EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) LONG FORM Planning / Engineering Services Assignment Generic Document for Request for Proposal (RFP) Assignments Contract Management Office Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) March 2012 Version 4.3
1.0 Definitions Category refers to the broad disciplines such as Highway Engineering, Bridge Engineering, Environmental, Electrical Engineering, etc. listed in the ministry s Registry, Appraisal & Qualification System (RAQS). Sub-contractor refers to a firm or individual that has been hired by the Prime firm to perform specific tasks of the assignment. Specialty refers to a Work Type under a Category in RAQS. Firms are registered under specific Specialties in RAQS. Project Key Staff is an individual that will perform the key requirements, provide direction, assigns work and carry out the project management functions within the Specialty(ies) and / or for the assignment on the overall. The Project Key Staff may/ may not be Key Personnel registered in the ministry s Registry, Appraisal and Qualification System (RAQS). Principal is an individual in a firm who possesses the legal responsibility for its management (owner, partner, officer, administrator, etc). The Principal must be identified by the firm as one of the Key Contact/Alternate Contacts in RAQS under General Information. Specialization refers to primary technological capability of a Project Key Staff. The academic degree, professional registration, certification and / or extensive experience in a particular field of practice normally reflect an individual s primary technical expertise or the specialization in that area. Joint Venture is a collaborative undertaking by two or more firms for which the participant firms are equally (both jointly and individually) responsible. 2.0 General The specific requirements for a project are listed in the Project Notice posted on the Ministry s Public Web Site www.raqs.mto.gov.on.ca under Consultant EOI Opportunities. This will include project information, a listing of the Specialties required for a project, any other specific requirements and posting and closing dates. 3.0 Submission of Expression of Interest (EOI) An EOI submission must conform to all requirements in the Project Notice. Fax or electronic submissions shall not be accepted. The ministry will receive EOI submissions no later than the time and date and at the address shown on the Project Notice. Late submissions will be rejected. Each EOI package submitted must be clearly marked on the outside indicating the following: Ministry Contact (as in the ministry s Posting Notice) Project Name/Location G.W.P. Number (if applicable) Contract Number (if applicable) Assignment Number Firm s Name and Address CONFIDENTIAL
An EOI submission is considered valid for short-listing for the period of six (6) months beyond the Submission Deadline. In case, the short-listing is not completed within the above timeline, EOI competition will be cancelled. 4.0 Contents of the Expression of Interest (EOI) Submission An Expression of Interest (EOI) submission must consist of the following documents: Prime Firm Option 1.0 Transmittal Letter Transmittal letter is to be signed by the Principal including the name, title, address and telephone number of the Principal. The Principal signing the transmittal letter must have been identified by the firm as one of the Key Contact/Alternate Contacts in RAQS and authorized to sign Legal Agreement with the ministry on behalf of the firm. The transmittal letter must identify the individual who will serve as the Contact for the project. If awarded an assignment, the Prime firm will sign the Legal Agreement with the ministry. All Provisions and obligations of the signed Legal Agreement will apply. The firm will receive a performance appraisal for the work performed. In case of a breach of an agreement, the firm may receive an infraction report / penalty. 2.0 Compliance Matrix Form: Attachment 1 Completed Compliant Matrix Form with Key Staff and their expertise areas (Specialties) as per the instructions provided. 3.0 Expression of Interest Details: Attachment 2 Completed Expression of Interest details as per the instructions provided. This area includes Roles of the firms, the Organizational Structure proposed for the assignment and brief Resumes of the Key Staff. 4.0 Declaration of No Conflict of Interest Form: Attachment 3 Completed Declaration for No Conflict of Interest Form signed by the Principle of the firm (identified under Key Contact/Alternate Contact in RAQS). 5.0 RAQS Declaration Form: Attachment 4 Completed RAQS Declaration Form signed by the Principle of the firm (Key Contact/Alternate in RAQS) confirming that: - As a minimum, the firm is approved / registered in RAQS in the Prime Specialty identified in the EOI Notice and the Key Personnel approved for that Specialty are currently available within the firm. The Prime firm is registered in at least in the Prime Specialty identified in the ministry s EOI Notice. - The firm has their Core Plan approved/registered in RAQS. - The firm has an approved / registered Generic Category Plan in RAQS for the Category where the Prime Specialty for the assignment is located.
