In a two-stage process, the RFQ or RFEI is used to shortlist potential partners. Only the selected partners will be issued the RFP document. As such, information that is required in the RFQ or RFEI need not be included in the RFP requirements.
The information required in all submissions will vary depending on the needs and requirements of the project and of the local government. The RFP must stipulate the format of the proposal and each submission should be submitted in that format. This will enable the project team to evaluate the proposals in an "apples to apples" comparison. If all submissions are received in the same format, a "checklist" scoring system can be used for each component, which will reduce the time required to evaluate the submissions.
The submissions should generally include the following:
• a covering letter signed by the principals of all firms that make up the potential partner's team
• a table of contents
• an executive summary of the submission
• identification of the potential partners, including the names of all firms involved in the submission and the legal structure between them
• details mentioned previously, if this is a one-stage RFP process
• for infrastructure projects, a design and construction plan, including:
- design work
- timeframes and timetables
- permit requirements
- power requirements
- provisions for expanding and modifying the proposed infrastructure
- details on commissioning
• a management plan, including:
- operations
- treatment and development of operating manuals
- maintenance
- compliance with existing regulations
- staffing
- training of staff
- accounting, reporting and auditing procedures
- proposed relationship with local government staff
• a business plan, including:
- partnership structure
- duration of the proposed partnership
- ownership (present and future)
- terms of payment
- maintenance costs
- reserves that need to be kept by the private partner
- risk management, including that of force majeure
- risk transfer from the local government to the private sector partner
- economic benefits to the local government
• a financial plan, including:
- detailed cost schedule
- financial structure
- potential partner's sources of funding
- expectation of funding from the municipal government in terms of equity or annual operations
- how improvements, upgrades and modifications will be financed
- pro forma financial statements
- for infrastructure or service delivery partnerships where user fees will be a source of revenue, a detailed year-by-year description of future user fees
- definition of an "acceptable rate of return"
- expected return to the proposed private sector partner
• tax expectations, including:
- tax deductions
- capital cost allowance
- transfer to the public sector partner
- Goods and Services tax
- land transfer tax
- property and business tax
• legal arrangements, including:
- legal structure of the partnership between firms or persons in a consortium
- proposed legal structure between potential partner and local government
- special terms and conditions that will be required
- compensation if project is cancelled by local government
- compensation if project is cancelled by potential partner
- dispute resolution mechanisms
- indemnities
• a value engineering component, providing details as to how the proponent's engineering component of the project (if applicable) varies from that proposed by the local government (This component is evaluated on innovation, benefits and cost savings.)