Workshops - General Guidance:

ITP Workshops typically involve a series of workshops or meetings held separately with each Respondent. As a general rule, a number of workshops are held with each Respondent which cover:

•  technical workshop(s) dealing primarily with design issues which can also be broken up into stages (i.e. masterplan, concept design and detailed design);

•  Services Specification workshop(s); 

•  legal workshops which are intended to discuss the legal framework and the State's proposed risk profile; and

•  commercial workshop(s), which are intended to discuss key commercial issues and the State's intention behind the commercial positions.

The structure of an ITP Workshop will depend on the complexity of a project and generally be a balance between Respondent initiated sessions and State initiated sessions. The general principle is that the onus is on Respondents to identify the issues they wish to discuss. However, there may be instances where the State wishes to highlight or elaborate on Key Project Issues.

The use of meeting agendas is strongly recommended. The State should require Respondents to pre-circulate agendas five Business Days prior to each Respondent Initiated ITP Workshop. This gives advance notice of issues and allows adequate time to ensure availability of State representatives.

Timing - General Guidance:

ITP Workshops will commence after the release of the RFP and be spread over the duration of the RFP Phase. The mix and timing of these sessions are for the State project team to determine in consultation with Respondents. However, the timing of workshops is critical and should generally match Proposal development to maximise benefit. For example, Respondents generally carry out a lot of design work early in the RFP Phase, hence design and Services Specification workshops should begin early in the RFP Phase. The designs are then costed and commercial issues addressed, hence commercial and legal workshops will generally commence later in the process. 

The timing or staging of ITP Workshops is a factor in determining the duration of the tender period (i.e. the period between the RFP release and the Closing Time and Date). A short period may adversely affect Respondents' capacity to adequately develop various concept options and design solutions.  ITP Workshops will be held at a location determined by the State.

Attendees - General Guidance:

In respect of ITP Workshops, the State should consider which project team members should attend. That is, the State should provide access to individuals with the ability to provide the feedback sought by Respondents or considered necessary, but should otherwise be seeking to reduce the number of State representatives at ITP Workshops.

For social infrastructure, it is very important to get users' feedback (e.g. clinicians in a hospital, correctional staff in a prison). Due to time constraints, availability of personnel may be limited and therefore, effort needs to go into scheduling, setting the agenda in advance and holding the ITP Workshops either on site or in the vicinity of the site.

The State project team should also consult the Probity Advisor about their attendance at ITP Workshops but as general principle, the Probity Advisor may attend some or all ITP Workshops. 

Attendee considerations include:

•  the same project team members attend a category of ITP Workshops with each Respondent to ensure consistency. For example, the same personnel would attend all technical ITP Workshops. The same personnel do not necessarily attend all the ITP Workshops due to time and resource constraints and the particular topic being discussed, though senior project team members may choose to attend all ITP Workshops;

•  Project team members are provided with the Interactive Tender Workshop Protocols (as detailed in section 2.2 (Interactive Tender Workshop Protocols)) to ensure independence and impartiality;

•  engage operator or user groups directly in discussions as required, as their perspective is likely to be valuable, particularly where design issues are being discussed. It is important for the State to ensure messages delivered continue to be consistent with the RFP and the Evaluation Criteria; and

•  limit the size of the groups attending each ITP Workshop. Meaningful discussion is more likely to occur in smaller, focused groups. Consider staggering the ITP Workshops so that particular personnel can enter and exit the session as required to address agenda specific issues.