Notes: If awarded the assignment, the Prime firm is responsible for the timely submission of their Supplementary Specialty Plans of all Categories/Specialties for the assignment including the work of sub-contractors. Where the Core and Generic Category Plans of a sub-contractor are not already registered, the Prime firm will also undertake to submit the sub-contractor s Core, Generic Category for the category where the Prime Specialty for the assignment is located, and Supplementary Specialty Plans. The firm undertakes to be fully responsible for the quality and timeliness of deliverables and the quality control of all aspects of the assignment including the work of the sub-contractors. The firm undertakes to provide the timely submission of the Quality Control Plans required and the quality audit reports to the ministry project manager. Joint Venture Option For Joint Venture submission, the following documentation is required: 1.0 Transmittal Letter Transmittal letter jointly signed by each Joint Venture firm with the name, title, address and telephone number of their Principal signing the letter. The Principal signing the transmittal letter must have been identified by the firm as one of the Key Contact/Alternate Contacts in RAQS and authorized to sign Legal Agreement with the ministry on behalf of the firm. - Undertaking that the firms will be working as Joint Venture for the purposes of the assignment. - Specialties / areas of work that each individual firms will be responsible for. - Lead firm for Ministry Contact for the assignment. For the purposes of the assignment, the Ministry will deal with the Lead Firm as the ministry Contact. - Name, title, address and telephone number of the Principal of the Lead Firm who will serve as the Contact for the assignment by the Joint Venture. The Principal must be identified as one of the Key Contact/Alternate Contacts in RAQS and authorized to sign Legal Agreement with the ministry and make decision for the firm on policy and contractual matters. For the purposes of a ministry assignment, a Joint Venture is treated as equal partnership of the firms identified in the firm s EOI submission. If awarded an assignment, all firms in a Joint Venture will sign Legal Agreement with the ministry. All Provisions and obligations of the signed Legal Agreement will apply equally to all Joint Venture Firms. All firms will receive the same performance appraisal for the work performed under a Joint Venture. In case of a breach of an agreement, all firms may receive infraction report / penalty. 2.0 Compliance Matrix Form: Attachment 1 Completed Compliant Matrix Form with Key Staff and their expertise areas (Specialties) as per the instructions provided. 3.0 Expression of Interest Details: Attachment 2
Completed Expression of Interest Details as per the instructions provided. This area includes Roles of the firms, the Organizational Structure proposed for the assignment and brief Resumes of the Key Staff. 4.0 Declaration of No Conflict of Interest Form: Attachment 3 Declaration for No Conflict of Interest Form: A separate Form completed and signed by each of the Joint Venture firms, by one of their Principals (identified under Contact/Alternate Contact in RAQS). 5.0 RAQS Declaration Form: Attachment 4 RAQS Declaration Form: A Form completed and signed by at least one of the Joint Venture firms by one of their Principals (identified as of Key Contact/Alternate in RAQS for that firm) confirming that: - The firm is approved / registered in RAQS in the Prime Specialty identified in the EOI Notice and the Key personnel approved for that Specialty are currently available with the firm. To meet EOI submission requirement, for a minimum, at least one of the Joint Venture firms must be registered in the Prime Specialty identified in the ministry s EOI Notice. - The identified firm has their Core Plan approved/registered in RAQS - The identified firm has an approved / registered Generic Category Plan in RAQS for the Category where the Prime Specialty for the assignment is located. - If it is desired to have more than one firm provide RAQS Declaration Form, each firm must separately, fully complete and sign the Form. One Form signed by two or more firms will not be acceptable. Notes If awarded an assignment, the Principal of the lead firm is responsible for the timely submission of their Supplementary Specialty Plans of all Categories/Specialties for the assignment including the work of sub-contractors. Where the Core and Generic Category Plans of a sub-contractor are not already registered, the Principal of the lead firm also undertakes to submit that sub-contractor s Core, Generic Category and Supplementary Specialty Plans. All firms in a Joint Venture undertake to be fully responsible for the quality and timeliness of deliverables and the quality control of all aspects of the assignment including the work of the subcontractors. The firms undertake to provide the timely submission of the Quality Control Plans required and the quality audit reports to the ministry project manager. A Prime firm is limited to ONE (1) Expression of Interest (EOI) submission. A Joint Venture is limited to ONE (1) Expression of Interest (EOI) submission. A firm in a Joint Venture may form a Joint Venture with another firm and can provide submission under that Joint Venture. A sub-contractor can become a sub-contractor to another Prime firm or to a Joint Venture for the purposes of EOI submission. As identified above, the following Attachments are to be fully completed for an EOI submission:
