Email to IC’s Office Re “Management Consultant” RFP
Dear Mr Gould,
My firm has a few quick questions that we need answers to prior to making a bid on bid number: 04-02-09-MG (Please see attached).
After you read the questions, I hope you will agree that it would be impossible for anyone to make an informed, honest proposal to offer consulting services given the state of the RFP.
If the purpose of the RFP, however, is to allow connected insiders to wax eloquent about their consulting prowess we could certainly do that. In fact, let me assure you in advance that our consulting ass-kickery is first rate.
My firm is eager to bid on this contract, so the favor of a reply is much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jason330
DL Consulting
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QUESTIONS ON REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO PROVIDE MANAGEMENT REVIEW CONSULTATION ISSUED BY THE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE
We understand that there is a moratorium on new consulting contracts with the State of Delaware during the Budget crisis, is there any possibility that award of this contract could be affected by this moratorium?
Section 1.01 More detailed information about the scope of the project will be provided uponreceipt of a proposal.
Please clarify the expected Scope of Work. We do not understand how to price or staff this proposal without a detailed Scope of Work for this project.
Section 2.03 Vendor’s Capacity.
Given that this RFP is not accompanied by a detailed Scope of Work (indeed, that Scope will be shared at some later date), please clarify how proposers are to provide you with assurances of work capacity.
Further, this section requires that the Vendor should be available at all times . Does this mean that the DOI is expecting the Vendor to be available on a 24 hour basis? Please clarify what financial consulting the DOI will require outside of typical working hours.
Section 3, Proposal Requirement A – Item iv:
Please provide detail on the level of staffing you will require (or a Scope of Work so Vendor’s can develop a staffing model) so that we can provide you with a backup plan for that staff.
Further, this section is titled General Experience – is this the section where you want some detail on similar work that the Vendor has done for other DOIs? Vendors will still need a detailed scope to determine what experience best matches up with your requirement.
Proposal Requirement B – Conflicts of Interest:
Please provide a list of the firms whose records may be under review under this contract so Vendors can make an adequate CoI determination.
Section 4 Price Proposal:
Please clarify the type of contract that is expected to be awarded as a result of this RFP. Please clarify how Vendors are to propose the billing of Other Direct Costs to this contract. Please clarify how Vendors are to propose billing surcharges for work outside of normal working hours if this contract is expected to be a 24 hour service contract. Please clarify the expected duration of this contract. If this is a multiple year contract, please clarify how Vendors are to propose escalation of rates for out years.
Section 5 Evaluation Criteria – A Experience of the firm and the individual accountants or consultants working with other insurance departments:
Please clarify where you expect this firm and individual experience should occur on the Vendor’s proposal. Neither of these are addressed as a requirement in Sections 2 or 3.
B Administrative structure of consultancy (i.e., proposed staffing assignments), soundness of approach to consultancy and understanding of the needs of the DOI;
Please clarify where you expect these requirements to be included in the Vendor’s proposal – none of these are addressed as a requirement in Sections 2 or 3.
C. Demonstrated ability to perform the services referred to under Project Scope and Objectives:
Please clarify how you expect this requirement to be included in the Vendor’s proposal – none of these are addressed as a requirement in Sections 2 or 3. In addition, Vendors will still need a detailed SOW and Objectives to evaluate in order to provide some sufficient demonstration of ability.
D. References and recommendations of other clients: Please clarify how you expect this requirement to be included in the Vendor’s proposal – none of these are addressed as a requirement in Sections 2 or 3.
Please clarify how you will evaluate Price Proposals.
Please clarify how you will evaluate Alternate Price Proposals.
Contract Negotiation: Please provide a copy of the model contract so vendors can evaluate and submit Exceptions as part of the proposal.
Your RFP schedule shows receipt of proposals on the 26th of May with Interviews on the 27th of May as well as Negotiations on the 27th of May.
Please indicate how the DOI will be ready to interview and negotiate a contract 24 hours after receipt of the proposals? Please provide detail on the evaluation criteria for Interviews.
When you plan to notify unsuccessful offerors? Will unsuccessful offerors be able to get a debriefing on the evaluation of their proposal?
Mega Props to Cassandra for the kick-ass questions – especially the point that interviews will be within 24 hours after the receipt of the proposal.
If ever anything was wired to transfer money to somebody’s friend – it is this “consultancy.”
Wow, the questions made it clear just how badly this is written. It definitely looks like it was written with someone in mind already. How would a firm be able to put together any type of proposal with the request?
Hey Jason330, can I work from home when we get this gig?
Jason, seriously, fuck off. The RFP was just pro forma so that we wouldn’t get any heat for violating State bidding protocol. We decided who we’re going to handsomely financially reward months ago. The RFP is just a bunch of window dressing to pull the wool over the eyes of Karen Weldin Stewart’s constituency. I mean, after all, if they voted for her they should be too dumb to figure out this bullshit we posted to make them go away.
Get a clue, dude.
Nemski, Oh hell yeah.
DL Consulting Brand consulting has a subliminal, liminal, and super-liminal component. So you can be in charge of the subliminal side.
Dave M writes the response I would be getting from Michael Gould if someone shot Michael Gould in the neck with a tranquilizer dart filled with sodium penathol.
I think to get Gould’s brain affect by sodium pentathol you’d have better luck shooting him in the ass.
Still no vendor Q&A’s posted… which could mean they didn’t receive any. Which means everybody knows the fix is in.
If KWS awards the contract to herself, is there any conflict in getting paid by the Insurance Department as an employee, i.e., Commissioner, and as a consultant?
Follow up question: Does KWS know how to spell “conflict”? If she asks for help, would the question be “How many ‘k’s in conflict?”
Follow up-follow up question: How are those default credit card debt judgments against KWS doing?
Just one more follow up question: How the fuck did we allow her to get elected? And you guys bitch about Castle?
Dave M: Many of us were screeching about this all along, and many of us voted for ‘the Big Guy’.
Problem was, NONE of the D alternatives were acceptable. Son of a corrupt political boss, the banshee screamer from Sussex County by way of Wilmington, and KWS. When people, as ‘bulo did, saw all of them together at a candidates’ forum, there was no way to be enthusiastic about any of them.
BTW, Jason 330, thank you for shining the light on what appears to have been a ‘wired’ deal. Time for some wires to unravel. And this, BTW, is what bloggers can and should do.
Now could you please write something about beef-jerky underwear?
I told you asshats to vote for Brady.
Some did, Mis.
True. I hope he makes another run.
It’ll have to be a primary fight. Should be fun.
No response from Gould yet.
I noticed that Eliot responds a lot on here. Maybe he’s writing back to Jason. Its a bitch you can’t post on blogs in crayon.
Excellent job on the questions. We may not get a chance to vote for Brady, though. There is a bill in Congress that would put the insurance industry under federal regulation. It contains a provision that state commissioners like KWS would remain in place. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that if the bill passes and even though she’d have little if any power, she’d be just another state employee and wouldn’t have to worry about reelection. The good news is she’ll probably be fired as soon as whoever her boss will be figures out she’s totally incompetent and borderline illiterate, like Donna Lee Williams did when she took office in 1992. Federal regulation is something insurers have wanted for a long time, mainly because of self-dealing state drones like KWS.
Small bone to pick with Gabriel: the feds have long exerted oversight on banking. How’d that work for us? And now you think the feds taking over the insurance regulation would be a good idea? I’d be like making KWS President. She could possibly be even worse than Bush.
Dave, I didn’t say I like it myself, especially not for Delaware right now because it would just create more pandemonium in the ICs office. According to the bill, under federal regulation state ICs would have less power, not more.