Request for Proposal. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario. This Request for Proposal Closes at 16:00:00 EST on Monday, November 5, 2012

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1 Request for Proposal Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario This Request for Proposal Closes at 16:00:00 EST on Monday, November 5, 2012 Issued: October 24, 2012

2 Table of Contents A GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS A.1 Invitation A.2 Contact Person A.3 Project Authority A.4 Terms and Conditions A.5 Submission Format A.6 Closing Date and Time B PROJECT DESCRIPTION B.1 Client and Project Information B.2 Background B.3 Project Objective B.4 Project Schedule B.5 Final Deliverable B.6 Coordination and Reporting to Client C SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS C.1 Proposal Requirements C.2 Qualifications / Related Experience C.3 Approach and Methodology C.4 Proposed Form of Contract C.5 Proposal Content C.6 Proposal Submission D EVALUATION PROCESS D.1 Technical Evaluation of Proposals D.2 Evaluation Committee D.3 Evaluation Criteria Table D.4 Evaluation Process D.5 Interview D.6 References D.7 Time Frame for Evaluation APPENDIX A RFP Submission Form

3 A GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS A.1 Invitation The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA), is inviting proposals from Proponents to complete a study regarding Site Plan Approval Process and Practices within the Province of Ontario. The project is scheduled to begin in December 2012 and be delivered by September 1, A.2 Contract Person The Contact person for this Request for Proposal (RFP) is: Ashley Stewart ashleys@oaa.on.ca ext. 228 A.3 Project Authority The Project Authority for this Request for Proposal (RFP) is: Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) 111 Moatfield Drive Toronto, Ontario M3B 3L A.4 Terms and Conditions A.4.1 Mandatory and Advisory Clauses Mandatory clauses during the procurement are those containing the word must, will or shall. These clauses must be observed at all times, unless otherwise authorized by the OAA. Proponents not respecting these clauses will be disqualified and their proposals will not receive any further consideration. Advisory clauses during the procurement are those containing the word may or should. Proponents not respecting these clauses may be scored lower. A.4.2 Queries During the RFP The Proponent will base their proposal on the OAA RFP documents. It is the responsibility of the Proponent to obtain clarification of any terms, conditions or technical requirements contained in the RFP. Any questions or requests for clarification during the solicitation period must be submitted via by the primary contact of the Proponent to the Contact Person identified in section A.2 of this RFP document. Inquiries relating to this solicitation are to be directed ONLY to the Contact Person. Non-compliance with this condition during the solicitation period may, for that reason alone, result in the disqualification of the Proponent. Questions and requests for clarifications will be answered if received via e- mail by the Contact Person at least five (5) calendar days prior to the date stipulated for making the proposal. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 2

4 The Contact Person will only respond to the prime contact of the Proponent, who will be responsible for further internal distribution as required. A.4.3 Amendments to the RFP The answer to all questions or requests will be responded to by an addendum which will be issued to all Proponents. Proponents are advised that only the written information issued by the OAA in this RFP document, and any appended documents and any associated amendments shall be contractually binding. All Proponents must confirm in their RFP response the receipt of addenda if issued. The addenda if any will be issued via to each eligible proponent. No oral or verbal representation or comments other than the addenda issued via OAA will constitute amendments to the conditions of this RFP. A.4.4 Right to Initiate or to Terminate Negotiations The OAA shall have the sole right to initiate or to terminate negotiations. In case of disagreement in the interpretation of the provisions of this RFP the final decision will rest with the OAA Practice Advocacy Coordination Team (PACT) Chair. A.4.5 Right to Accept or Reject Proposals/Re-issue RFP The OAA reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses to this RFP as well as re-issue the RFP. A.4.6 Right to Request Clarifications/Confirmations The OAA reserves the right to request clarifications and/or confirmations from any or all Proponents regarding any aspect of the proposal. In the event such clarifications and/or confirmations are requested, the Contact Person will make the request. The request for clarification and/or confirmation will be directed to the individual named as the Proponent s contact in their proposal. A response via to each such communication is required from the Proponent. A.4.7 Payment for Proposal There will be no direct payment by the OAA for the document preparation and submission in response to this RFP. A.4.8 Privacy and Access Legislation Proponents are advised that the OAA is subject to the provisions of all applicable privacy and access to information legislation. Information submitted may be eligible for disclosure in accordance with the corresponding legislation. Information is not released without consultation with the Proponents, unless there is an order made under the applicable act. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 3