Attachment 1: Compliance Matrix; Attachment 2: Expression of Interest Details. Attachment 3: EOI Certification No Conflict of Interest Attachment 4: RAQS Declaration Form Note: The completed Attachment 2: Expression of Interest Details is to be within the page limit indicated in the Project Notice. Any brochure information that is provided by a firm, but is not specifically requested in the Project Notice, will not be used in the evaluation of the submission. Submissions exceeding the page limit indicated in the Project Notice will be disqualified. By making a submission, the firm attests that all required releases for checking of references put forward in the submission have been secured. Any inquiries or clarifications requested regarding a project shall be made in writing and forwarded to the ministry contact at the address listed in the EOI Notice. The ministry does not encourage verbal inquiries and any information given orally by ministry staff will not be binding on the ministry. Any attempt on the part of a submitting firm or any of its employees, agents, or representatives to contact any member of the Ontario Public Service with respect to this EOI other than requesting clarifications on the project will be disqualified. The ministry reserves the right to: Distribute copies of any or all such clarifications/questions to other respondents. Modify specific deadlines and to reject any or all submissions, or to cancel or withdraw an EOI invitation for any reason without incurring any liability for costs, losses or damages incurred by any respondent. Interview any respondent or request additional information if deemed necessary. Information obtained through an invitation for EOI submissions will be treated in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O 1990, c.f.31. 5.0 Evaluation and Short-listing EOI submissions will be checked for completeness including that the submitting firm is registered in RAQS for a minimum in the Prime / Functional Specialty identified in the Project Notice. Incomplete submissions or where a firm is not appropriately registered in RAQS are not acceptable. Submissions that fail to comply with the requirements of the EOI Notice will be disqualified and the submitting firms notified. A numerical assessment of each complete / acceptable submission will be performed against pre-defined Evaluation Criteria (Table 1) leading to the technical score of a submission. Only information provided in the EOI submission will be considered in the evaluation. The short-listing will be based on the ministry s Consultant Performance & Selection System (CPSS). The procedure for short-listing is available in the CPSS Procedures Guide (current version) posted on the RAQS Website and will be based on a weighting of 50 percent for each of the Technical Score of a submission and for Past Performance Score (the firm s Corporate Performance Rating - CPR). The total scores will be ranked from the highest to the lowest. The top three to five firms will be short-listed for the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. At the completion of the above evaluation, all firms providing EOI submissions will be advised on the outcome. Only the short-listed firms will be forwarded RFP package for submission of proposal by the Submission Deadline, using two-envelope approach (one envelope containing the Technical and Management Proposal and the second envelope containing Financial Proposal).
Table 1: EVALUATION CRITERIA CRITERIA Weighting 1. PROJECT ORGANIZATION Roles and Organizational structure to be in place for the project as described in Attachment 2: Expression of Interest Details for all project phases as outlined in the project description 20 Evaluation will be based on Section 1 Roles and Section 2 Organizational Structure of Attachment 2: Expression of Interest Details. 2. EXPERIENCE AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROJECT TEAM Typical Considerations 2.1 Demonstrated successful experience of Project Key Staff on projects of similar scope and size for each of the specialties required and/or for an overall assignment. 2.2 Working co-operatively and effectively with a variety of interests/ authorities including the public, levels of government, utility companies and special interest groups. 80 2.3 Project Management (service delivery, time and cost control, coordinating multi-specialty assignments) Evaluation will be based on Sections 3 Brief Resume of Project Key Staff, and Section 4 Demonstrated Team Experience/Qualifications of Attachment 2: Expression of Interest Details. Reference checks may be performed. TOTAL POINTS = 100 Note If Constructability Review is identified, the firm must provide adequate staffing for the requirements indicated in EOI Posting. Failure to do so will disqualify the EOI submission, and will not be considered for short-listing.
Attachment 1: COMPLIANCE MATRIX Assignment Number Specialties Required (from Project Notice) KEY STAFF FIRM OVERALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT i.e.natural Sciences (Aquatic Ecosystems & Soils Erosion) i.e.-detail Design Minor Reconstruction and Resurfacing John Doe XYZ Consulting X Jane Smith ABC Enviro X Fred Jones XYZ Consulting X Note: Complete the first row with the Specialties identified in the Project Notice. Complete the first column with the names of Project Key Staff for the Specialties identified. One Project Key Staff may be responsible for more than one Specialty. Place a mark in the appropriate column relative to the appropriate Project Key Staff and Specialty.
