Strategic Sourcing Guidelines on Requests for Proposals and Invitations for Bid Table of Contents

Request for Proposal Overview Slide 3 RFP Timeline estimates Slide 4 Business Owner tasks (RFP) Slide 5 Strategic Sourcing tasks (RFP) Slide 6 RFP Schedule of Activities / example Slide 7-8 RFP Evaluation Criteria Slide 9 Recommended Award / Next Steps (RFP) Slide 10 Invitation for Bid (IFB) Overview Slide 12 Business Owner tasks (IFB) Slide 13 Strategic Sourcing tasks (IFB) Slide 14 Recommended Award / Next Steps (IFB) Slide 15 BOE approval limits Slide 17 Things to know (F&A and BOE) Slide 18 Contact info. Slide 19

Request for Proposal (RFP) – overview • RFP’s used to ensure fair, competitive selection of services or products that will best meet the District's needs at the best price • Board Policy requirement if purchases > $25,000 • Board of Education review / approval required if > $1M • Promotes competition • Average RFP timeline is 3 months • Once it’s determined that an RFP will be issued, Strategic Sourcing is the ONLY point of contact with vendors  Avoids unfair advantage / perception of insider info. • Requires posting on DPS Strategic Sourcing website  Recommendation is for 3-4 weeks. • All RFP documents (internal and external) are subject to CORA requests

RFP Timeline estimates

• The timeline for an RFP process can vary depending on the complexity of the purchase • Below are estimates and should be taken into account when planning to start the RFP process

Business Owner / Requester tasks (RFP) • Confirm project is approved by your Sr. Management and that funding is available before an RFP is issued  Create purchase requisition in Lawson to encumber funds • Identify team members that will make up the evaluation committee (odd # / ideally 5+)  This includes participation throughout RFP process (i.e. scoring, vendor presentations, misc. meetings) • Create the Scope of Work and/or Technical requirements (be clear on what is mandatory vs. optional) • Responsible for responding to vendor questions prior to final proposal due date • Provide your project timeline or ask for one as part of RFP • Sign off on Sourcing Policies and Ethics acknowledgement • Prepare / provide documentation and attend Finance & Audit Meeting as well as BOE Meeting Strategic Sourcing tasks (RFP)

• Strategic Sourcing (SS) will facilitate the RFP process • SS will provide the template and RFP # • SS will handle all communication with vendors  Serve as single point of contact • SS will post on website and can email identified vendors  Also can use Bidnet for notifying a larger vendor pool • Assist with contract negotiations • If needed, assist with prep for F&A and BOE meetings • Coordinate debriefing meeting after RFP is closed

RFP Schedule of Activities

• For RFP dates and milestones, requester should identify timelines that work within their project schedule -- Strategic Sourcing can also provide input. • Consider questions such as the following when building your timeline:  Do you want a pre-bid call? Do you need to discuss your RFP at a high level with vendors prior to them responding to RFP to ensure they have a clear understanding of your requirements / desired outcome?  Do you want to see a demo of the vendor offering? Important to note, these occur after round 1 scoring and normally are narrowed down to 2 or 3 vendors (that will come in and present)  Do you want to provide an estimated Award date in your RFP timeline?  Provide a Timeline for when RFP/ Vendor Selection activities should happen

RFP Schedule of Activities (example)

MILESTONE DATE Distribute Request for Proposal TBD •Posted on DPS Strategic Sourcing website (mandatory) Optional or Mandatory Bidder Conference TBD •Tool to give an overview of the RFP and expectations early on in the process. •Eliminates confusion on vendor side. Deadline for vendors to submit written questions TBD Deadline for DPS to provide responses to questions TBD •SS will create an Addendum which contains all Q&A and post on

website Deadline for vendors to submit proposal TBD Optional: If on-site presentations are needed, notify finalist by this date TBD Optional: Est. date of on-site presentations TBD Optional: Est. date of award TBD RFP Evaluation Criteria (example) CRITERIA POINTS Bidders Capabilities 10 Description of firm and organization 3 Company size and background 1 • The evaluation criteria is Terms and conditions compliant 1 identified and posted as Ability to perform services 5 TOTAL 10 part of original RFP Scope Of Work And Specification Compliance 30 document. Scope of work and specification compliant 10 Equipment offering, availability and capability 5 Meets required specifications/new 10 Customer service and support 5 • Criteria & point allocation TOTAL 30 can be customized to fit Pricing 35 your specific RFP needs Pricing per options 30 Discounts offered 5 TOTAL 35 • Evaluators must use the Schedule And Project Implementation Plan 10 Replacement to District's timelines 5 same criteria in each Adherence to districts timelines for replacements 5 round of scoring (unless TOTAL 10 Past Performance And References 2.5 otherwise specified in the Past performance for similar entities 2 RFP document). School District references 0.5 TOTAL 2.5 Value Added components 10 • Each individual evaluator Discounts 5 Incentives 5 is responsible for filling TOTAL 10 out their own score sheet. RFP Preparation And compliance 2.5 Proposal organization/completeness 1.5 Insurance meets requirement 1 TOTAL 2.5 Total overall possible pts. 100 Recommended Award / Next Steps (RFP)

