Description of the Consultant Roster Program The City of Seattle Consultant Roster Program features numerous categories of consultant services routinely utilized by City departments. Each category has an associated general scope of work. Interested consultants submit a separate application for each roster category. To be approved for inclusion on a consultant roster, the applicant must adequately document the firm’s experience and competence in performing scope of work within that service category. Interested consultants may apply to the Consultant Roster Program (or apply for additional categories) at any time. The Department of Finance and Administrative Services will evaluate new applications and designate approved consultants, based upon the evaluation outcomes. The City generally evaluates new applications monthly, although the City reserves the right to perform evaluations more or less frequently, as needed. Applicants will be notified of the evaluation outcomes by e-mail. The City of Seattle Consultant Roster Program features an Internet-based application process. Most operating systems and internet browsers are able to access the City’s database. Consultants are strongly encouraged to use the Internet application to apply. Applicants unable to access the database due to software or hardware incompatibilities are advised to make the electronic application through another location. City and County public libraries offer free Internet access. Applicants intending to submit a hard-copy application must contact the Consultant Roster Program Coordinator prior to beginning the application. Applicants that adequately demonstrate experience and capability in a category's general scope of work will be added to that roster. City departments may use approved consultants from a particular roster for contracts that fit the general scope of work and are estimated to cost a total of $260,000 or less, without having to advertise the project. Consultants shall be selected based upon their demonstrated expertise and their ability to complete the assigned project in a timely manner, although City departments shall make efforts to rotate through the consultants approved for a particular category. There is no guarantee of work for approved consultants. No consultant may be awarded more than $500,000 per calendar year per City department in a particular roster category. Approval for the Consultant Roster Program is indefinite, unless the key personnel, firm competency, or annual gross revenues exceed small business thresholds. The City reserves the right to periodically refresh rosters by asking all approved consultants to re-apply. The City reserves the right to designate additional roster categories as open to small businesses only. (In this event, approved consultants that exceed the threshold shall be removed from the roster.) Approved consultants selected from a roster must comply with all City contracting requirements and laws. Specific scopes of work, price, and other specific contract provisions will be negotiated with selected consultants. Until the contract is fully executed, the City of Seattle is under no obligation to enter into a contract with an approved roster consultant. The City will continue to advertise for consultant services estimated to cost more than $260,000, in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. City departments may also choose to advertise projects under $260,000 rather than using the Consultant Roster Program, or use other authorized consultant selection procedures. (Note: the dollar thresholds stated above are annually adjusted for inflation.) Application and Approval Process To be approved for the Consultant Roster Program, the applicant must adequately demonstrate the firm’s experience and capability in performing the general scope of work for the roster category. Approval will depend upon the applicant’s ability to provide brief but specific descriptions of relevant project history for the firm and its key personnel. Applicants should carefully review the Scope of Work for the category, prior to beginning an application. Main components of the on-line application: General Business Information: This section includes business contact information, OMWBE status (If applicable), and federal tax ID number. Certain roster categories are open only to small businesses, defined as having annual gross revenues below a specific dollar threshold for the category. (These thresholds are derived from the federal Small Business Administration for the specific industry classification.) For those categories limited to small businesses, the applicant must certify that the firm meets the annual gross revenue limit. Applicants applying to a roster category that is limited to small businesses should verify the firm’s average annual gross revenues for the past three years, prior to beginning the application process. Project History: Identify each specific project (maximum of ten per category) and the client (agency), the name and contact information for the client’s project manager, and the estimated dollar amount of the applicant’s work on the project. The description of the work on the project must directly relate to the general scope of work for the roster category. While applicants are not required to demonstrate experience in every element of the scope of work, the most successful candidates will be able to demonstrate broad experience. Applicants whose experience is too narrow or specialized may not be suitable candidates for a particular roster category. The projects listed in this section must have been completed by the applicant firm (or individual, in the case of sole proprietorships). The applicant must be able to list at least one project completed as the applicant firm. Start-up businesses are not eligible to participate in the Consultant Roster Program. Key Personnel and Project History: Applicants may list brief qualifications for up to five key personnel, and list up to ten projects performed by each of the key personnel listed. These projects may be performed for the applicant firm, or in a previous employment capacity. The description of the work on the project must directly relate to the general scope of work for the roster category. Sole proprietorship businesses that do not wish to duplicate the Firm Project History should clearly state that the Key Personnel history is the same as for the Firm Project History. Key Personnel identified in the application must be permanent, regular employees of the applicant firm. Temporary or contract employees or subcontractors may not be used to demonstrate key personnel experience. Additional Business and Additional Key Personnel Information: These fields are intended for brief statements of business information not covered in the main application fields. It is not appropriate to use these fields for extensive marketing text, nor in lieu of properly completing the main parts of the application. Special Instructions for the On-Line Application Database New applicants should select “Login as a New Consultant” from the Home Page menu. Select a log-in name and password. The password may consist of a maximum of 12 characters. After the first log-in, choose “Login as an Existing Consultant” from the Home Page menu to access previously submitted application materials. The applicant must retain a record of the log-in name and password, to edit application materials or to apply for additional roster categories. When using this internet-based application, please observe the following rules in order to avoid losing data:
If you have questions, comments or concerns relating to the Consultant Roster Program or its application process, please contact us.
Please proceed to the List of categories of Service for the Consultant Roster Program. |