As mentioned previously, a carefully developed and clear RFP document is important not only for future contract negotiations, but also for building the trust of the private sector. A well-developed RFP document will demonstrate to the private sector that the local government is serious about the partnership and has the ability to complete the transaction.
A solid RFP that clearly states the intentions and requirements of the local government in a public private partnership can reduce the amount of questions received by the project team from proponents. However, this does not mean that questions will be eliminated altogether. There are a number of considerations for communications with proponents.
These considerations include:
• An option available to the project team is to hold a meeting of potential partners who have received the RFP. This forum would allow proponents' questions to be addressed.
• Background information should be provided to all potential partners. If this is too costly, the local government should consider charging a fee for the information or developing a background information centre where proponents may view relevant background information. An option would be to develop a virtual project background room on the Internet. All background information would be available to project proponents who would be issued a password to gain access to the Internet site.
• Submissions from the potential partners may contain large quantities of sensitive financial or other privileged information, and the local government should receive the materials and use them in the strictest confidence. This commitment to confidentiality will build trust for future RFP processes.
• The project team should appoint a contact person. All potential partners would be required to receive information from the contact person only. This limits lobbying efforts. It also ensures that all information will come from one person. This person will be responsible for disseminating the information to all potential partners.
• Information provided by the contact person should be in a written format. This would ensure that all proponents receive exactly the same information.
• The project team should consider having a "black out" on proponents' contact of local government staff and elected officials. In this instance, proponents would face disqualification for contacting any party other than the designated contact person.
• The potential partners should be informed of the no-lobbying provisions.