Solicitation Essentials

2014 CAPPO/NIGP Joint Conference

October 9, 2014

Demographics

The Growler

1. The Good 2. The Marginal 3. The Bad

Agenda1. Definitions

2. Solicitation Planning

3. RFx Process

4. Specification Types

5. SOW

6. Solicitation Execution

7. Evaluation Criteria

8. Scoring RFP Responses / Evaluation Team

9. Additional Sources

Definitions

1. Solicitation Planning2. 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 Execution6. Evaluation Criteria – Factors specified in the RFP that

will be considered for award (Mandatory/Desirable) 7. Best Value – Determined by comparing solutions

against customized criteria8. Life Cycle Cost – Total cost of acquiring, support,

operation, maintain and disposal (as applicable)

Planning Stage

• 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 9

RFP Planning Checklist

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?

• 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 StandardsANSI, 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

• 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

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Demo/POC

Writing an Effective SOW

SOW Objectives

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

Execution Stage

• 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

• 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.

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Evaluation CriteriaCompany Qualifications and References System CapabilitiesCustomer Service and SupportPricingRisk AssessmentTotal

Weights?

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

• 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

Evaluation Phases

Step 1 - Responsiveness ReviewStep 2 - Mandatory elements metStep 3 - Minimum / steps / threshold scoreStep 4 - May include interviews, demos, presentationsStep 5 - Post Award POC

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Scoring Proposals

Sample Scoring Scale (0-3) 3. Exceeds requirements2. Meets requirements1. Minimally meets requirements0. Does not meet requirements

*Should match proposal strengths/weakness

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Rating Considerations

90-100%: Meets or exceeds all requirements80-89%: Meets all requirements and standards70-79%: Proposal indicates a basic understanding 60-69%: Proposal indicates only a marginal 0 - 59%: Proposal demonstrates a significant lack of understanding of the requirements.

* Rating should match description

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Bad things do happen!

• 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?

• 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 – Ex1Criterion WeightPM Strengths 10Previous Experience 20Understands Problem 20Financials 5Project Support 5Project Price 40

Total Weight 100

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* Determine importance

Scoring – Ex2

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Proposer

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

Score Variance – Ex1

EvaluatorProposal A

PM Strengths

Proposal BPM Strengths

Proposal CPM Strengths

Michael 0 2 5Raymond 4 5 2Diana 5 6 2TOTALS 9 12 9

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* Variance in evaluator scores

Score Variance – Ex2

Evaluator Proposal A Proposal B Proposal C

Michael 1 4 10Raymond 9 10 6Diana 7 6 8TOTALS 17 20 24

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Balancing price and qualifications

Proposer Total Proposal Price

Price Proposal

Score

Technical Proposal

Score

Total Proposal

Score

Vendor A $985,142,530 70.00 20.55 *90.55Vendor B $1,085,111,111 63.55 26.13 89.68Vendor C $1,365,770,098 50.49 27.71 78.20Vendor D $1,537,049,000 44.87 21.41 66.28

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* Test scoring

Differences in Total Scores

Total Score (Pts)Vendor A 87Vendor B *86.5Vendor C 83

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* Check decimal placement

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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Recap1. RFP Planning Process

2. Statement of Work

3. Specification Types

4. Evaluation Criteria and Scoring Methodology

5. Document the Process

Nugget

Successful solicitations always involve:• Sound Planning• Solid Execution

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Sources

• http://cappo.org• Leginfo• http://www.rfpmentor.com/• http://www.nigp.com

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The End Beginning

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