Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies »

The First Complete Contracting Reference/ Textbook for State and Local Agencies

Federal contracting officials have a comprehensive resource in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to guide them through the arduous contracting process; however, until now there has been no such counterpart for state and local government agencies. Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies is the first reference book of its kind specifically designed to provide state and local administrators with a concise authoritative resource on contracting for services.

Draws from the best features of existing RFPs and contracts nationwide

In preparation for writing this book, author William Sims Curry contacted all 50 state governments, as well a large selection of city and county governments, and asked them to participate in the development of templates for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and service contracts. These agencies were asked to complete a questionnaire and provide copies of their RFP and service contract templates. Out of their contributions, the best features from each were incorporated into the Best Practices RFP and Service Contract, which are presented here in this volume. The templates can be readily downloaded from an included CD-ROM. These can be fully adapted to meet any specific need. In the text, both of these documents are examined, line by line, with the author explaining specific language choices.

Guides you through the contracting process, step-by-step

In addition to these model documents, additional techniques and tools are introduced to assist agencies in improving their services contracting programs. The book is presented in the sequence of the contracting cycle, beginning with advance contract planning and proceeding to pre-solicitation, solicitation, proposal evaluation, negotiation, and award through contract administration and closeout.

By adopting the techniques in this book, state and local agencies will be able to effectively contract for services, get the best price available, and get important jobs done on time.

List of Figures
1 The Contracting Cycle and Advance Contract Planning 1
2 Competition and Socioeconomic Contracting 27
3 Solicitation Documents: Information for Prospective Contractors 43
4 Solicitation Document: Proposal Requirements and Preparation Guidelines 71
5 Management of Pre-Proposal Communications and Evaluation of Proposals 99
6 Protests 125
7 Contract Negotiations, Ethics, and Conflicts of Interest 143
8 Contract Document 169
9 Contract Terms and Conditions 187
10 Short-Form Contracts, Short-Form RFPs, Emergencies, and Letter Contracts 215
11 Contract Review, Execution, and Audit 233
12 Contract Administration and Closeout 249 A Glossary of Terms 271 B Best Practices Research Project 289 C Advance Contract Planning Topics Not Included in Best Practices 311 D Instructions for Completion of the Sole Source Justification/Approval Form 317 E Best Practices Request for Proposals (RFP) 321 F Model Services Contract (MSC) 345 G Short-Form RFP with Short-Form Contract 369 H Reference Checklist 395 I Evaluation of Proposals in Response to RFP 397 J Tables Used in Proposal Evaluation Process 401 K Sample Letter Contract 415 L Sample Show Cause Letter 417 M Sample Contractor Performance Report 419 N Estimate at Completion 421 O Contract Amendment 423 P Short-Form Contract Amendment 427 Index 431