1

Welcome to the International Right of Way

Association’s

Course 303Managing the

Consultant Process

303-PT – Revision 3 – 01.30.08.USA

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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.

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Introductions

Who we are…

What we do…

Where we do it…

How long we’ve been doing it…

Our goals for the course...

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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

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Objectives (2) At the conclusion of the course,

you will be able to...

• Monitor consultant work effort

• Understand better the issues and concernsof both agencies and consultants

• Engage in best practices

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Housekeeping

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Schedule (1)

8:00 - 9:00 Introductions, Etc.

9:00 - 12:00 Why and When to Use a Consultant

1:00 - 3:00 Proposal Elements

3:00 - 4:15 Consultant Proposal Evaluation

(start)

4:15 - 4:30 Recap Day One

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Schedule (2)

8:00 - 8:15 Recap Day One/Introduce Day Two

8:15 - 9:15 Consultant Proposal Evaluation (conclude)

9:15 - 10:30 Contract Execution Process

10:45 - 12:00 Consultant Monitoring (start)

1:00 - 2:00 Consultant Monitoring (conclude)

2:15 - 2:45 Invoicing and Auditing Issues

2:45 - 3:45 Process Evaluation

3:45 - 4:45 Post-Test

4:45 - 5:00 Summary and Review

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Fact or Fiction?(1)

Agency:“A consultant should only be used as a last resort.”

Consultant:“The agency only contracts out the impossible projects.”

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When to Use Consultants

• Project demands

• Staffing issues

• Political/other issues

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Wrong Reasons to Use Consultants

• Impossible timing

• No schedule

• No defined scope of work

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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?

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Why Consultants arein Business

• Make money

• Offer a service and meet a need

• Provide staff flexibility

• Provide general and specialized expertise

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Contracting Methods

• Sole Source

• Special/Specific Task

• Turnkey

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Solicitation Methods

• LOI/SOI

• RFQ/SOQ

• RFP

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Developing a ProspectiveProposers’ List

• Scope of solicitation

• Solicitation methods• Established list

• Pre-qualified list

• Publication and Advertisement

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Fact or Fiction?(2)

Agency:“The scope of work can always bechanged if we overlook something.”

Consultant:“The scope of work is the most important part of the contract process.”

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Proposal Elements (1)

• Project description

• Scope of work

• Agency responsibilities

• Contractor responsibilities

• Project schedule

• Specific agency contracting requirements

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Proposal Elements (2)

• Subcontractor identificationand requirements

• Insurance

• Cost and pricing methods

• Interviews

• Evaluation criteria

• Pre-proposal meetings

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Proposal Elements (3)

• Timing issues for proposal issuance

• Proprietary information

• Appeals and protests

• Sampler contractes and forms

• Other elements

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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.”

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Day One Recap

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Recap Day OneIntroduce Day Two

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Case Study No. 2

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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.”

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Contracts

• Formal agreements

• Purchase orders

• Master contract with task orders

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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 golfat an exclusive local country clubto discuss the “progress issue.”

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Conflicts (2)

During the holiday season, a consultant sends you a basket of fruit,

candy and Napa Valley wine.

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Conflicts (3)

One of the consultants, with whom you do business, takes you and your staff to

lunch and picks up the tab.

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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.

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Notice to ProceedYou 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 readyto 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?

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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?”

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Keys in Monitoring Projects

• Project staffing

• Reporting

• Schedule compliance

• Work product review

• Budget adherence

• Compliance

• Feedback

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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.”

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Sixth Corollary

The sixth corollary to Murphy’s Law is:

The first invoice neverhas a chance.

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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.”

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Agency Complaints

• The consultant does the easy work…

• The consultant pulls the “bait and switch”...

• The consultant doesn’t follow up...

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Consultant Complaints

• The agency doesn’t provide the deliverables

• The agency doesn’t pay promptly

• The agency withholds forms and documents

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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 andconcerns of both agencies and consultants

• Engage in best practices

41

Thank you

303-PT – Revision 3 – 01.30.08.USA