City of Nashua
Purchasing Department
Administrative Services Division (603) 589-3330
229 Main Street - Nashua, NH 03060 BSUS ES
May 19, 2022
TO: Mayor Donchess
Finance Committee
SUBJECT: Clarity of RFP Process for Public Access Television Contract
As part of our response to the recent letter received by Roy Tilsley, Jr of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson
representing Community Media Services Group | wanted to provide some additional information regarding the
Request for Proposal process followed for this advertisement.
RFP vs IFB definitions as included in the City of Nashua’s 2019 published Purchasing Manual
Request for Proposal {RFP} - {1) Alldocuments, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting
(competitive) proposals. The RFP procedure permits negotiation of proposals and prices as distinguished from
competitive bidding and an Invitation for Bids. (2) The solicitation document used in the competitive negotiation
process. The procedure allows changes to be made after proposals are opened and contemplates that the nature
of the proposals and/or prices offered will be negotiated prior to award.
Invitation for Bids (IFB) - (1) the solicitation document used for competitive sealed bidding, the customary method
used by state and local governments for the purchase of equipment, materials, supplies, and construction. (2)
All documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soticiting bids.
Important distinctions between these in regards to competitive bidding:
IFB’s — competitive bidding
e |FB may be used when you know “what” and “how”
e An FB is advertised to the public, bids are publicly opened, and the award is publicly announced.
e Negotiation is net normally used with competitive sealed bidding.
e iFB’s are evaluated solely by costs and the contract will be awarded solely on the basis of price.
RFP's — competitive proposals
e REP may be used when you know “what” but not “how” or “how” may vary from one vendor to another.
« As with an IFB, the REP must be announced to the public and specifies a due date.
e An RFP it is evaluated according to predetermined weighted standards that are stated in the RFP itself.
« An RFP allows for negotiation and provides more flexibility in the awarding of the contract.
e There is no public opening requirement because receipt of the proposals is, under the RFP method, only
the first step, not the last step since cost is not the only factor in the awarding of the contract.
e Evaluation of the criteria for the technical and cost factors must be taken before award the contract can
be made.
Additional Factars
« Responsible Responding Vendors
* Local Preference
Criteria for weighing these proposals
