1. (a) Evaluation criteria. The department will evaluate responsive proposals based on the following criteria:

   1. (1) professional qualifications of technical experts;
   2. (2) experience of the firm and the technical experts;
   3. (3) technical or scientific merits of the proposal, including unique or innovative methods for performing the work, if applicable;
   4. (4) ability to commit personnel, time, and other resources to the project (technical experts cannot be removed from association with the contract without prior consent by the department);
   5. (5) demonstrated understanding of the scope of services to be provided, including identifying which type of work will be performed by a subprovider, if any;
   6. (6) demonstrated understanding of applicable rules, regulations, policies, and other requirements associated with the environmental or cultural studies, analyses, or document preparation to be performed;
   7. (7) ability to meet department scheduling requirements; and
   8. (8) reasonableness of fee.
2. (b) Evaluation scale. The department will assign a numerical weighting value to each evaluation criterion and then score each criterion based upon a scale of 0 to 10 points per criterion with 10 points being the best qualified.
3. (c) Evaluation matrix. The department will evaluate each responsive proposal using an individual proposal evaluation matrix.

Source Note:The provisions of this §9.858 adopted to be effective March 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 1829.