal is
$100,000. Therefore the lowest proposal cost of $100,000
would be awarded fifty (50) points. The second lowest
acceptable proposal submitted a cost of $125,000. The
second lowest proposal cost of $125,000 would be awarded
forty (40) points.
$100,000 / $125,000 = .80
X 50 =
40
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Evaluation Phases
Step 1 - Responsiveness Review
Step 2 - Mandatory elements met
Step 3 - Minimum / steps / threshold score
Step 4 - May include interviews, demos,
presentations
Step 5 - Post Award POC
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Scoring Proposals
Sample Scoring Scale (0-3)
3. Exceeds requirements
2. Meets requirements
1. Minimally meets requirements
0. Does not meet requirements
*Should match proposal strengths/weakness
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Rating Considerations
90-100%:
80-89%:
70-79%:
60-69%:
0 - 59%:
Meets or exceeds all requirements
Meets all requirements and standards
Proposal indicates a basic understanding
Proposal indicates only a marginal
Proposal demonstrates a significant lack of
understanding of the requirements.
* Rating should match description
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Bad things do happen!
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Unbalanced and missing bid prices
Bid Calculation Errors
Material vs. immaterial
Bid price conflict between words and numbers
Protests
Mismatch between specifications and goals
Missing information
Communication and politics
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Only One Response?
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Open or Not to open
Call potential suppliers
Review specifications
Review pricing methods/formulas
Review terms and conditions
Too many projects on the table
* Consult with your legal folks
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Scoring Examples
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Weighted Criteria – Ex1
Criterion
PM Strengths
Previous Experience
Understands Problem
Financials
Project Support
Project Price
Total Weight
Weight
10
20
20
5
5
40
100
* Determine importance
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Scoring – Ex2
Qualifications and
References Score
(20 points)
System
Capabilities
Score (25
points)
Customer
Service/Support
Score (20 points)
Pricing
Score
(25 points)
Risk Score
(10 points)
TOTAL Score
(100 points)
Redflex
18.60
16.88
12.50
25.00
10.00
82.98
ATS
19.40
18.44
12.50
18.83
10.00
79.17
Xerox
17.94
15.94
14.50
15.69
10.00
74.06
Gatso
14.13
16.25
8.50
9.55
10.00
58.44
Proposer
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Score Variance – Ex1
Evaluator
Michael
Raymond
Diana
TOTALS
Proposal B
Proposal C
PM Strengths
PM Strengths
PM Strengths
0
4
5
9
2
5
6
12
5
2
2
9
Proposal A
* Variance in evaluator scores
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Score Variance – Ex2
Evaluator
Michael
Raymond
Diana
TOTALS
Proposal A
Proposal B
Proposal C
1
9
7
17
4
10
6
20
10
6
8
24
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Balancing price and qualifications
Proposer
Vendor A
Vendor B
Vendor C
Vendor D
Total Proposal
Price
$985,142,530
$1,085,111,111
$1,365,770,098
$1,537,049,000
Price
Technical
Total
Proposal Proposal Proposal
Score
Score
Score
70.00
20.55 *90.55
63.55
26.13
89.68
50.49
27.71
78.20
44.87
21.41
66.28
* Test scoring
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Differences in Total Scores
Vendor A
Vendor B
Vendor C
Total Score (Pts)
87
*86.5
83
* Check decimal placement
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Need for Documentation
Decision Maker Data Repository
Auditor or Administrative (Board) needs
should an issue arise relative to selection
Facilitates FOIA requests
Facilitates final Contract Development
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Recap
1.
2.
3.
4.
RFP Planning Process
Statement of Work
Specification Types
Evaluation Criteria and Scoring
Methodology
5. Document the Process
Nugget
Successful solicitations always involve:
• Sound Planning
• Solid Execution
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Sources
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http://cappo.org
Leginfo
http://www.rfpmentor.com/
http://www.nigp.com
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The End Beginning
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