Posting, evaluating and awarding

1
The solicitation process

• Posting, evaluating and awarding

2
Posting requirements

• Govt Code 2155.083 describes Electronic State
  Business Daily (ESBD) posting requirements
• Any procurement over 25K must be posted in the
  ESBD.
• Posting must include
• Brief description of goods/services
• Date for submission of bids/proposals
• Estimated quantity of goods/services to be
  procured
• If applicable, previous price paid by the state
  for the same goods/services
• Estimated date the goods/services will be needed
• State employee responsible for the bid and their
  contact information

3
Posting time

• If the agency provides the entire bid or
  solicitation package in the posted materials,
  the solicitation notice can be posted for 14
  calendar days.
• If bidders/respondents must go elsewhere to
  obtain some or all of the material necessary to
  respond to the bid, then the package must be
  posted for 21 calendar days.
• Postings may only be placed on ESBD by authorized
  purchasers and registered agents.
• IF THE POSTING TIMES ARE NOT MET . . . THE
  CONTRACT/AWARD IS VOID. Govt Code 2155.083(j)
• Note 2155.083 does not apply to state
  universities.

4
Other posting types/requirements

• Govt Code 2156.002 gives notice requirements
  for IFBs seven days in a newspaper of general
  circulation in the state. Best not to use this
  unless youre sure 2155.083 does not apply.
• Consulting services of 15,000 or more (25K
  for universities) under Govt Code Ch. 2254,
  subchapter B must be published in the Texas
  Register 30 days prior to entering the
  contract. Govt Code 2254.029
• Texas Counties post pursuant to Tx. Local Govt
  Code 262.025 262.0255 published in a
  newspaper of general circulation in the county
  for 14 days.
• Cities posting requirements governed by Tx. Local
  Govt Code 252.041 notice must be in a
  newspaper published in the municipality for 14
  days. If no such newspaper, then it must be
  posted at City Hall for 14 days.
• Universities notice requirements much less
  specific under their own rules or as directed
  by the board for construction projects (Ed. Code
  51.783(e)).

5
CentralIZED Master Bidders List

• The CMBL is a database of vendors registered to
  provide specific goods or services.
• Procurement Manual states that the CMBL is to be
  used for all available procurement processes . .
  . to the fullest extent possible by state
  agencies that make purchases exempt from CPA
  purchasing authority and must be used for all
  procurements subject to CPAs procurement
  authority unless exempt under other law.
• With approval from their E.D. agencies may
  supplement the CMBL to enhance competition where
  using only the CMBL is not in the best interests
  of the state, for example, some showing that
  supplementation will increase competition, or
  increase number of HUB bidders.

6
Receiving Bids/proposals

• Be careful to make sure proposals are logged in
  and tracked to ensure compliance with submittal
  timelines, etc.
• Review solicitation package for all required
  elements make sure the HUB Subcontracting Plan
  is included if one was required. New HUB rules
  allow minor deficiencies (absent signature, for
  example) to be corrected after submission.

7
Evaluation

• The time to arrive at an evaluation strategy is
  actually well before bids are received, possibly
  even before the RFP is posted.
• Items to consider
• Is it a complex task to determine whether the
  bidders have met the published specifications and
  requirements?
• Are there components where the evaluation
  criteria require some exercise of judgment to
  determine best value?
• Are there multiple users/customers whose opinions
  could matter as to which product or service
  provider should be selected?
• If the answer to one or more of these questions
  is yes, you might consider a team evaluation
  approach.

8
Evaluation teams

• Best approach is to pick a manageable number of
  evaluators (more than two, less than ten).
• Each member of the team should be required to
  sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA
  can be combined with the required SAO nepotism
  form for signature.
• Set up the first meeting of the evaluation team -
  make sure you get NDAs from all evaluators
  before they leave with bid materials.
• At the first meeting, give evaluators guidance on
  how to perform their review, and dos and
  donts of being an evaluator.

9
Evaluation team scoring

• Prepare a scoring matrix that will give a fair
  comparison of the RFP/RFO requirements and the
  bidders strengths and weaknesses, and make sure
  the matrix matches up well with what you said in
  the RFP/RFO about how bidders would be scored.
• As part of the kickoff meeting, walk the
  evaluators through the scoring matrix, give them
  your expectations for scoring, and answer
  questions.
• Give the evaluators a timeframe when their
  scoring is due, then collect and tabulate the
  scores.
• Make sure to track the response packages to
  ensure no gaps in the process.
• If there are statistical outliers, you may want
  to consider a recalibration meeting.

10
BAFO, Barfo, and so on

• It may be beneficial to the process to ask
  vendors to submit a best and final offer or
  BAFO. It helps to mention the possibility of a
  BAFO in the RFP/RFO, so vendors are not surprised
  when they get one.
• The BAFO should only be on price. If you allow
  modifications/resubmission on technical criteria,
  you may not be comparing apples to apples on the
  technical scores.
• Give vendors a specific timeframe and parameters
  for the BAFO responses.
• It may be necessary in rare cases to ask for
  best and really final offers or BARFO.
  Generally we have only done this when we decide
  to drop certain criteria from the solicitation
  and we want to gauge how much that would save.

11
Exceptions assumptions

• Respondents will often take exceptions to parts
  of the bid/proposal specifications or the terms
  or conditions of the solicitation.
• Respondents may also make assumptions about how
  the work is to be carried out in their response.
• These issues must be worked out prior to award
  otherwise you may not be comparing the
  respondents on equal proposals.
• If an exception or assumption is fundamental
  enough that it affects how respondents structure
  their proposal, you may need to issue a new
  solicitation to allow ALL respondents to clarify
  their proposals consistent with the new published
  specifications.

12
Tie bids preferences

• In the unlikely event that there are two or more
  bids that are equal after all the evaluation and
  price scoring, the foremost method for breaking
  these ties is through use of preferences.
• Preferences are listed in statute and discussed
  at length in the Procurement Manual. There is
  even a priority for which preferences take
  precedence over others.
• Note that while some preferences are product-type
  specific, and affect what you solicit for, others
  are vendor-specific and those are generally used
  to break tie bids.

13
TPASS Preference attachment
14
Award

• Different philosophies for award. In TPASS, all
  award letters contain any final negotiated terms
  that differ from the RFP.
• As specified in the RFP, the order of
  priorities listed in the award letter controls
  over everything else, so any agreed exceptions,
  negotiated points and the like will be found in
  the award letter only.
• Award letters must always be signed by the
  appropriate authorized person (CTPM or ED if
  required).
• Always check vendor status against EPLS before
  making an award. It is rare to get a hit but it
  has happened. EPLS has been difficult lately, but
  back up and operating currently.

15
Questions?

• David Duncan Deputy General Counsel
• Tx. Comptroller of Public Accounts
• [phone]
• Manuel Perez, CTPM Technical Lead, Statewide
  Procurement
• Tx. Comptroller of Public Accounts
• [phone]