Choosing a Consultant

This is a revised and edited excerpt from Selecting and Retaining a Planning Consultant: RFPs, RFQs, Contracts, and Project Management by Eric Damian Kelly, FAICP. It is Planning Advisory Service Report No. 443, published by the American Planning Association in February 1993.

Part 1. Deciding to Hire a Consultant

How to Find Consultants
Organizing for Selection

Part 2. Consultant Selection Procedures

Sole-Source Procurement
Selection from a List of Prequalified Candidates
Selection Based on Responses to RFQs
Selection Based on Responses to RFPs
Combining the RFQ/RFP in a Two-Part Selection Process
The Final Step: Negotiations
Issues Affecting the Selection Process
Making the Selection

Part 3. An RFP for Consulting Services

The Purpose of an RFP
What the RFP Should Include

Part 4. Legal Considerations and Insurance

Formal Agreements
Doing Business with Teams
Insurance and Bonds

Part 5. Managing the Project

Beginning Work with the Consultant
Communicating with the Consultant
Paying the Consultant
Control over Process and Product
Evaluation of Consultant's Work
Resolution of Disputes