GO PRO reader feedback
Design a green future in Hennepin County
GoPro, February/March 2009, By Nathan Reinbold
I’m appalled by the amount of space taken up by the parking lot; about two-thirds of the usable space goes to parking. Instead, if a monorail or light rail terminal were built at the facility (about one-tenth the size of usable space) this would allow the parking lot to be reduced to about 20 percent of its current size or even eliminated altogether.
— Phil
Read the Design a green future in Hennepin County article referenced.
Procurement Ponderable
When reviewing the results of the evaluation of proposals under an RFP, you notice that one member of the review team – Joe – scored one proposal much higher, and the other proposals much lower, than the other team members. Later that day, you overhear someone mention Joe’s name in the lunchroom. You usually don’t pay attention to gossip, but you hear them talking about Joe living with the sales rep from a local supplier. When you check the evaluation sheets, you see that the local supplier mentioned in the lunchroom submitted the proposal that Joe rated so highly. What do you do?
Future scenarios like this might be avoided if the procurement facilitator/officer prepares a “Conflict of Interest Affidavit/Statement” to be signed and notarized by each voting member of the evaluation team the moment the team is formed and before any confidential proposal information is dispersed. The document also should require the voting member to notify the facilitator and excuse his/herself from the evaluation team the moment a conflict arises. Whereas, if any information presents itself that may cause a real or perceived conflict of interest between the member in question and his/her ability to evaluate proposals fairly and unbiased, the procurement facilitator/officer has the proper legal document(s) on file to allow them or the organization’s legal representation to question the member on any possible conflict of interest and avoid the possibility of a false statement. Utilizing this type of document/sworn statement should maintain the integrity of the individual, elevate the ethical standards of the evaluation team and, hopefully, avoid any future potential conflicts.
— Sonji S. Ward, CPPB, Contract Negotiator Chicago Department of Procurement Services
Send your thoughts, as well as your ideas for more scenarios, to [email protected].
Go Pro welcomes your feedback. Send letters to: [email protected] or Go Pro, 6151 Powers Ferry Road NW, Suite 200, Atlanta GA 30339, Attn.: Bill Wolpin. We reserve the right to edit all letters for clarity, brevity, grammar, punctuation, syntax and style.
