RFP process

When submittals arrive they are alphabetized and sorted in the Contract Admin (CA) office. One copy of each submittal is sent to each committee member including the Chair. The originals are left in the CA office. A copy of the list of submitting firms is to be attached to each bundle along with the Committee appointee Memo signed by the Chief Facilities Officer (CFO) and a copy of the Advertisement used in the solicitation.

Once the committee meets to short list, the Committee Chair, or their designee, prepares the Memorandum indicating the committee’s recommendation to the CFO. The firms recommended are indicated and a mention is also made of the firms that submitted, but were not recommended.
Standard memo form example »

Once the Memo is approved by the CFO, CA needs the letters, one to each firm, to let them know if they have been short listed or not. The rejections go out first followed by the short listed firms. CA office sends out the letters and has last edit rights, but the letters are prepared by the Committee Chair or their designee, normally the project manager. The letters are the method of notification that the firms get the results. They must be sent out in a timely manner to keep the preset interview schedule.

After the letters are sent, (faxed and mailed or emailed and mailed), CA posts the short lists on the website immediately and refers all callers to that list. Any inquiries as to whether a firm has been short listed or not will be referred to the same website information. No person outside of the Construction Manager, the Committee Chair, or the designated Contract Administrator should be providing any information regarding the outcome. Firms requesting information as to why they did not make the list, will be directed to the person on the committee designated by the Chair to give constructive criticism.

If the interview schedule has been set, the acceptance letters may give that information of what date, time and location they are expected to show up for their interviews. The acceptance letter may also be the vehicle by which CA sends the RFP. OR if the schedule and the RFP and attachments, plans and specs are not ready, CA notifies the firms that they have been short listed and tells them when they will be notified regarding the interview times and provided the documents.

The milestones must be met in this process and care must be taken to ensure that the preceding steps take place as prescribed so that nothing or no one has fallen between the cracks.

The CA office should help guide the sequence of paperwork approval and distribution, so be sure to seek CA's guidance in this process.

Preview a “Construction Management & Competitive Negotiation Selection Procedure” chart for those who want to review the process or call the CA with any questions.