Office of Purchasing and Contracts Research Funded Procurement Outreach Training Level III Procurements $50,000 and Above

RF Procurement Levels Dollar Thresholds Policy $0.00 TO $20, Requires certification by the Purchasing Associate of reasonableness of price $20, to $50, Minimum of Three Quotes, Bids or Proposals (Verbal or Written) $50, to $100, Minimum of Three Written Quotes, Bids or Proposals $100, and ABOVE Minimum of Three Sealed Written Bids or Proposals THE PURCHASING STAFF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK COMPETITION AT ANY LEVEL.

Research Funded Training – Level III This slideshow will take you through all aspects of the Invitation for Bid and Request for Proposals processes, beginning with Request for Information.

The use of Requests for Information Should a Request for Information be done? A Request for Information allows for the information on the latest available products on the market place to be obtained. The RFI does not lead to an award but is a way to gather information that may be used to draft a Request for Proposal (RFP)/Invitation for Bid (IFB). The RFI process allows for the gathering of information from all possible bidders and to drafting a more successful RFP/IFB.

Bidding Components – Information Required to Complete an Invitation for Bid Requisition to encumber the necessary funds. Detailed technical specifications. Clear method of award criteria. Bidders list. Thorough review of all bids. Recommendation for award. Execution of final contract.

Drafting Bid Specifications Technical specifications should be developed independently based on the end users needs. A consultant may be utilized to assist in the drafting and response review. Vendors who assist in bid drafting are not allowed to bid on the procurement. Referencing a make and model is permitted but allowance for equivalent offerings is required.

Drafting Bid Specifications (Contd) Specifications need to include mandatory requirements but cannot unreasonably restrict the number of bidders. Inclusion of expected warranty requirements, detailed delivery requirements and/or custom brokerage charges are important components to include in the bid documents. Prequalifications limiting the pool of bidders to those meeting specific requirements may be used with appropriate justification. Prequalification criteria may include the requirement that bidders are authorized Agents of the manufacturer or are certified by the manufacturer to perform a certain service.

Drafting Bid Specifications (Contd) The requirement of mandatory items in a bid should be limited to necessary items. If mandatory specifications are not met by a bidder, the entire bid must be rejected. Specifications involving installation of furniture or equipment should include a requirement for a certificate of insurance and a wage rate schedule from the Department of Labor. All bidders must disclose the use of subcontractors. The primary contractor must ensure that subcontractors comply with all requirements of the award.

Drafting Bid Specifications (Contd) Important terms to include in all bid specifications: The Research Foundation reserves the right to: Reject any and all bids; Accept best and final offers; Issue amendments to correct errors; Extend bid opening date; Request clarification. Terms directly related to what is being purchased are to be included in the bid specifications, i.e. wage rate schedule for contracts including labor. Allowance for written Q&As help to ensure that bidders understand the nature and scope of the bid and may identify possible problems with bid. The date written questions are due and the date answers will be sent out are to be part of the bid document.

Drafting Bid Specifications (Contd) A scheduled walkthrough for technical bids or those requiring installation allow potential bidders to review the project. Walkthroughs must be noted in the document with the date, time, location and contact person. Mandatory walkthroughs require a sign in sheet which is to be submitted to the Purchasing Office upon the conclusion of the walkthroughs. Bid rejection for missing a mandatory walkthrough must be stated in the bid document. Answers to questions raised at walkthroughs must be shared with all potential bidders.

Submittal Review Bids received by the opening time are publicly read by the Purchasing Associate (PA). After recording, the bids are forwarded to the technical team for review. The technical team makes a written determination of award and forwards it to the PA. The PA will review the math and mandatory requirements. Bid rejection for non-conformance must be for significant issues and must be outlined in the bid.

Submittal Review (Contd) Bids rejected due to specifications not being met need to be noted along with supporting documentation as to why that specification was necessary. The winning bid must be reviewed to ensure all specifications are met. All bidders will be notified by the PA of the results. Copies of the bid tabulation can be provided upon request.

Time Line – Invitation for Bid Once the final bid document is developed Submittal Period - Allow 3 week minimum Evaluation of Bids - Allow 1 to 2 Weeks Purchasing Office Review, Contract Development, and Signature – Allow 2 to 3 Weeks

Request for Proposal - Best Value Generally RFPs are created for large dollar technical purchases, services and/or consultants. Considerations in addition to cost are evaluated and may include references, years of experience, similar experience and or project history. The document requires detailed specifications and a pre-established evaluation matrix to be scored by an evaluation team. Evaluation teams may include end users and financial personnel.

Drafting an RFP Drafting RFPs Develop the scoring matrix with the RFP Mandatory items Scoring criteria Bidder qualifications Licenses Regulatory scoring Equipment list Experience The RFP document usually includes Information on the Research Foundation, the University and Departments mission. A brief description of the project. A list of mandatory requirements for all vendors to meet. Technical scoring criteria and informational response section

Drafting RFPs (Contd) The matrix and RFP are drafted together to ensure that the answers scored in the matrix appear as questions in the RFP. Mandatory requirements are evaluated on a pass/fail basis but are not included in the scoring criteria. Proposals meeting mandatory requirements are scored against the matrix. Depending on the value to be placed on the technical portion of the RFP, costs should be at least 20% of the total scoring criteria. Software purchases may have lower weighted cost (i.e., 25%) while services may have a higher weighted cost (i.e., 60%).

Drafting RFPs (Contd) Objective questions include the following: Years of experience Number of similar projects performed Number of qualified staff assigned to the project Subjective questions should be avoided because the responses are subject to interpretation. Benchmarks/standards should be used to compare bidder responses. References should be reviewed via a questionnaire. Questions should prompt responses from the reference such as yes or no or good, fair, poor.

RFP-Evaluation Process Forming and Instructing the Review Team. All members of the RFP evaluation team must participate in the scoring of all the proposals. Multiple levels of scoring Mandatory items Technical Specifications References Oral Presentations (Additional Points or Rescoring) Financial Statements; may require assistance from an individual with the ability and expertise to evaluate the document. Cost

RFP-Evaluation Process (Contd) Most cost awards are based on a formula. For example, the lowest bidder receives the highest rating and the next lowest bidders get a portion of the points awarded. The base score as outlined in the RFP can be set to limit the number of vendors receiving invitations for oral interviews/presentations. The scoring used for the oral interviews must be outlined in the RFP. The scoring process may allow for the review team to ask for written clarification which must have a due date and time.

RFP-Evaluation Process (Contd) Multiple awards can be made from one RFP: The awarding of work must be outlined clearly in the RFP. There is no guarantee of the amount of work to be assigned, but the contract is to be for the actual amount of work assigned during the term. Cost is the critical factor and must be clear as to the formula used. For a new type of RFP or Bid, the Purchasing Office will often seek out information from other SUNYs, Agencies for comment before it goes out to the vendor community. Vendors must be notified in writing of rejected proposals and be given an opportunity for debriefing.

Time Line –Request for Proposals Based on Final Draft RFP & Scoring Matrix Time from distributing to vendors to opening date 3 Week Min. Scoring of RFPs Approximately 2-3 Weeks Purchasing Office Review, Contract Development, and Signature 3 Weeks