5 A.4.9 Debriefing A debriefing will be available to Proponents that are not successful in this competition, if requested via to the Contact Person within five (5) days of the notification. The confidentiality of information relating to all other proposals will be protected. Debriefing elements will include identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal along with the overall and individual requirement scores. It will not include any information about other proposals. The OAA will, however, destroy all unsuccessful proposals 90 days after the notification of the result unless the Proponent in question has requested in writing, via , a debriefing or the return of the proposal to the Proponent s office at the Proponent s cost. A.4.10 Copyright and Use of Documents All proposal material submitted for this RFP will remain the property of the OAA. The proposal by the Proponents will remain open for acceptance for 90 days following the deadline for submission of this proposal. A.4.11 Selection of Successful Proponent The selection process will be the Quality Based Selection (QBS) process as recommended by the OAA. QBS is a fair and objective process that facilitates the selection of a company on the basis of value-based criteria and competence, including consideration for professional qualifications, creativity and availability, in relation to the scope of work and needs of the client. Following the selection of the company, on this basis, the scope of services and professional fees are determined; and once agreed the company is awarded the contract. Please refer the OAA Website at click on public for more information. Acceptance of the selected Proponent is contingent on the successful negotiation of the conditions of the agreement, fees and scope of service. A.5 Submission Format A.5.1 Person Authorized to Bind the Company The Proponent s proposal is to be signed by the firm s signing authority. A.5.2 Proposal Format Documents must be formatted as follows: Paper size A4 (8.5" x 11") Point size - 11 point ARIAL Margins - 25mm (1") left, 19mm (3/4") top, 12mm (1/2") right and bottom Pages combined into a PDF file Pages maximum: 4 Double-sided pages will be counted as two (2) pages. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 4

6 The Proposal cover, letter of introduction and tab dividers will not be counted. Appendix A may be reproduced by Proponents provided that the order of the items and content remains unchanged. Proposals will be evaluated solely on the contents of the material as requested in this RFP. Supplementary material in the form of company brochures etc., if submitted, will not be forwarded to evaluators. Proposals exceeding the page counts will be considered as non-compliant and will be disqualified. Refer to C.5 for maximum number of pages. A.6 Closing Date and Time A.6.1 Closing Date and Time Proposals shall be received by Monday, November 5, 2012 at 16:00:00 EST. A.6.2 Late Proposals It is the responsibility of Proponents to allow sufficient time to ensure delivery of their proposals to the designated Contact Person prior to the stipulated closing time and date. Late proposals will not be accepted. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 5

7 B PROJECT DESCRIPTION B.1 Client and Project Information The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) is a self-regulating organization governed by the Architects Act, which is a statute of the Government of Ontario. The Association is dedicated to promoting and increasing the knowledge, skill and proficiency of its members, and administering the Architects Act, in order that the public interest may be served and protected. Membership includes approximately 3,350 licensed architects, 1,300 intern architects, and 725 associates (honourary, life, retired, and student associates) for a total of more than 5,000 people. Name of Client/Organization The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Name of Project Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario Project Location 111 Moatfield Drive Toronto, ON Name of Contact Person Ashley Stewart Address of Contact Person ashleys@oaa.on.ca Telephone Number Ext. (416) B.2 Background The Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994 describes how land uses may be controlled, and who may control them. Of particular significance, it gives municipalities autonomy: the authority to make local planning decisions that will determine the future of communities; and prepare planning documents, such as an official plan, which sets out the municipality s general planning goals and zoning bylaws, setting the rules and regulations that control development. In March 2012, the OAA issued a request to members to express any experiences, concerns, and suggestions regarding the Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994 and its administration and implementation by municipalities throughout Ontario. This request was prompted due to issues that were identified independently by architects as well as others in the industry. The responses were compiled and the various concerns and issues experienced by OAA members were described. Through this study, the OAA seeks to validate the concerns and issues to ensure a true representation of the issues. The culmination of this study and final Report would be a one day symposium, bringing together a variety of stakeholders including planners, developers, municipalities, architects, clients, and others to review the results. This event would occur in fall 2013 with a submission to government Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 6

