After posting the draft RFP, and in accordance with the schedule established in the Procurement Plan, the Work Team may conduct one or more pre-bid conferences with shortlisted bidders. The purpose of a pre-bid conference is to:
a) Discuss and clarify the bid opportunity.
b) Inform shortlist bidders about the project and the RFP process.
c) Convey any key messages to shortlist bidders about the project and the process.
d) Clarify any questions that the shortlist bidders may have in relation to the project and the process in general.
It should be noted that a pre-bid conference is not a negotiation and the Work Team shall take steps to control the dialogue and the information that is gathered during the meeting. The Work Team shall therefore design and conduct the meeting to focus on providing information, answering questions, preparing the shortlist bidders to bid, and gathering information that it may use to improve the documents contained in the RFP package and the project.
A bidder conference may include project site visits and other project due diligence activities.