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1078 Request for Proposal Evaluation and Best and Final Offers

PURPOSE:
To establish the requirement and the process for evaluation of responses to formal Request for
Proposals (RFP) that are greater than the approval authority of Elected Officials and
Department Directors, see Policy #1010.

ELECTED OFFICIALS/DEPARTMENTS AFFECTED: All

POLICY:
The RFP evaluation process for all proposals as defined above shall be conducted as an
objective process that requires a committee to evaluate all proposals on the specific criteria in
the RFP. Complete confidentiality is an ethical and legal requirement, and is vital to fair and
equitable evaluation. During the entire RFP process, the Purchasing Division staff serves as the
sole contact for vendors and provides all RFP procedures and communication. Technical issues
will be addressed by the appropriate Purchasing Division staff and relayed to vendors by the
Purchasing Division staff. After proposals are submitted, all vendor contact shall be made
through the Purchasing Division staff. Vendor proposal details, results and other evaluation
proceedings shall be kept confidential at all times during the RFP and evaluation process. After
a contract has been executed with the selected vendor, all information pertaining to the
selection process (with the exception of confidential and proprietary information contained
within a vendor’s proposal, labeled as such by the vendor, and deemed confidential and
proprietary by the Adams County Attorney’s Office) shall be made available to the public for
inspection in accordance with the Colorado Open Records Act (C.R.S. 24-72-203 and 24-72-204).
Such information shall be provided to the requesting party upon receipt of a proper written
inquiry under the act. Any inquiries under this act should be filed with the evaluation
documentation for the proposal in question.

PROCEDURE:
Evaluation committee members will be selected by the end user and the Purchasing Division
staff. It is recommended that committees should consist of at least one (1) member that is not
part of the end user’s responsibilities and a Purchasing Division staff member when the process
is new to the end user or when scheduling permits; beyond that it will be a joint effort to select
the remaining committee members.

Committee members shall score each proposal individually and independently. However, group
discussions by the Purchasing Division staff only, are encouraged to discuss technical views to
arrive at a better understanding of technical proposals during the evaluation process. The
results of the scoring by the Evaluation Committee shall be totaled to determine the overall
highest rated proposal. Any and all proposal owners determined to be within the competitive
range may be given an opportunity to interview.

Best and Final Offers may be requested at the conclusion of discussions if deemed necessary.

All Offerors, upon request, may schedule a debriefing with the Purchasing Division staff after
the award.

COMPETITIVE RANGE DETERMINATION
The Evaluation Committee, through the Purchasing Division staff, shall determine which
proposals’ scores are in the competitive range for the purpose of conducting written or oral
discussions/interviews. The competitive range shall be determined on the basis of criteria
stated in the RFP which may include, but is not limited to, the following:

1. The ability of the offeror to provide the services within the time specified.
2. The reputation, experience and efficiency of the offerors.
3. The comparative quality of the services bid.
4. The offeror’s past performance in compliance with laws and ordinances.
5. The sufficiency of the financial resources of the offeror to perform the contract or provide
the services.
6. The quality, availability and adaptability of the services to the particular use required.
7. The ability of the proposal owner to provide future maintenance and service.
8. The number and scope of conditions attached to the bid.
9. The quality of proposal owners’ performance on previous contracts.
10. The total cost of the proposal
11. To assure transparency in the evaluation process all evaluators shall complete the “Conflict
of Interest Form”. See Appendix K

The determination shall include all proposals that have a reasonable chance of being selected
for award. When there is doubt as to whether a proposal is in fact within the competitive range,
the proposal shall be included.

WRITTEN CLARIFICATIONS OR INTERVIEWS
If a contract award cannot be made on initial offers as submitted, the evaluation committee,
through the Purchasing Division staff, may request written clarifications or interviews with all
responsible proposal owners within the competitive range. The following guidelines may be
used:

1. Attempt to resolve or clarify any uncertainties concerning their proposal.
2. Resolve any suspected mistakes.
3. Provide the offeror a reasonable opportunity to discuss past performance information
obtained from references. Names of individuals providing references shall not be disclosed.
4. The purpose of discussions is not to help an offeror owner to bring a proposal up to the
level of others.

Auction techniques shall not be used. It is permissible to inform an offeror that the proposed
prices exceed the budget for the project.

BEST AND FINAL OFFERS
Upon completion of discussions, the Evaluation Committee may issue to all offerors still within
the competitive range a request for Best and Final Offers. Best and Final offers shall be
requested in writing. The request shall include:

1. Notice that discussions are concluded.
2. Notice that this is an opportunity to submit a best and final offer.
3. A due date for submission of the Best and Final Offer.

After receipt and analysis of Best and Final Offers, the Evaluation Committee shall recommend
to the end user which offeror is most advantageous to Adams County, considering price and the
other factors included in the RFP.

Note: Proposal owners should be reminded that Best and Final Offers are not mandatory. They
are only an opportunity to clarify, if necessary. If they choose not to submit a Best and Final
Offer then their original proposal as submitted will be considered.

If the decision by the End user is in agreement with the Evaluation Committee then the
Purchasing Division staff shall proceed with the placement with the proposal owner in
accordance with Policy #1070 and Policy #1010.

When the decision of the End user deviates from that of the evaluation committee’s
recommendation the reasoning for such deviation shall be formally documented by the End
user and included in the official Purchasing Division file. In cases where the deviation involves
contracts greater than $250,000 the documentation shall be forwarded to Adams County’s
Independent Ethics Officer for review prior to proceeding with the purchasing process.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
All members of evaluation committees must complete and submit a Conflict of Interest Form.
See Appendix K.

EXCEPTIONS:
There are no defined exceptions to this Policy