Best Value Procurement

The Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB) has begun discussions about Best Value Procurement. Essentially, this is an off-shoot of the traditional Design-Bid-Build, but could best be characterized as “Design-Select-Build.” The distinction is how the contractor is selected.

In Design-Bid-Build, the contractor is selected based on a low bid. In Best Value, the contractor is selected based on a combination of price and qualifications, experience, and approach.

Naturally, some contractors are concerned about such an approach for two reasons.

1. It puts some contractors at a disadvantage when compared to larger and more experienced firms.
2. Contractors are concerned that public agencies may manipulate the selection process to only select their favorite contractors.

How Best Value Procurement gets developed (and if it does) and what evaluation criteria will be used will make a big difference as to whether this alternative delivery method is added to the tool belt for use by public agencies in Washington State.

There are different versions of Best Value Procurement in existence. Arizona State University’s Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG) touts a version of Best Value that, in my opinion, is heavily biased against public agencies in favor of contractors. Read my earlier blog entry about this method, based on my attendance at their training, by clicking here.