The intent of the Request for Proposals is to invite detailed technical and financial proposals from the three shortlisted Proponents. These proposals are used by the evaluation teams and selection committee to evaluate the proposals against pre-defined criteria and select the Preferred Proponent. The department will enter into a Project Agreement with the Preferred Proponent.
The RFP must focus on the technical and financial merit of the proposals and must not re-evaluate the qualitative factors already considered at the RFQ stage. The RFQ process has already identified three proponents that are qualified to undertake the Project and inclusion on the shortlist indicates that the department is prepared to enter an Agreement with the Proponent that submits the "best" proposal (see Management Framework: Procurement Process).