8 planned for late B.3 Project Objective The OAA is seeking out an organization or individual to undertake a study that would have specific purposes as it relates to Site Plan Approval Process as follows: a) of the issues and concerns that OAA members and others have brought forward from the field, i. to quantify the current cost of the system to Ontario's economy ii. to look at the content and ascertain if it is in line with intent of the legislation and with the public good iii. to look at the question of "design" regulation iv. quantify the amount of time being spent v. redundancy and impact on small to mid/sized business vi. effect on public procurement costs; b) conduct an environmental scan as to what regulations, policies, processes and procedures work well in other jurisdictions; and c) review options as to what might be appropriate or feasible in Ontario. B.4 Project Schedule The final results and recommendations in a Report format will be delivered by September 1, We anticipate that this project will take at least six (6) months to complete. B.5 Final Deliverable The final results collected from this study will need to be organized into a Report and include recommendations based on other models or research/information obtained. Notwithstanding the project schedule, the Report and Recommendations will be formally delivered to the OAA as part of the one-day symposium anticipated for early September The final Report and Recommendations will be used to prepare a formal submission to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing regarding possible changes to the Ontario Planning and Development Act, B.6 Coordination and Reporting to the Client The successful Proponent will be responsible for monthly reporting to the OAA on the progress of the work. OAA staff and members of Council will be designated to work with the successful Proponent as necessary to provide ongoing guidance and feedback through the course of the project. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 7

9 C SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS C.1 Proposal Requirements Proponents proposals are to be based solely on the criteria described below and any Amendments/Addenda issued thereto. Proponents are advised to present the requested information clearly and concisely. The information should be relevant and given in context to this particular project. For the convenience of evaluators, the proposal must be ordered to coincide with the proposal criteria specified herein. Failure to provide the requested information may result in rejection of the proposal. Evaluations will be based on the criteria identified in the following sections. C.2 Qualifications / Related Experience Provide a statement that expands on your previous project experience and how that further qualifies the submission. (Maximum 2 pages) C.3 Approach and Methodology Proponents must describe their understanding of the requirements including a discussion of the challenges and associated resolutions. Through a discussion of the unique aspects, procedures, benefits, skills and techniques that the Proponent will bring to this project, demonstrate your understanding of the processes that will be applied to the successful delivery of this project. Explain the Proponent s proposed approach and methodology to satisfy project requirements. (Maximum 2 page) C.4 Proposed Form of Contract Submit your proposed form of contract, including terms and conditions, which you intend to use for this project. State what consulting services are provided in the above contract and identify any additional consultants who may need to be retained directly by the OAA. C.5 Proposal Content The submission must include: 1. Request for Proposal Submission Form (Appendix A) 2. A brief overview of the organization / individual including qualifications (Maximum two (2) pages) (Refer to C.2) 3. A maximum two (2) page outline of the approach that will be taken to undertake this study (Refer to C.3) 4. Proposed Form of Contract (Refer to C.4) Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 8

10 C.6 Proposal Submission Please send submission in electronic format (via ) to: Ashley Stewart Subject: Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario Hard copy and fax submissions WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Proposals must be of high quality, presentation and conformance to the prescribed format. Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 9

