All competitive solicitations are triggered by a requisition >$25,000. The type of solicitation method used is determined by the procurement officer, often in consultation with the campus customer. Campus customers are responsible for providing requirements. A competitive solicitation is a carefully orchestrated action, with the goal of ensuring an open and competitive process, leading to fair and reasonable pricing.
The RFQ process is typically used for procurements between $25,000 and $200,000. The award is based on the lowest price from a bidder that is responsive and responsible and meets all requirements of the solicitation. These procurements are typically processed in 10-30 days once the requirements are finalized.
This is the “low bid” selection method awarded to the company who meets all requirements, is determined to be a responsible bidder, and offers the lowest price. An IFB is a formal solicitation. The requirement is advertised publicly at eMarylandMarketPlace Advantage (eMMA) for a reasonable period as determined by the procurement officer, and a public bid opening is performed. All bids received must be recorded and tabulated or summarized. An IFB is only to be used when a direct comparison of requirements and pricing can be performed; it is not suitable for a procurement that requires extensive comparative analysis of requirement offerings, follow up or clarification of offerings, or negotiation. Formal competitive sealed bids are typically processed in 30-45 days depending on the dollar value, complexity of the procurement and location of bidders.
An RFP is a formal solicitation process, usually involving a two-step process in which there is a separately received, evaluated and scored technical proposal and a financial proposal that is also evaluated and scored. It is generally used when the requirements of the procurement are complex, require significant analysis to determine if requirements are met by offerors, may be difficult to quantify, and the award is based on technical and price considerations. Similar to IFBs, RFPs must be publicly advertised on eMMA. The timeframe to complete the RFP process is typically 90-180 days.
- RFPs involve a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) made up of key stakeholders and subject matter experts who are responsible for evaluating offers and making a formal recommendation for award. The procurement officer is responsible for oversight of the entire RFP process, considers the recommendation of the TEC, and is ultimately responsible for the award decision. The RFP process includes tools such as requesting clarifications from proposers and requesting Best and Final Offers (BAFO), that help the TEC in making the best recommendation available for UMD. The Procurement Officer makes the decision to request clarifications and/or use the BAFO process.
- The most commonly used RFP method at UMD is Low Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). With this method the TEC evaluates the technical offers based on the criteria included in the RFP. The TEC evaluation and associated ratings of proposals determines the technically acceptable proposers that move to the pricing evaluation phase. In the pricing evaluation phase, all technically acceptable proposer’s pricing is evaluated to determine which proposer has the lowest price. The lowest price technically acceptable offer is then issued the award. There may be more than one offer accepted in multi-award RFPs (when more than one company is required to do the work).
- A less commonly used method at UMD is Best Value. This process is used in the rare case when the technical requirements are of such importance that technical considerations outweigh pricing.
- Qualification based selection is used in rare situations when the IFB or RFP process is impractical or disadvantageous to the university. This process involves the selection of awarded firms based on the firm’s qualifications, followed by a negotiated price proposal and is used in conjunction with the RFP process. The most common use of this process is to select architecture firms for capital construction projects, though it can have other applications.
- The most commonly used RFP method at UMD is Low Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). With this method the TEC evaluates the technical offers based on the criteria included in the RFP. The TEC evaluation and associated ratings of proposals determines the technically acceptable proposers that move to the pricing evaluation phase. In the pricing evaluation phase, all technically acceptable proposer’s pricing is evaluated to determine which proposer has the lowest price. The lowest price technically acceptable offer is then issued the award. There may be more than one offer accepted in multi-award RFPs (when more than one company is required to do the work).
The IFB and RFP processes are highly structured and include notifications to bidders of anticipated award decisions, a debrief process for those who request it, and a protest process. These elements are handled by the procurement officer.
