The project team must include expertise in all aspects of the procurement. The department should retain external consultants and advisors to provide any expertise that is not readily available within the Alberta government. All external consultants should be retained immediately following approval to proceed with the P3 procurement and before the issuing of any project specific procurement documents. It is likely that the following external consultants will be retained;
• Technical consultant. The department Engineering/Architect consultant's role is to assist Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation in successfully preparing the project specific documentation and implementation of the P3 process. The technical consultant team will provide expert assistance to the department regarding all phases of the work from reviewing the draft project specific documentation, to assisting in the final preparation of the project specific documentation and assisting in the evaluation process.
• Process and Financial Consultants. The department Financial and Process Consultant's role is to assist Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation in successfully preparing the final documents and assisting in the procurement stages. The Financial and Process consultant teams will provide expert assistance to the department regarding all phases of the work from updating the project specific P3 procedures from start to finish, assisting in the review of the submissions, assisting in the review documentation and reporting.
• Fairness Auditor. The role of the Fairness Auditor is to oversee the process to ensure that it is fair and to provide an independent opinion by observing and reviewing the transaction process. The Fairness Auditor must be independent to the Government of Alberta and will report directly to the Steering Committee.
As a result of the department Consultants involvement on the project, the Consultants, their affiliates and sub-consultants are not eligible to participate as members of any Respondent/Proponent Team.
All members of the consultant teams must sign a confidentiality agreement with the department. If a member of a consultant team leaves the employment of the firm, that member will not be allowed to work with any respondent or proponent team from the time of departure to the signing of the Project Agreement.