1 Welcome to the International Right of Way Association’s Course 303 Managing the Consultant Process 303-PT – Revision 3 – USA

2 Course Purpose Government’s role is changing from…  staff to consultant  “doer” to manager  staff assignments to consultant contracting …eventually, there will be a rebalancing.

3 Introductions Who we are… What we do… Where we do it… How long we’ve been doing it… Our goals for the course...

4 Objectives (1) At the conclusion of the course, you will be able to... Understand better the contracting process Avoid common mistakes and misunderstandings in proposal development Evaluate proposal submissions

5 Objectives (2) At the conclusion of the course, you will be able to... Monitor consultant work effort Understand better the issues and concerns of both agencies and consultants Engage in best practices

6 Housekeeping

7 Schedule (1) 8:00 - 9:00Introductions, Etc. 9: :00Why and When to Use a Consultant 1:00 - 3:00Proposal Elements 3:00 - 4:15Consultant Proposal Evaluation (start) 4:15 - 4:30Recap Day One

8 Schedule (2) 8:00 - 8:15Recap Day One/Introduce Day Two 8:15 - 9:15Consultant Proposal Evaluation (conclude) 9: :30Contract Execution Process 10: :00Consultant Monitoring (start) 1:00 - 2:00 Consultant Monitoring (conclude) 2:15 - 2:45Invoicing and Auditing Issues 2:45 - 3:45Process Evaluation 3:45 - 4:45Post-Test 4:45 - 5:00Summary and Review

9 Fact or Fiction? (1) Agency: “A consultant should only be used as a last resort.” Consultant: “The agency onlycontractsout the impossible projects.”

10 When to Use Consultants Project demands Staffing issues Political/other issues

11 Wrong Reasons to Use Consultants Impossible timing No schedule No defined scope of work

12 Agency Considerations  Will a consultant result in the best use of the agency’s staff?  Will a consultant result in the best use of the agency’s financial resources?  Does the agency have oversight capabilities?  Will a consultant affect the agency staff?

13 Why Consultants are in Business Make money Offer a service and meet a need Provide staff flexibility Provide general and specialized expertise

14 Contracting Methods Sole Source Special/Specific Task Turnkey

15 Solicitation Methods LOI/SOI RFQ/SOQ RFP

16 Developing a Prospective Proposers’ List Scope of solicitation Solicitation methods Established list Pre-qualified list Publication and Advertisement

17 Fact or Fiction? (2) Agency: “The scope of work can always be changed if we overlook something.” Consultant: “The scope of work is the most important part of the contract process.”

18 Proposal Elements (1) Project description Scope of work Agency responsibilities Contractor responsibilities Project schedule Specific agency contracting requirements

19 Proposal Elements (2) Subcontractor identification and requirements Insurance Cost and pricing methods Interviews Evaluation criteria Pre-proposal meetings

20 Proposal Elements (3) Timing issues for proposal issuance Proprietary information Appeals and protests Sampler contractes and forms Other elements

21 Fact or Fiction? (3) Agency: “The consultant will always use personnel in their proposal that look good – but they never show up on the project.” Consultant: “The agency doesn’t read the proposal.”

22 Day One Recap

23 Recap Day One Introduce Day Two

24 Case Study No. 2

25 Fact or Fiction? (4) Agency: “Starting a project without a signed contract is an acceptable process.” Consultant: “There is so much ‘boilerplate’ in the contract that doesn’t apply to me.”

26 Contracts Formal agreements Purchase orders Master contract with task orders

27 Conflicts (1) You have some concerns with the progress that a consultant is making and have discussed it at progress status meetings. A few days later, the consultant’s project manager calls and invites you to be his guest to play golf at an exclusive local country club to discuss the “progress issue.”

28 Conflicts (2) During the holiday season, a consultant sends you a basket of fruit, candy and Napa Valley wine.

29 Conflicts (3) One of the consultants, with whom you do business, takes you and your staff to lunch and picks up the tab.

30 Conflicts (4) You have a project that will eventually be contracted out. A consultant who is likely to submit a proposal is in your office for a “cold call” visit. The consultant gives you several pens, a calendar and a really nice traveling coffee mug. You accept the gifts and hand out the pens to people in the office, you give the calendar to your significant other and keep the coffee mug.

31 Notice to Proceed You ask one of your consultant appraisers to get a jump on an assignment. You believe and tell the appraiser that the notice to proceed will be issued next week. Next week arrives with no authorization to proceed. You ask the consultant to continue her work, which she does. The following week, you receive a call from the project manager, who tells you that the project has been delayed for a year and to stop all work. You are getting ready to telephone the appraiser. What do you say? The appraiser asks you how she will get paid for the work she has done on the appraisals. What do you say?

32 Fact or Fiction? (5) Agency: “We hired the best consultant available; why does he/she née so much oversight?” Consultant: “ Why can’t we get answers to our questions/issues in a timely manner?”

33 Keys in Monitoring Projects Project staffing Reporting Schedule compliance Work product review Budget adherence Compliance Feedback

34 Fact or Fiction? (6) Agency: “The consultant is getting rich on this contract – the claim for payment can wait a week or so.” Consultant: “The proposal states that payment will be made in 30 days – it takes nearly 90 days to receive it.”

35 Sixth Corollary The sixth corollary to Murphy’s Law is: The first invoice never has a chance.

36 Fact or Fiction? (7) Agency: “The consultant is only interested in moving on to the next job.” Consultant: “The agency doesn’t really want a critique of its program. ”

37 Agency Complaints The consultant does the easy work… The consultant pulls the “bait and switch”... The consultant doesn’t follow up...

38 Consultant Complaints The agency doesn’t provide the deliverables The agency doesn’t pay promptly The agency withholds forms and documents

39 Objectives (1) Now, you are able to... Understand better the contracting process Avoid common mistakes and misunder- standings in proposal development Evaluate proposal submissions

40 Objectives (2) Now, you are able to... Monitor consultant work effort Understand better the issues and concerns of both agencies and consultants Engage in best practices

41 Thank you 303-PT – Revision 3 – USA