Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies

William Sims Curry

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781498738033
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317221012
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This second edition of Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies provides state-of-the-art tools for best practice in the procurement of services at state and local levels, from initial stages through to completion. Including lively case studies and research conducted with state and local agencies across the United States, this book provides management advice and tips on compliance to reduce costs, select the best-qualified contractors, manage contractors' performance, and prevent corruption and waste.

Utilizing the results of new research in all fifty states, author William Sims Curry offers updated best-practice documents, methodologies, and templates including: a Request for Proposal (RFP), a scorecard for proposals to select the best-qualified contractor, a toolkit for meeting socioeconomic contracting goals without compromising price, quality, or on-time delivery, and a Model Services Contract (MSC). Special consideration is given to obtaining services and products in states of emergency. Several additional resources for practitioners are available online, including sample contracts and a straightforward, inexpensive tool for tracking contractors' progress and cost management.

The roadmap and templates contained in this book and available online to readers will prove essential to state and local government agency contracting professionals and other officials and employees called upon to participate in the drafting of solicitations, writing sole source justifications, writing scopes of work, serving on advance contract planning and source selection teams, recommending award of contracts, or assisting in the management of those contracts.

Disclaimer

The subject matter included in this book should not be considered as legal advice for specific cases or for general legal guidance. Readers should seek such advice from their own legal counsel. The material in this text is provided solely for educational and informational purposes. However, all possible circumstances could not be anticipated; therefore, individual situations may require further evaluation prior to application of the solutions or recommendations presented herein.

Dedication

To my wife, Kirsten, for her continued patience and support while I wrote this second edition.

—Bill

Contents

1. List of Tables and Figures
2. Preface
3. Acknowledgments
4. About the Author
5. 1 The Contracting Cycle and Advance Contract Planning
6. 2 Competition and Socioeconomic Contracting
7. 3 Solicitation Documents: Information for Prospective Contractors
8. 4 Solicitation Document: Proposal Requirements and Preparation Guidelines
9. 5 Management of Pre-Proposal Communications and Evaluation of Proposals
10. 6 Protests
11. 7 Contract Negotiations, Ethics, and Conflicts of Interest
12. 8 Contract Document
13. 9 Contract Terms and Conditions
14. 10 Short Form Contracts, Short Form RFPs, Emergencies and Letter Contracts
15. 11 Contract Review, Execution, and Audit
16. 12 Contract Administration and Closeout
17. A Glossary of Terms
18. B Best-Practices Research Project
19. C Best-Practices Request for Proposals (RFP)
20. D Best-Practices Model Services Contract (MSC)
21. E Proof of Anomalies in Formulas for Weighing Objective Values and Subjective Scores
22. F Estimate at Completion
23. G Sole Source Justification/Approval Form
24. H Reference Checklist
25. I Short Form RFP with Short Form Contract
26. J Form for Evaluation of Proposals in Response to RFP
27. K Formulas for Weighing All Criteria Including Those with Optimal or Suboptimal Values
28. L Sample Show Cause Letter
29. M Sample Letter Contract
30. N Contract Amendment
31. O Short Form Contract Amendment
32. P Contractor Performance Report
33. Index

The appendices (A trough to P) may be assessed at www.rou­tledge.com/series­/AUEPUBADMPUP)

Illustrations

Tables

• Table 1.1 Best Practices in Contracting for Services
• Table 1.2 Topics Included in Advance Contract Planning
• Table 3.1 Comparison between Types of Solicitations
• Table 3.2 Proposal Evaluation Criteria and Criteria Weighting
• Table 5.1 Assignment of Scores Based on a Scale of 1–10
• Table 5.2 Assignment of Scores Based on Specific Adjectives
• Table 5.3 Assignment of Scores Based on Color Codes
• Table 5.4 Assignment of Scores Based on Narrative Descriptions
• Table 5.5 Superiority of 70–100 Scoring Scale for Subjectively Rated Criteria
• Table 5.6 Addition to the RFP Advising Prospective Contractors of the Use of Weighted Criteria
• Table 5.7 Assignment of Scores Based on the TWS Process
• Table 5.8 Format for Combined Weighed Scores
• Table 5.9 Average or Consensus Scores
• Table 5.10 Weighed Scores and Contractor Pricing
• Table 5.11 Grand Total Scores
• Table 9.1 Incidence of Inclusion of Provisions in State and Local Government Terms and Conditions
• Table 12.1 Summary of Price Changes
• Table B.1 Incidence of Inclusion of Provisions in State and Local Government Terms and Conditions
• Table B.2 Description of Proposal Scoring Methods in RFP
• Table B.3 Responses to Question Regarding Description of Process for Filing Protests in RFP
• Table C.1 Proposal Evaluation Criteria and Criteria Weighting
• Table E.1 Present Formulas Anomaly Depicted in Percentages
• Table E.2 Weighed Scores with Anomalous Subjective Formula
• Table E.3 Weighed Scores with Recommended Subjective Formula

Figures

• Figure 3.1 RFP Cover Page
• Figure 3.2 Table of Contents
• Figure 8.1 Model Services Contract Variable Information Table
• Figure 8.2 Example of Poorly Crafted Scope of Work
• Figure 8.3 Corrected Version of Same Scope of Work
• Figure 9.1 Model Services Contract Variable Information Table
• Figure 10.1 Meetings/Milestones/Deliverables
• Figure 10.2 Short Form Contract Amendment
• Figure 11.1 Contract Review and Execution
• Figure 12.1 Estimate at Completion
• Figure 12.2 Contract Amendment
• Figure B.1 Research Project Cover Letter
• Figure B.2 2015 Government Contracting Best-Practices Questionnaire
• Figure B.3 Model Services Contract Variable Information Table
• Figure C.1 Life Cycle Cost Proposal Format
• Figure D.1 Model Services Contract Variable Information Table
• Figure D.2 Account Information
• Figure D.3 Exhibit I—Contractor/Agency Meeting Schedule
• Figure D.4 Exhibit II—Project Milestone Schedule
• Figure D.5 Exhibit III—Contract Reports and Other Deliverables
• Figure E.1 Present Formulas Anomaly Depicted Graphically
• Figure F.1 Estimate a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Frontmatter
• Halftitle Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Frontmatter Page 1
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• 1 The Contracting Cycle and Advance Contract Planning
• 2 Competition and Socioeconomic Contracting
• 3 Solicitation Documents: Information for Prospective Contractors
• 4 Solicitation Document: Proposal Requirements and Preparation Guidelines
• 5 Management of Pre-Proposal Communications and Evaluation of Proposals
• 6 Protests
• 7 Contract Negotiations, Ethics, and Conflicts of Interest
• 8 Contract Document
• 9 Contract Terms and Conditions
• 10 Short Form Contracts, Short Form RFPs, Emergencies and Letter Contracts
• 11 Contract Review, Execution, and Audit
• 12 Contract Administration and Closeout
• A Glossary of Terms
• B Best-Practices Research Project
• C Best-Practices Request for Proposals (RFP)
• D Best-Practices Model Services Contract (MSC)
• E Proof of Anomalies in Formulas for Weighing Objective Values and Subjective Scores
• F Estimate at Completion
• G Sole Source Justification/Approval Form
• H Reference Checklist
• I Short Form RFP with Short Form Contract
• J Form for Evaluation of Proposals in Response to RFP
• K Formulas for Weighing All Criteria Including Those with Optimal or Suboptimal Values
• L Sample Show Cause Letter
• M Sample Letter Contract
• N Contract Amendment
• O Short Form Contract Amendment
• P Contractor Performance Report
• Index