• Once score sheets are completed and turned into Strategic Souring (SS), we evaluate them and confirm which vendor will be awarded business • SS posts a “recommended award” on our website, identifying the vendor we plan on awarding business to  Vendors may appeal an award by submitting a request for reconsideration within 72 hours after the recommendation of award is posted – it also must be prior to the District finalizing a contract with the selected vendor • SS, Legal and the Business Owner will work together to negotiate, review and execute a contract and/or associated award paperwork • Business Owner is responsible for creating a purchase requisition in Lawson and completing the contract routing form  This form is found on SS website under “Schools/Departments and Forms” • Vendor is/should be set up in Lawson Supplier Portal • Once contractual paperwork and purchase order are complete, business owner will begin working with vendor • Business owner becomes main point of contact and will monitor performance and deliverables against contract - SS is available to assist as needed Invitation for Bid (IFB) Invitation for Bid (IFB) - overview

• Board Policy requirement if purchases > $25,000 • Board of Education review / approval required if > $1M • Awarded to vendor that provides lowest cost • Cannot use other criteria in evaluating vendors • No formal evaluation team needed for scoring • Quicker timeline than RFP (4-6 weeks on average) • Requires posting on DPS Purchasing website  Recommendation is for 2-3 weeks • All IFB documents (internal and external) are subject to CORA requests

Business Owner / Requester tasks (IFB)

• Confirm project is approved by your Sr. Management and that funding is available before an IFB is issued  Create purchase requisition in Lawson to encumber funds • Create the Scope of Work and/or Technical requirements (be clear on what is mandatory vs. optional) as this is what the vendors will be pricing out. • Reminder that an IFB is solely awarded on lowest cost, so evaluation criteria and a team will not be required. • Provide your project timeline. • Sign off on Sourcing Policies and Ethics acknowledgement • Prepare / provide documentation and attend Finance & Audit Meeting as well as BOE Meeting.

Strategic Sourcing tasks (IFB)

• Strategic Sourcing (SS) facilitate the IFB process • SS will provide the template and IFB # • SS will handle all communication with vendors  Serve as single point of contact • SS will post on website and can email identified vendors  Can use Bidnet for notifying a larger vendor pool • Assist with contract negotiations as applicable • If needed, assist with prep for F&A and BOE meetings

Recommended Award / Next Steps (IFB)

• Once cost evaluation is complete, Strategic Sourcing will confirm which vendor will be awarded business • SS posts a “recommended award” on our website, identifying the vendor we plan on awarding business to  Vendors may appeal an award by submitting a request for reconsideration within 72 hours after the recommendation of award is posted – it also must be prior to the District finalizing a contract with the selected vendor • SS, Legal and the Business Owner will work together to negotiate, review and execute a contract and/or associated award paperwork • Business Owner is responsible for creating a purchase requisition in Lawson and completing the contract routing form (if applicable)  This form is found on SS website under “Schools/Departments and Forms” • Vendor is/should be set up in Lawson Supplier Portal • Once contractual paperwork and purchase order are complete, business owner will begin working with vendor • Business owner becomes main point of contact and will monitor performance and deliverables against contract - SS is available to assist as needed Finance & Audit and Board of Education information Board of Education Approval Limits for Purchases NON-CAPITAL PROCUREMENT APPROVAL LIMITS Approval level Limits Board of Education Greater than $1,000,000 Superintendent and Chief Operating Officer Up to $1,000,000 Chief Financial Officer Up to $500,000 Executive Director of Finance (Budget review) Up to $250,000 Director of Purchasing Up to $250,000 Manager of Purchasing Up to $100,000 District Department Heads Up to $100,000

CAPITAL PROCUREMENT APPROVAL LIMITS Approval level Limits Board of Education Greater than $1,000,000 Superintendent and Chief Operating Officer Up to $1,000,000 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of Up to $500,000 Facility Management Associate Director of Facilities Up to $250,000 Director of Purchasing Up to $250,000 Executive Director of Finance (Budget review) Up to $250,000 Manager of Purchasing Up to $100,000 District Department Heads Up to $100,000 Things to know about Finance & Audit and BOE

• Board of Education approval is required if a purchase exceeds $1M • The Requester / Business owner will need to provide a cover sheet with project detail for the F&A meeting – SS can assist with this • Plan to have all materials complete the month prior to BOE scheduled meetings (i.e. be ready by mid October for November Board meeting) • The Requester / Business owner will need to attend the Finance and Audit Meeting as well as the Board of Education meeting and present their project and request approval

QUESTIONS?

Strategic Sourcing – [email protected]