1. (1) The department shall use the formal selection procedure to select a consultant if the total fee is expected to exceed $500,000. The formal selection procedure may otherwise be used at the department’s discretion.

2. (2) The department shall obtain contracts through public advertisement of RFPs, or requests for qualifications (RFQ’s) followed by RFPs.

   1. (a) The department shall publish each RFP and RFQ by one or more of the electronic methods identified in OAR 736-146-0110(3). The department may advertise the RFP or RFQ in other publications including, but not limited to, local newspapers, trade journals, and publications targeted to reach disadvantaged business enterprise (“DBE”), Veteran-owned business (“VB”), minority business enterprise (“MBE”), women business enterprise (“WBE”) and emerging small business enterprise (“ESB”) audiences. Published advertisements shall include the following:.

      1. (A) The department shall publish the advertisement within a reasonable time before the deadline for the proposal submission or response to the RFQ or RFP, but in any event no fewer than fourteen (14) calendar days before the closing date set forth in the RFQ or RFP.

      2. (B) The department shall include a brief description of the following items in the advertisement:

         1. (i) The project;
         2. (ii) A description of the services the department seeks;
         3. (iii) How and where consultants may obtain a copy of the RFQ or RFP; and
         4. (iv) The deadline for submitting a statement of qualifications, proposal or response to the RFQ or RFP.
   2. (b) The department may send notice of the RFP or RFQ directly to any consultants the department has identified that can provide the services required.

3. (3) Request for Qualifications Procedure. The department may use the RFQ procedure to evaluate potential consultants and establish a short list of qualified consultants to whom the department may issue an RFP for some or all of the services described in the RFQ.

   1. (a) The department shall include the following, at a minimum, in each RFQ:

      1. (A) A brief description of the project for which the department is seeking a consultant;
      2. (B) A description of the services the department seeks for the project;
      3. (C) Conditions or limitations, if any, that may constrain or prohibit the selected consultant’s ability to provide additional services related to the project, including but not limited to construction services;
      4. (D) The deadline for submitting a response to the RFQ;
      5. (E) A description of required consultant qualifications for the services the department seeks;
      6. (F) The RFQ evaluation criteria, including weights, points or other classifications applicable to each criterion;
      7. (G) A statement whether or not the department will hold a pre-qualification meeting for all interested consultants to discuss the project and the services described in the RFQ and if a pre-qualification meeting will be held, the location of the meeting and whether or not attendance is mandatory; and
      8. (H) A statement that consultants responding to the RFQ do so solely at their expense, and that the department is not responsible for any consultant expenses associated with the RFQ.

   2. (b) The department may include a request for any or all of the following in each RFQ:

      1. (A) A statement describing consultants’ general qualifications and related performance information;
      2. (B) A description of consultants’ specific qualifications to perform the services described in the RFQ including consultants’ committed resources and recent, current and projected workloads;
      3. (C) A list of similar services and references concerning past performance, including but not limited to price and cost data from previous projects, quality of work, ability to meet schedules, cost control and contract administration;
      4. (D) A copy of all records, if any, of consultants’ performance under contracts with any other department;
      5. (E) The number of consultants’ experienced staff committed to perform the services described in the RFQ, including such personnel’s specific qualifications and experience and an estimate of the proportion of time that such personnel would spend on those services;
      6. (F) Consultants’ approaches to services described in the RFQ and design philosophy, if applicable;
      7. (G) Consultants’ geographic proximity to and familiarity with the physical location of the project;
      8. (H) Consultants’ ownership status and employment practices regarding women, minorities and emerging small businesses or historically underutilized businesses;
      9. (I) If the department is selecting a consultant to provide related services, consultants’ pricing policies and pricing proposals or other pricing information, including the number of hours estimated for the services required, expenses, hourly rates and overhead;
      10. (J) Consultants’ ability to assist the department in complying with art acquisition requirements, pursuant to ORS 276.073 through 276.090, if required by the project;
      11. (K) Consultants’ ability to assist the department in complying with state of Oregon energy efficient design requirements, pursuant to ORS 276.900 through 276.915, when required;
      12. (L) Whether the consultant owes a liquidated and delinquent debt to the state of Oregon; and
      13. (M) Any other information the department deems reasonably necessary to evaluate consultants’ qualifications.
   3. (c) If the department uses a request for qualifications followed by an RFP to procure services, the department cannot request cost proposals or otherwise use pricing policies, proposals or other pricing information as part of the request for qualifications. The department may only request cost proposals or otherwise use pricing policies, proposals or other pricing information during the RFP process, following the establishment of a short list of qualified consultants through the request for qualifications process.
   4. (d) RFQ Evaluation Committee. The department shall establish an RFQ evaluation committee of at least two (2) individuals to review, score and rank the responding consultants according to the evaluation criteria. The department may appoint to the evaluation committee department employees or employees of other public agencies with experience in the requested services, construction services or public contracting. The department shall designate one member of the evaluation committee as the evaluation committee chairperson.

