Vendor Guide

The overall RFP process involves three (3) steps:

First, the school/ site will undertake a well-planned solicitation effort to identify a sufficient number of qualified firms/ individuals. To locate qualified professional service vendors, the school/ site may advertise in trade journals, The City Record, check listings of professionals, or talk to others that have gone through the "process." It would therefore be to your advantage to review your trade journals, the official newspaper of New York City government, as well as listing yourself or firm in professional journals. Since "word-of-mouth" is an important way we find who is the "best," it is important to leave a good impression and do outstanding work for others you have contracted with.

Note:

The Division of Contracts and Placements maintains lists of bidders for professional services by category. If you wish to be placed on bid list( s), please send a letter including all contract information and nature of services to:

Note:

We have placed into operation a "Professional Services E- Mail Conference Screen" that will facilitate the flow of information between schools and district offices regarding their experiences using professional service vendors.

An on-line vendor evaluation system is being developed that will facilitate the flow of information.

Second, we recognize that preparing a response to an RFP can be very costly. We therefore encourage our schools and sites to ensure that critical details of the engagement or the method used to select (e. g., quality versus price) are clearly "spelled-out" in the solicitation process thereby encouraging you to respond to the solicitation.
Third, we are always looking to reduce costs through increased competition. We are therefore going to contact as many professional service providers as feasible thereby enjoying the economic benefits of competition without sacrificing quality.

Note:

The Department of Education recognizes that both business (usually larger firms) as well as individuals may provide a professional service (including consulting) to our schools/ sites.
If you are classified as a business enterprise, procurement will be made via a standard Department of Education Purchase Order if $25,000 or less. Individual consultant's services however, are obtained via a Consultant Nomination form, which is processed through the Division of Human Resources.

Procurement of Individual Consulting Services
When the existing staff of an office, district or school cannot offer the expertise to accomplish a necessary educational goal, an individual may be engaged to provide this service as an individual consultant. Individual consultants are temporary, occasional personnel who possess special skills and knowledge in various areas but are not employees of the Department of Education.
There are three (3) categories of individual consultants: Education:
These individuals have specific expertise in educationally related areas, such as program development and implementation, staff development and training, diagnosis
of learning disabilities, pupil assessment, development of guide-lines and manuals on school personnel administration.
Evaluation:
These individuals have demonstrable professional and technical skills necessary to perform an independent assessment of a program. These skills might include research and development; testing; the collection, processing, preparation and dissemination of reports. The nature and applicability of the individual's skills are determined based on the specific tasks necessary to complete the evaluation.
Artistic:
These individuals function as performing artists or they assist in specialized aspects of a program related to the arts. They offer unusual talents in the areas in which they provide service.