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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 5. EDUCATION |
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SubTilte 5-D. SCHOOL MAINTENANCE |
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Chapter 5-D1. OFFICE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION FACILITIES MODERNIZATION PROCUREMENT RULES |
Section 5-D108. MARKET RESEARCH
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108.1Before issuing a solicitation or making a purchase, the Office shall:
(a)Estimate the likely cost of the proposed procurement and ensure that adequate funds are available; and
(b)Conduct appropriate market research.
108.2Market research is designed primarily to familiarize the Office with the market for the goods or services it seeks to acquire in order to develop an appropriate strategy for conducting a prompt and efficient procurement that promotes reasonable competition between qualified firms. The extent of market research will vary depending on factors such as urgency, the size and complexity of the proposed procurement, and the Office’s existing knowledge of the market based on its (or its key personnel’s) past experience in procuring similar goods or services.
108.3Market research, to the extent it is relevant to the particular procurement and not already known to the Office, generally should focus on obtaining information such as the following:
(a)Customary practices in the relevant market;
(b)The prospective sources that may be able to supply the goods or services;
(c)The opportunities for participation by firms that qualify as CBEs;
(d)The benchmarks available to evaluate the likely cost of the procurement and the reasonableness of prices or costs proposed by prospective contractors; and
(e)The requirements of any laws or regulations unique to the procurement.
108.4In conducting market research, the Office may solicit information from prospective sources on matters such as their interest in the potential procurement, the characteristics and costs of their products or services, their customary practices, and their knowledge of the industry generally. Such information may be solicited by requesting interested parties to submit written information (for example, by posting a notice on the Internet seeking information pertinent to the proposed procurement), through meetings or telephone contacts, by distributing and seeking comments on a draft solicitation, or through other prudent means.
108.5In addition to soliciting information from prospective contractors, the Office may also obtain information from other sources. For example, price information that can assist in estimating the likely cost of a procurement and in evaluating price reasonableness is frequently available from sources such as catalogs, Internet sites, or records of past procurements, and the Office may obtain information from these sources.