   5. (e) The department may use any reasonable screening or evaluation method to establish a short list of qualified consultants, including but not limited to, the following:

      1. (A) Requiring consultants responding to an RFQ to achieve a threshold score before qualifying for placement on the short list;
      2. (B) Placing a pre-determined number of the highest scoring consultants on a short list;
      3. (C) Placing on a short list only those consultants with certain essential qualifications or experience, whose practice is limited to a particular subject area, or who practice in a particular geographic locale or region, provided that such factors are material, would not unduly restrict competition, and were announced as dispositive in the RFQ.

   6. (f) After the evaluation committee reviews, scores and ranks the responding consultants, the Department shall establish a short list of at least three qualified consultants, if feasible; provided however, if four or fewer consultants responded to the RFQ or if fewer than three consultants fail to meet the department’s minimum requirements, then:

      1. (A) The department may establish a short list of fewer than three qualified consultants; or
      2. (B) The department may cancel the RFQ and issue an RFP.
   7. (g) No consultant will be eligible for placement on the department’s short list established if consultant or any of consultant’s principals, partners or associates are members of the department’s RFQ evaluation committee.
   8. (h) If the RFQ is cancelled, the department shall provide a copy of the subsequent RFP to each consultant on the short list.

4. (4) RFP Procedure. The department may use the RFP procedure described in section when issuing an RFP for a contract for services.

   1. (a) RFP Required Contents. The department using the formal selection procedure shall include at least the following in each RFP, whether or not the RFP is preceded by an RFQ:

      1. (A) General background information, including a description of the project and the specific Services sought for the project, the estimated project cost, the estimated time period during which the project is to be completed, and the estimated time period in which the specific services sought will be performed;

      2. (B) The RFP evaluation process and the criteria which will be used to select the most qualified Proposer, including the weights, points or other classifications applicable to each criterion. If the department does not indicate the applicable number of points, weights or other classifications, then each criterion is of equal value. Evaluation criteria may include, but are not limited to, the following:

