The Program Administrator has been aware of potentially inappropriate market offers to qualifying businesses to obtain RFP bonus points for local procurement preferences (page 18 of the RFP). The Program Administrator wants to be clear that the qualifying business needs to have an ownership stake in the organization submitting the project bid through a legally binding partnership or joint venture to qualify for these bonus points.
Providing a qualifying business a fee to procure items on behalf of the actual project owner or running money through a firm without ownership will be considered gaming and subject to disciplinary action for both parties, which may include suspension from the Program. The Program Administrator will monitor this closely throughout the Program’s life.
As a reminder, the procurement preference bonus points are calculated based on the qualifying entity’s ownership percentage and the proportion of the total project cost that will be provided or performed by the qualifying entity.
Furthermore, the Respondent of each bid must disclose any plans to sell or transfer a project to the Program Administrator. The project will need to provide documentation of the transaction to the Program Administrator. The Program Administrator will review any transactions and monitor bid commitments closely throughout the Project’s life.
Qualifying Businesses – please contact the Program Administrator if you are still determining how your organization should register and be considered for the RFP bonus points. Please be wary of individuals that reach out representing “multiple firms.”
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to report an offer, please contact the Program Administrator at [email protected].
