Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 153:1-1-01 | Announcement of professional design and design-build contracts and qualifications-based selection of professional design firms.

(A) Definitions: For the purpose of rules
153:1-1-01 and 153:1-1-02 of the Administrative Code:

(1) "Public
exigency" shall have the meaning given it in section 123.10 of the Revised
Code.

(2) The following terms
shall have the meanings given them in section 153.65 of the Revised Code:
"professional design firm," "professional design services,"
"qualifications," "design-build firm," "design-build
services," and "criteria architect or engineer."

(3) "EDGE"
means the "Encouraging Diversity, Growth, and Equity" business
development program created pursuant to section 123.152 of the Revised
Code.

(4) "State"
means any organized body, office, or agency established by the laws of this
state for the exercise of any function of state government; or any institution
of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code. The
"state" does not include the department of transportation or the Ohio
turnpike commission when engaging professional design services for
transportation projects.

(5) "Selection
coordinator" means a person appointed by the state to coordinate the
selection process.

(B) Pre-design phase:

(1) The state shall
conduct a pre-design phase for each contract available for professional design
services or design-build services, if applicable, in order to determine the
feasibility of the project, availability of funding, the most appropriate
method of project delivery, the scope of services required, the program of
requirements if not included in the scope of services, the project schedule,
the project budget, including the EDGE participation goal for the contract
determined pursuant to rule 123:2-16-12 of the Administrative Code, and shall,
if appropriate, conduct a site survey, environmental investigation, soil boring
and testing, and other analyses to determine feasibility of the proposed
site.

(2) Upon completion of
the pre-design phase, the state shall announce the contract and request
statements of qualifications in the following manner:

(a) The request for qualifications shall be published not less
than fourteen days in advance of the last date that statements of
qualifications may be accepted.

(b) The request for qualifications shall include a general
description of the project, the project delivery method, a statement of the
specific professional design services or design-build services required, a
description of the qualifications required for the project, including the EDGE
participation goal, and criteria by which submissions will be evaluated. The
criteria shall include a point system, developed to encourage EDGE business
participation, pursuant to division (B)(6) of section 123.152 of the Revised
Code, if applicable.

(c) The request for qualifications shall indicate how qualified
professional design firms or design-build firms may submit a statement of
qualifications to be considered for a contract to perform the required services
for the project.

(d) In addition to the requirements set forth in division (D) of
section 153.67 of the Revised Code, the state may advertise electronically by
using one or more of the following:

(i) Placing an
advertisement on the website of the newspaper of general circulation in the
county where the contract is to be performed;

(ii) Placing an
advertisement on the state public notification website;

(iii) Placing an
advertisement on its own official website or on other non-official websites,
such as appropriate trade association websites.

(e) The request for qualifications shall identify a process for
submitting written questions regarding the project.

(i) The selection
coordinator shall direct interested firms to submit questions in writing and
shall not answer questions outside the process identified in the request for
qualifications.

(ii) The state shall
answer any questions from interested firms in writing and make all questions
and answers available to all interested firms prior to the last date for
accepting statements of qualifications;

(iii) The state shall not
disclose the name of the interested firm submitting a question when answering
such question from an interested firm;

(f) The request for qualifications may include notice of a
meeting or site visit where interested parties may learn more about the project
and ask questions. The state shall prepare and publish written minutes of any
such meeting or site visit. Additional information disclosed during the meeting
or any site visit shall be published by the state in the same
manner.

(3) Professional design
services, including but not limited to criteria architect or engineer services,
shall be acquired by the state through qualifications-based selection pursuant
to paragraphs (C) to (I) of this rule or pursuant to rule 153:1-1-02 of the
Administrative Code.

(4) Design-build services
shall be acquired by the state through best value selection pursuant to rule
153:1-6-02 of the Administrative Code.

(1) The statements of
qualifications shall be timely reviewed and evaluated by a evaluation
committee, appointed by the state, using the criteria published in the request
for qualifications.

(a) Proposing firms shall not contact members of the evaluation
committee prior to announcement of the short list.

(b) The selection coordinator shall verify the completeness of
the evaluators scores and seek clarification only when it cannot
determine the evaluators intent.

(i) The selection
coordinator shall not change an evaluators score or replace the
evaluators judgment with its own.

(ii) If an evaluator
awarded more points in any category than the maximum available in the criteria
published in the request for qualifications, the selection coordinator shall
revise the score for that category to the maximum available.

(2) At the conclusion of
the evaluation process, the selection coordinator shall tally the scores and
the state shall announce a short-list of not less than three firms that it
determines are most qualified to perform the required services, unless the
state determines that fewer than three qualified firms are available in
accordance with division (A) of section 153.69 of the Revised
Code.

(3) A scope clarification
meeting may be conducted with the short-listed firms. The discussions shall be
designed to further explore the scope and nature of the services required, the
various technical approaches the firms may take toward the project, unique
project requirements, the project schedule and the project budget. Depending on
the nature of the project, the meeting may include a physical site visit. Any
questions of the firms shall be answered at this meeting and shared with all
participants.

(D) Interview phase:

(1) The state may appoint
and convene an interview committee that shall review the technical proposals,
if any, conduct interviews of each short-listed firm, and rank the short-listed
firms. The state may appoint one or more individuals to serve as alternates.
Individuals appointed to rank or serve as alternates shall attend each
interview. Members of the evaluation committee may be members of the interview
committee.

(2) The interview
committee shall interview each of the short-listed firms and each member shall
rank the firms from most to least qualified to provide the required services
based on their interview and technical proposals, if any. The rankings of the
interview committee members shall be combined to determine the overall ranking
of the short-listed firms.

(3) If two or more firms
receive equal ranking by the interview committee, an alternate shall rank the
firms and the alternate's ranking shall be added to the previous rankings.
If the firms remain tied, another alternate may rank in the same manner. When
all alternates have been exhausted, the tied firm with the highest score in the
evaluation phase shall receive the higher ranking.

(E) Technical proposal: The state may ask
short-listed firms to supplement their statement of qualifications with a
technical proposal in accordance with the final scope of services and project
requirements as may have been clarified at the scope clarification meeting.
Each short-listed firm requested to submit a technical proposal shall be
informed of the date, time, and location for submitting its technical
proposal.

(F) Contract negotiations: The state
shall announce the firm determined to be the most qualified to perform the
required services, request a fee proposal, and enter into contract negotiations
with the selected firm in accordance with division (B) of section 153.69 of the
Revised Code.

(G) Public records: Records that are
maintained by the state during the selection process are public, to the extent
permitted by sections 149.43 and 149.433 of the Revised Code, and shall be
available for inspection.

(H) Nothing in this rule affects the
state's right to accept or reject any or all professional design
firms' statements of qualifications or technical proposals in whole or in
part.

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