         1. (i) Proposers’ availability and capability to perform the services described in the RFP;
         2. (ii) Experience of proposers’ key staff persons in providing similar architectural, engineering, photogrammetric mapping, transportation planning or land surveying services, or related services on comparable projects;
         3. (iii) The amount and type of resources, and number of experienced staff persons proposers have committed to perform the services described in the RFP;
         4. (iv) The recent, current and projected workloads of the staff and resources proposed ;
         5. (v) The proportion of time proposers estimate that the proposed staff, would spend on the services described in the RFP;
         6. (vi) Proposers’ demonstrated ability to complete successfully similar services on time and within budget, including whether or not there is a record of satisfactory performance;
         7. (vii) References and recommendations from past clients;
         8. (viii) Proposers’ performance history in meeting deadlines, submitting accurate estimates, producing high quality work, meeting financial obligations, price and cost data from previous projects, cost controls and contract administration;
         9. (ix) Status and quality of any required license or certification;
         10. (x) Proposers’ knowledge and understanding of the project and services described in the RFP as shown in proposers’ approaches to staffing and scheduling needs for the services and proposed solutions to any perceived design and constructability issues;
         11. (xi) Results from interviews, if conducted;
         12. (xii) Design philosophy, if applicable, and approach to the services described in the RFP;
         13. (xiii) Whether the consultant owes a liquidated and delinquent debt to the state of Oregon.
         14. (xiv) Pricing policies and pricing proposals or other pricing information, including the number of hours proposed for the services required, expenses, hourly rates and overhead; and
         15. (xv) Any other criteria that the department deems relevant to the project and the services described in the RFP.
      3. (C) Conditions or limitations, if any, that may constrain or prohibit the selected consultant’s ability to provide additional services related to the project, including but not limited to construction services;
      4. (D) Whether interviews are possible and if so, the weight, points or other classifications applicable to the potential interview;
      5. (E) The date and time proposals are due, and the delivery location for proposals;
      6. (F) Reservation of the right to seek clarifications of each proposal;
      7. (G) Reservation of the right to negotiate a final contract that is in the best interest of the department;
      8. (H) Reservation of the right to reject any or all proposals and reservation of the right to cancel the RFP at any time if doing either would be in the public interest as determined by the department;
      9. (I) A Statement that proposers responding to the RFP do so solely at their expense, and department is not responsible for any proposer expenses associated with the RFP;
      10. (J) A statement directing proposers to the protest procedures set forth in these division 148 rules;
      11. (K) Special contract requirements, including but not limited to DBE, MBE, WBE, ESB and VB participation goals or good faith efforts with respect to DBE, MBE, WBE, ESB and VB participation, and federal requirements when federal funds are involved;
      12. (L) A statement whether or not the department will hold a pre-proposal meeting for all interested consultants to discuss the project and the services described in the RFP and if a pre-proposal meeting will be held, the location of the meeting and whether or not attendance is mandatory;
      13. (M) A request for any information the department deems reasonably necessary to permit the department to evaluate, rank and select the most qualified proposer to perform the services described in the RFP; and
      14. (N) A sample form of the contract.

      15. (O) If the RFP provides for the possibility of proposer interviews, the department may elect to interview proposers if it considers it necessary or desirable.

          1. (i) If the department conducts interviews, it shall award weights, points or other classifications indicated in the RFP for the anticipated interview; and
          2. (ii) The department shall record the results of the scoring and ranking for each proposer.

   2. (b) If the department does not cancel the RFP after it receives the results of the scoring and ranking for each proposer, the department will begin negotiating a contract with the highest ranked proposer. The department shall direct contract negotiations toward discussing, refining and finalizing the following:

      1. (A) The specific scope of services to be provided by the consultant;
      2. (B) The consultant’s performance obligations and performance schedule;
      3. (C) Payment methodology, consultant’s rates and number of hours, and a maximum amount payable to the consultant for the services required under the contract that is fair and reasonable to the department as determined solely by the department, taking into account the value, scope, complexity and nature of the services; and
      4. (D) Any other conditions or provisions the department believes to be in the department’s best interest to negotiate.
   3. (c) The department shall, in writing, formally terminate negotiations with the highest ranked proposer if the department and proposer are unable for any reason to reach agreement on a contract within a reasonable amount of time. The department may thereafter negotiate with the second ranked Proposer, and if necessary, with the third ranked proposer, and so on if applicable, until negotiations result in a contract. If negotiations with any proposer do not result in a contract within a reasonable amount of time, the department may cancel the formal solicitation. Nothing in this rule precludes the department from proceeding with a new formal solicitation for the same Services described in the RFP that failed to result in a contract.

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 279.025(3)(k)

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 279.025(3)(k)

History

PRD 2-2026, temporary adopt filed 04/23/2026, effective 04/24/2026 through 10/19/2026