RFP and Contract Management

The following description of RFP and contract management procedures is taken from the WRAP work plan for 2003:

WGA and forums jointly manage WRAP contracts. WGA, as the receiver of WRAP grants, retains the legal responsibility for signing and administering contracts and ensuring that work products are completed. These responsibilities are met with input from forums and work groups. Forums and work groups may create balanced subgroups for purposes of contract management.

It is the responsibility of the forums and work groups and their respective oversight committees to develop the scope of work for each contract. All contracts are to be developed in accordance with the work plans approved by the WRAP and submitted to the EPA. Once the scope of work has been properly developed, it is transmitted to WGA. WGA is responsible for developing an RFP or sole source justification. All RFPs are published in the Federal Business Opportunities publication, sent to appropriate contractors known to the WRAP, and posted on the WRAP Web site. Unless time is otherwise a constraint, bidders are provided 30 days to respond.

A review committee is established for the evaluation of RFPs. The review committee is responsible for scoring each RFP. Scoring is documented and retained by WGA to substantiate any selection. Once the committee has agreed upon selection of a potential contractor, a memorandum is transmitted to the WGA Executive Director along with any necessary supporting materials. The Executive Director makes the final contractor selection. The winning contractor and all losing bidders are notified in writing of Executive Director’s decision.

Subsequent to contractor selection, WGA staff and the appropriate forum, work group or committee negotiates a final contract with the winning bidder. All contracting is done in accordance with established federal guidelines. The standard contract form includes provisions for record keeping and audit requirements in accordance with OMB Circular 110.

It is the responsibility of the forum, work group or committee to monitor the work of the contractor and to determine whether all work requirements are being met. When a bill is received, WGA will examine the invoice to match invoice items to requirements outlined in the contract. WGA requires documentation from the contractor regarding hours spent and expenses incurred. WGA also requires copies of any deliverables prior to rendering payment. If there is any question regarding whether the contractor has met the requirements in the scope of work, it is negotiated between the contractor, WGA, and the appropriate co-chairs. Once it has been agreed that all work has been completed in accordance with the requirements of the contract, payment is rendered by WGA.
WGA is responsible for maintaining all records and does so in accordance with all federal requirements. This includes submittal of quarterly status reports to EPA. As noted in the previous section, NTEC lets contracts for work done in support of tribal participation. These contracts are funded by a grant separate from the general WRAP grant, and are subject to the requirements of the single audit act and related compliance supplements.