Attachment 2: EXPRESSION OF INTEREST DETAILS Attachment 2, to be submitted must follow the structure below. 1. Roles A brief outline (one (1) paragraph) indicating the roles of the participating firm(s). For a Joint Venture submission, clearly list all participating firms and identify the specific areas of responsibility (including administrative, financial and the specific Specialties) for each firm. 2. Organizational Structure Describe the organizational structure (two (2) pages maximum) for the project including: - Organizational Structure Chart. - Description of the work to be performed by the prime firm and each sub-contractor. - Reporting Relationships and interfaces with the ministry. - How individual firms will interface with each other to co-ordinate the delivery of the project. The description of the organization structure must be tied to the Project Key Staff listed in the Attachment 1 Compliance Matrix. Listing of the registration of the prime and sub-contractors in RAQS in the Specialties identified in the EOI Posting Notice. Listing of the Core and Generic Category Plan(s) of the Prime firm and any sub-contractor(s) in RAQS. 3. Brief Resume of Key Staff Use copies of the table below to provide a brief resume of each Key Staff person identified in the Attachment 1 Compliance Matrix. a. Name and Title: b. Role in this Project: c. Name of firm currently associated with: d. Years of experience: With this firm With other firms e. Education: Degree(s)/Year/Specialization f. Active registration: Year first licensed with PEO, Field of Licensure Note: Repeat the table above to define all Project Key Staff while still remaining within page limit indicated in the Project Notice.
4. Demonstrated Team Experience/Qualifications Use additional copies of the table below as required to provide information on demonstrated Team Experience/Qualifications. a. Project Key Staff and the responsibility on the project: a. Project Key Staff and the responsibility on the project: b. Project name and location: b. Project name and location: c. Project Description: c. Project Description: d. Firm on whose behalf the Key Project Staff performed the work, nature of the firm s responsibility and whether the firm was a prime or sub-contractor on the project: d. Firm on whose behalf the Project Key Staff performed the work, nature of the firm s responsibility and whether the firm was a prime or sub-contractor on the project: e. Project Owner s Name & Address and Project Owner Manager s Name & Phone Number: Also, identify the Value of the assignment, by your firm. e. Project Owner s Name & Address and Project Owner Manager s Name & Phone Number: Also, identify the Value of the assignment, by your firm. f. Appraisal for project attached? Yes No (Applies to the work outside the ministry.) g. Actual/Estimated Construction Completion Date h. Estimated Construction Cost of Project $ f. Appraisal for project attached? Yes No (Applies to the work outside the ministry.) g. Actual/Estimated Construction Completion Date h. Estimated Construction Cost of Project $ Note: Repeat the table above to provide the demonstrated team experience/qualifications while still remaining within page limit indicated in the Project Notice. Any performance appraisals issued by the Clients other than MTO, if submitted, will be excluded from the page limit indicated in the Project Notice. The performance appraisals issued by the MTO are NOT required to be submitted. 4.1 Other Similar Projects List similar projects undertaken by the prime firm and the sub-contractors along with a brief description of each project. For the past projects other than MTO, the available performance records should be provided, or in their absence, the owner contact name, address and telephone number are to be provided. Performance Records submitted will not be included in the page limit specified in the Project Notice. 4.2 Additional Information Provide additional information or description of resources supporting your firm s qualifications for the proposed project.
Attachment 3: CERTIFICATION FORM: NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST To be completed and provided with an EOI submission. To be signed by the Principal of a Firm. For a Joint Venture, to be signed by the Principals of all firms identified in a Joint Venture. I/We hereby certify that there is not any actual or potential conflict of interest or unfair advantage at this time, in our providing the Expression of Interest (EOI) Submission or performing the Services required for the assignment. In providing the EOI submission, our company has no knowledge of or the ability to avail ourselves of confidential information of the Crown (other than confidential information which may have been disclosed by the ministry to the firm in the normal course of inviting the EOI submission) where the confidential information would be relevant to the Services required or the EOI evaluation process. Assignment No: (Name) (Signature) (Title) (Name of Firm) (Phone Number) (Date) (Name) (Signature) (Title) (Name of Firm) (Phone Number) (Date)
Attachment 4: RAQS DECLARATION FORM (2011) Assignment Number: In submitting this Expression of Interest/Request for Quotation I/We, on behalf of, (legal name of company) hereby certify that our company is approved in RAQS for this Prime/RFQ Specialty and has verified that (check one of the following): The Key Personnel approved in RAQS for this specialty are current and valid; or The Key Personnel approved in RAQS for this Specialty are no longer current and valid, and the information for the Key Personnel replacement has been Submitted For Approval in RAQS on (date). Also hereby certify that our company has the prior registration of the Core Plan and for the Generic Category Plan for the Category where Prime/RFQ Specialty is located. Specialty Category (Note: Prime Specialty applies to multi-specialty assignments, while RFQ specialty applies to single specialty situations) Dated at this day of, 20 An Authorized Signing Officer (Key Contact/Alternate Contact listed in RAQS) (Title) (Telephone Number) (Firm s Name) (Firm s Address) (Signature)