P3 Procurement (Parts 1-3)
In June of 2019, Tricia de la Peña, Ed Kussy and Nancy Smith presented a three-part webinar series on Public-Private Partnership (P3) Procurement: A Guide for Public Owners, hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Center for Innovative Finance Support.
The Build America Bureau, in cooperation with the FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), released the Guide, which discussed procedures and issues in procuring a private sector partner to deliver, operate and maintain a surface transportation project. The Guide is the latest addition to the Department of Transportation’s "P3 Toolkit" of fact sheets, primers, guides and analytical tools for Federal, State and local policy makers, legislative and executive staff, and transportation professionals.
On June 17th, Tricia de la Peña, Ed Kussy and Nancy Smith presented "An Overview of the P3 Procurement Guide." In this presentation, they reviewed differences between P3 and other delivery methods and legal considerations; goals, activities and successful practices; federal funding and financing; and strategies for environmental and regulatory approval.
On June 24th, Tricia, Ed, and Nancy presented "Preparing for a P3 Procurement," in which they discussed key issues that arise at the pre-procurement stage of a surface transportation project. These issues included P3 feasibility analysis; selection of advisors; addressing organizational conflicts of interest; market sounding; federal support; and local stakeholder support.
Finally on June 26th, Tricia and Nancy presented "Conducting a P3 Procurement," a webinar on key issues that arise during the procurement process of a surface transportation project. These issues included the development of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ); development of a Request for Proposals (RFP); opportunities for proposers to submit Alternative Technical Concepts (ATCs); payment of stipends to unsuccessful proposers and to all shortlisted firms if the procurement is cancelled; the best value selection approach; establishment of evaluation committees; and negotiation.