The Evaluation Team will be responsible for satisfying itself as to the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the information provided in the submissions in both the RFQ and RFP phases. The members of the team will do so by contacting the references provided by proponents, by researching publicly available sources (e.g., media, web sites) and by using any other means as necessary. Reference checks are mainly for the corporate and staff experience sections of the RFQ evaluation.
Information collected through the verification work will be considered in the evaluation of the submissions. The information collected through the verification process will be designed solely to verify the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the information submitted, in order to accurately apply the evaluation criteria.
The Evaluation Team will determine if any information collected through the verification process indicates that the proponent has submitted false or misleading information that is material to the evaluation of the submissions. Depending on the significance of the issues, the Evaluation Team will determine whether the proponent should be recommended for disqualification.
The evaluators will be responsible for conducting reference checks during the evaluation process by following the procedures below:
■ Evaluators will check at least one reference for the key staff put forward in the RFQ submission. The key staff normally includes the concessionaire and construction team managers. The number of references required for each staff depends on whether the evaluators are satisfied with the truthfulness and comprehensiveness of the information provided.
■ Evaluators will determine which reference(s) to contact for each of the key staff members. The selection of the reference(s) is based on projects that demonstrate the following characteristics:
o Relevant to the project;
o Requiring clarification; and
o Representative of the staffs overall experience.
■ Reference checks should be conducted via telephone. The evaluator(s) will identify themselves to the reference and briefly introduce the project, including the reference check process.
The questions used during the reference check will be determined by the evaluators. However, the following questions may be considered:
Technical qualifications:
■ Confirm the facts with respect to specific projects;
■ Confirm the staff responsibility with respect to specific projects;
■ Verify that the project listed by the staff has been completed satisfactorily (e.g., on budget and on time);
■ Verify whether the project listed by the staff is considered as a success by the reference; and
■ Verify the performance of the staff on the specific project.
Financial qualifications:
■ Confirm the figures reported in the Lead Team Member's financial statements; and
■ Identify, as practical to do so, any off-balance sheet financing arrangement.
The evaluators will document all the information provided by the reference as part of the evaluation. The evaluators will incorporate the information collected through reference checks into the evaluation. In the event that none of the references for a particular staff could be available for reference checks or evaluators require additional references to satisfy themselves, evaluators will request alternative or additional references from the respondent through the clarification process. To the extent practical, references should be contacted only once, in case the same reference is used by multiple respondents/proponents and/or for multiple projects.