APDC

Qualifications-Based Selection of Professional Services

Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) for professional design services has been required on the federal and state levels for many years. Practically all professional societies and associations have information about QBS. In addition, many states have statewide QBS committees and organizations supported by that state’s professional associations. A search on the Internet will yield hundreds of sources of information on QBS. Some of the basics of QBS are discussed in detail below.

What is QBS?

Qualifications-Based Selection is a process of choosing a professional design firm for a project. The decision is based on a list of criteria, not on price. The list can include the ability of the firm, the workplan, schedule, availability, management plan, references, and experience of the firm as a whole and of the individuals proposed. Each owner chooses any or all of these criteria and weights them according to project needs. For example, if the design has to be completed in a short time, schedule and availability could be weighted higher than experience. If it’s a complex project, especially one that hasn’t been done before, specific experience might not apply, so the workplan might be most important. There are all types of variations in requests for proposals (RFPs) depending completely on the owner or the RFP preparer.

When the proposals are received, a selection committee grades each proposal and generally negotiates both a detailed scope of work and a fee with the highest ranked proposer. In the unlikely event that an owner and the top-ranked design firm cannot reach agreement, the owner can negotiate with the next highest proposer.

The Difference between a Bid and a Fee

When construction contractors bid on a job, they have thorough, detailed and quantifiable criteria on which to place a price. The bid documents tell them exactly how many and what type of windows and doors, quality and quantity of materials and equipment, the type and color of the finishes, etc. At bid opening, the owner knows that the building will look the same no matter who constructs it. Therefore, it comes down to who can construct the building for the least amount of money.

Purchasing design services, however, without benefit of a detailed scope of work, detailed scope of services, and a face-to-face negotiation is not quantifiable because a broad RFP is so open to interpretation. The types of services the owner is expecting may be interpreted differently by each firm proposing. Therefore, when owners compares fees for professional services, they more than likely end up comparing apples to nuts. A lower fee generally means fewer services or a lower level of service. If the owner accepts the fee and then realizes that a need for services that were not included, the contract must be amended and costs rise. In fact, in Maryland, they discovered that using fee-based selection actually cost the owners more than a qualifications-based selection.

Negotiating a firm scope of work with the highest ranked design firm and a corresponding fair cost for those services is the best way for owners to get what they are expecting: a quality design at a reasonable price.

QBS Sources

There are many sources for QBS materials on the Internet. In fact, going to http://www.google.com and searching for "qualifications based selection" will get hundreds of hits. Listed below are just a few of the many sources for QBS information. In addition, Evelyn (Evie) Clark, CCA, the APDC’s QBS Chair, has collected materials from various sources. These materials are available for your use. Evelyn can be reached at Coffman Engineers in Anchorage (direct line 257-9242).

Listed below are links to some of the organizations that have QBS material online. Functional hyperlinks to these sites are also included on the APDC Links page.

New Hampshire Qualifications Based Selection Committee

Consulting Engineers Council, Minnesota Chapter, QBS Handbook

National Society of Professional Engineers, Issue Brief

American Council of Engineering Companies
The Brooks Act: How to use Qualifications Based Selection

Professional Surveyor Magazine online:
Point-to-Point, Qualifications Based Selection

AIA Kansas Chapter - Qualifications-Based Selection Handbook