1. The Bargain Heart Surgeon: Are You Getting the Best Value From Your Professional Service Providers

2. How To: How to get more value from your design professionals. How to get better value for the taxpayers dollar. How to eliminate conflicts and depoliticize the selection process. How to achieve the highest form of competition.

3. How Did Your Last Project Go? Did you get what you wanted? Did you get what you needed? Did you survive? Was your boss pleased? Were the end users pleased?

4. Professionals Attorney Accountant Doctor Financial planner Engineers Architects

6. What Criteria Would You Include In Your Request For Proposal (RFP)?

7. RFP Criteria Experience Success rate Medical board complaints Number of surgeries of this type – per day, per year, etc. Team qualifications References

8. Example – Heart Surgery Diagnosis is for double bypass During surgery doctor finds triple bypass is needed Additional cost – but eliminates the second (and costly) surgery Longer recovery time – but done only once rather than twice Are you glad it was done then rather than later?

9. Did You Get What You Want? What was the reason you sought a design professional? Supplement your staff New expertise No time to implement with your own staff

10. Was The Result What You Needed? Were there unexpected changes to the project? Did it fulfill or exceed your expectations? Were you satisfied with the final result?

11. Was the surgery successful?

12. Does the design fit your purpose?

14. What Could You Have Done Better? Better identify the needs Select a firm/team with the best experience doing this type of project Select the firm with the best approach

15. How To Get What You Need Clearly articulate in your RFP what you are seeking Understand that you cant identify all variables Be flexible and rely on the design professional for guidance Allow the design professional to be innovative

16. Request for Qualifications RFQ = Successful Project

17. Selecting the Consultant Past experience Available staff & pertinent skills Project approach/innovation Specialized expertise Proximity to project

18. Promote the Project to Qualified Firms ACEC/MN Referrals from other companies Referrals from other governmental agencies

19. Short List Choose 2-4 firms from RFQ responses Interview those firms Visit firms

20. Partnering Relies Upon: Mutual respect Good communication High level of trust Mutually beneficial relationship

21. Partnering With Your Heart Surgeon Weigh pros and cons of procedure Define expectations and risks (scope) Agree on response to unknowns (e.g. bad heart valve) Establish fee based on agreed upon scope

22. Do expectations match?

23. If you want to select a project designer on the basis of least cost to design, I will give you a project which costs me the least to design. If you want to select a project designer on the basis of least life- cycle cost, I will use my brains and experience to give you a project which will cost you the least to design, build and maintain. Source - APWA Red Book, August 2006