"Contracting for Architectural or Engineering Services"
a Best Practices seminar for local county and city government officials

 

 

"Contracting for Architectural or Engineering Services," a Best Practices seminar for local county and city government officials is being presented through the Carl Vinson Institute of Government on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 108 First  Street, Macon, GA.

This course uses interactive instruction and case studies to illustrate how a local government, by using QBS, can demonstrate good financial stewardship to citizens through sound, information-based decisions.

Please be sure to download the event brochure, as well as visit the Carl Vinson Institute of Government website.

 

 

 

   
 
  2009 QBS Award- Call for Entries; Click Awards!
 

 

QBS Georgia would like to recognize private companies and public agencies that promote and practice hiring design professionals through a competitive qualifications-based selection (QBS) process.  Recipients of the awards will be honored for their outstanding contributions to and support for obtaining the highest level of quality and the greatest public good in procuring architectural, engineering, surveying, mapping, and landscape architecture services through a Qualifications-Based Selection process.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
All submissions are due March 31, 2009.  Please complete the attached nomination form and mail to: QBS Georgia c/o the Georgia Engineering Alliance, Attn. Gwen Brandon, 233 Peachtree Street, Harris Tower, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30303.

 

 
   
 

 

"Contracting for Architectural or Engineering Services"
a Best Practices seminar for local county and city government officials
 

  "Contracting for Architectural or Engineering Services," a Best Practices seminar for local county and city government officials is being presented through the Carl Vinson Institute of Government on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 108 First  Street, Macon, GA.

The program features information on: Design/Feasibility Analysis; Pre-qualifying firms, Interviewing, Negotiating & refining scope of work; and How do you negotiate a fair scope and fee?

Please be sure to download the event brochure, as well as visit the Carl Vinson Institute of Government website.

 

 

 

 

QBS Georgia Annual
"Award for Professional Procurement Practices"

And the winner is ...
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)
(Click photo for 2007 winner
Click Awards for information and to download 2007 application. Click photos)

 

"EPD is a strong supporter of the QBS process to retain the services of a design professional. This is the process we use and it works well for us. We think it will work for other State agencies and local governments also."
 
David Word, Assistant Director
Environmental Protection Division
 
"... the Department strongly endorses QBS as the preferred method of selecting qualified, competent, and experienced professional engineering firms. We have a long history with QBS, and we are committed to its continued use at GDOT. "
 
Harold E. Linnenkohl, Commissioner,
Georgia Department of Transportation
 
"We are fortunate in Georgia to have progressive state law that supports QBS. Georgia's QBS policy provides a structured tool for state agencies to use to select design professionals fairly in an open, lawful process. We fully appreciate that design services are professional services that should not be purchased as a commodity based upon price, but should be selected based upon provider qualifications."
 
Gena L. Abraham, Director and Executive Secretary
Georgia State Financing & Investment Commission
 
"GDTAE uses QBS on all its facilities projects. QBS provides the level of professional expertise required for top level architectural and engineering services. It makes sense to base your A/E selection on qualifications, not low fee."
 
Tony Bruehl, Director-Facilities Management
Georgia Department of Technical
and Adult Education
 
“The American Public Works Association believes that the public interest is best served when governmental agencies select architects, engineers, and related professional technical consultants for projects and studies through Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) procedures. Basing selection on qualifications and competence (rather than price) fosters greater creativity and flexibility, and minimizes the potential for disputes and litigation.”
 
National APWA Policy Statement
 
“QBS is the process of selecting... an architect (or) engineer… whereby competing firms are evaluated on the basis of their qualifications (and) ranked in priority order. Contract terms, including price, are negotiated with the top ranked firm on the basis of a fully developed scope of work. If a county... is unable to reach agreement with the first firm, it terminates negotiations and begins negotiations with the second ranked firm.... ACCG endorses the use of QBS for procurement of design professional services as an effective and efficient alternative to traditional low-bid procedures.”
 

Association County Commissioners of Georgia, 2004-05 Platform
 

"Experience has proven that selecting design professionals on the basis of price alone can often result in unmet project expectations and higher overall project costs. QBS, on the other hand, properly focuses the selection process on factors most critical to a project's success: experience, competence and reliability. As stewards of public resources, all local officials should stirve to provide the very best value to their constituents, and that is really what QBS is all about."
 
Jim Higdon, Executive Director
Georgia Municipal Association
 
   
 
Website development in association with Brown and Caldwell