PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES

J . De te rmin ing the Fina l Sco re The agency should weigh the technical and cost evaluation results as two components, which together total 100 percent of the evaluation. For example, the technical evaluation could be weighted at 70 percent and the cost evaluation weighted at 30 percent. After the technical evaluation has yielded a technical score and the cost evaluation has yielded a cost score, the scores are weighted and combined to produce a final score for the proposal.

K. Ag enc y-Re commended Awa rd and No tifica tion

Agency-Recommended Award The agency’s selection of the vendor must be in accordance with evaluation criteria developed prior to the initial receipt of proposals. The agency may reject all proposals or – if provided for in the RFP – may reject separate parts of the scope of services. (State Finance Law §163(9)(d)). The agency may award a contract to an offerer if only one proposal was submitted, provided that the agency documents that the RFP did not restrict competition and that the cost is reasonable. Notification of Award Upon completion of the evaluation and vendor selection, the agency must send notification of award to all successful and non-successful offerers. Notification to the selected offerer(s) should indicate that the award is subject to approval by control agencies before the contract is finalized. The agency must provide non-successful bidders the opportunity for a debriefing, if requested.

L. Con tra c t Nego tia tion

In cases where the RFP has specifically provided for negotiation of terms and conditions, the agency may engage in negotiation with the successful bidder prior to settling on the contract terms. Revisions must not substantially alter the requirements or specifications set out in the RFP. To assess whether a potential revision constitutes a substantial change, the question should be asked: “Would other bidders or non-bidders have responded differently if the term or condition to be revised as a result of negotiation had been included in the RFP?” If the answer is "yes" or "possibly," then the provision may not be revised.

New York State Procurement Guidelines 35