Most Proponents will not only have detailed and robust estimating procedures, they will also have detailed, robust and explicit internal review and approval procedures.
Such procedures will have been developed over many years as Proponents' senior management discharge their own responsibilities to the shareholders to prudently manage design and construction risk.
The procedures will vary between Proponents but the common steps that are relevant to the Owner are:
• Interim reviews by senior management
This will generally be a lengthy (e.g. one day) review of all aspects of the Proposal (e.g. design, proposed team, client requirements, initial estimate, risk and opportunity, differentiators to competitors). The intent of the Proponents' senior management is to win the tender on acceptable terms and to review the tender at a stage where it is sufficiently developed to warrant a review but not so late that they cannot use their wisdom and experience to positively influence the outcome.
• Final review by senior management
This involves a more formal and thorough examination than the interim review. It is likely to be over 2-3 days in the week prior to tender close, possibly involving functional staff from the Proponent's corporate office. The review will culminate in formal (written) approval by the Proponents' senior manager to submit the Final Proposal including the TOC to the Owner.
The Proponents' senior management have responsibilities to their shareholders just as public officials have to the public interest. Given that the Proponent's TOC may be jointly 'owned' by the Owner, Owner's senior managers should, especially in the case of non price competition, attend and participate in the above internal Proponent reviews as allowed by good probity procedures.
However, it is not appropriate that the Proponent attend any OCT reviews because the OCT may be informed by all Proponents and is the Owner's 'reserve price'.