Welcome to the
International Right of Way
Association’s
Course 303
Managing the
Consultant Process
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303-PT – Revision 3 – 01.30.08.USA
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 concerns
of 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
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Recap Day One
Schedule (2)
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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
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 are
in 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 Prospective
Proposers’ 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 be
changed 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
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• Specific agency contracting
requirements
Proposal Elements (2)
• Subcontractor identification
and 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 One
Introduce 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 golf
at an exclusive local country club
to 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 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.
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What do you say?
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 never
has 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 misunderstandings in proposal development
• Evaluate proposal submissions
39
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
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Thank you
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303-PT – Revision 3 – 01.30.08.USA