11 D EVALUATION PROCESS D.1 Technical Evaluation of Proposals The evaluation process will involve the review and scoring of the information provided in the proposal against the criteria specified in Section C. The proposal will be evaluated out of 100 points. D.2 Evaluation Committee An Evaluation Committee will be convened by the OAA PACT. All members of the Evaluation Committee will have equal votes in the evaluation process. A matrix will be used to compare the scores of each evaluator, and a consensus will then be reached through discussion internal to the Team. D.3 Evaluation Criteria Table Evaluation Criteria Max/Min Points Max # pages Qualification / Related Experience / 15 2 Approach and Methodology / 70 2 Overall Quality of Proposal / 5 Interview (if applicable) / 10 Total Score / 100 D.4 Evaluation Process Proponents will be short-listed following the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee, OAA PACT, based on the Quality Based Selection (QBS) method. There is no fee solicitation at this point. The list of the 3-5 qualified short-listed companies will be made available upon the recommendation of the OAA PACT. The preferred proponent will be identified following the interviews with the 3-5 short-listed companies with the recommendation to proceed with the scope and fee negotiation. Should the negotiations with the preferred proponent fail to achieve the agreement in regards to the fee and the scope of the work, the OAA PACT will proceed to the next short-listed proponent in order to negotiate the acceptable scope of work and fee. If not successful at this point, the procedure will be repeated with the third proponent and so on. The OAA will have six (6) representatives reviewing candidates. Final selection will be made by the OAA Executive Director and the OAA PACT. D.5 Interview OAA PACT reserves the right to schedule interviews with the three (3) to five (5) highest ranking Proponents as a final RFP evaluation element. Pursuant to evaluation of the Proposals, and at the sole discretion of OAA PACT, some or all of the Proponents may be invited to attend an interview with the OAA PACT. The selected Proponents will first be given 30 minutes to make a presentation to amplify their Technical Proposal. Following a short recess, there will a 30 minute interactive session during which the Evaluation Committee members will present a series of questions, some of which will be common to all Proponents, while others will be specific to each Proponent. At Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 10

12 the conclusion of each interview the Evaluation Committee will assess the interview with respect to focus, clarity, organization, team chemistry and overall impact and thereby assign a consensus score of up to 10 points. Administrative arrangements for the interview are as follows: Time slots will be assigned by means of random selection. Each Proponent will be allowed a maximum of three (3) to six (6) participants at the interview. When notified of the interview schedule, Proponents will be asked to name the participants in advance. Proponents will be given 30 minutes set up time before the interview and will be provided with a screen and an LCD projector (if required). D.6 References OAA PACT reserves the right to contact any or all project references indicated in the Proponent s submission and to use this information in the evaluation and scoring of submissions. D.7 Time Frame for Evaluation Target Date Description of Task November 5, 2012 November 6-12, 2012 November 13-15, 2012 November 16-30, 2012 December 3, 2012 Submission Deadline Review of Submission Notification of Request for Interviews Interview Process Notification of Winning Proponent Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 11

13 Appendix A: Request for Proposal Submission Form Date: Submitted By: Proponent To: Ontario Association of Architects c/o Ashley Stewart 1. The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the addenda listed hereafter: Addenda No. Date of Issue 2. Pursuant to and in compliance with the RFP Documents and the addenda listed above, the undersigned, being familiar with the RFP Documents, and all relevant laws, rules, notices, directives, standards, orders and regulations, licensing and permit requirements, labour markets and other circumstances which may affect its submission, hereby submit a proposal to provide research and report services for the Ontario Association of Architects as specified for this project. 3. The Proponent declares: a) that it has complied with the instructions; b) that it accepts all of the terms, provisions, stipulations and requirements set out in the RFP; c) that it is not relying on any information other than that set out in the RFP and addenda issued pursuant thereto by the Ontario Association of Architects; d) that all statements and information set out in its RFP Submission Form or otherwise provided to the Ontario Association of Architects in connection with the RFP, including statements and information hereafter provided, are and will be true, accurate and complete, not misleading and in accordance with the principles of full, true and plain disclosure. 4. Where a Proponent is comprised of more than one entity, all entities comprising the Proponent shall be jointly and severally liable. The undersigned has completed this RFP Submission Form. Printed Name Printed Position Signature Date Study: Site Plan Approval Process in Ontario 12