The MRSC rosters are in addition to the online rosters recently created by a number of government agencies in cooperation with eCityGov.net (Shared Procurement Portal). The MRSC and eCityGov.net rosters work slightly differently. For example, MRSC charges both contractors and consultants as well as government agencies, while eCityGov.net only charges government agencies.
Hopefully, these two groups will continue discussions about merging into a single roster service for the contracting and government communities, with no charges to contractors and consultants for being listed on the rosters. Contractors and consultants shouldn't have to pay to be listed on government rosters for possible business opportunities. Having the separate rosters also sends a confusing message to contractors and consultants and somewhat defeats the purpose of having one centralized location where they can register to be considered for work by many different government agencies. Many government agencies continue to maintain their own separate rosters.
Questions on MRSC Rosters: Contractors and consultants can register for MRSC ROSTERS online now at www.mrscrosters.org. Agencies can sign up by following the instructions on our How to Use MRSC ROSTERS page. Contact Marcie Klobucher at mklobucher@mrsc.org (or 206-625-1300) if you have any questions.
Questions on the Shared Procurement Portal: Visit the website at www.WaGovBiz.net or contact Mayvis Schwab at mschwab@bellevuewa.gov.
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2 comments:
Mr. Purdy,
Thank you for promoting the concept of shared rosters, however as the MRSC Rosters Manager there are a few clarifications needed to make your posting more accurate.
MRSC Rosters (www.mrscrosters.org)is set up to serve not only local governments as an efficient roster system, but also to benefit contractors/consultants by allowing them to register with multiple participating agencies in one application process. Contractors and Consultants are NOT required to pay a fee to be listed on MRSC Rosters, however if they would like to increase the marketing cost-effectiveness of their account, they may choose the enhanced fee based option. For specific information I recommend visiting MRSC Rosters and reading more within the Contractor and Consultant Section where the two options are compared.
Secondly MRSC Rosters and eCityGov's SPP are not comparable because MRSC Rosters is simply a roster system whereas eCityGov has more extensive portal options.
MRSC Rosters is run by the nonprofit Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington and funded by the fees generated from participating agencies (based on total capital expenditures) and those contractors/consultants who choose the enhanced option. eCityGov, in contrast, was started with funding from a few large east Lake Washington cities and although there are no fees for contractors/consultants, the agency fees are much more expensive than MRSC Rosters. I would recommend contacting eCityGov for more information.
At this time MRSC Rosters and eCityGov will continue to remain separate because we currently serve different audiences, but we plan to revisit a potential partnership in the future.
If anyone has further questions, please contact MRSC Rosters Manager, Ellen J. Hutchinson at 206.625.1300 or mrscrosters@mrsc.org .
I appreciate the clarification you offered. It appears that consultants and contractors can register for free for MRSC's Rosters. However, under this option, they must register individually for each agency they are interested in doing work for. If they want to register and do work county-wide or state-wide, they must pay a fee.
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