DBIA Owner Engagement 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the owner's primary obligation when issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in a two-step design-build procurement?
- To select the final design-builder based solely on the RFQ responses
- To evaluate firms' relevant experience, past performance, and key personnel to establish a shortlist of qualified teams (Correct answer)
- To negotiate final contract pricing during the RFQ phase
- To disclose confidential project budget information to all respondents
Correct answer: To evaluate firms' relevant experience, past performance, and key personnel to establish a shortlist of qualified teams
The RFQ phase focuses on evaluating qualifications and experience to create a shortlist of capable teams before soliciting detailed technical and price proposals.
Question 2: How does an owner's decision to use a stipend for unsuccessful proposers in design-build competitions affect the process?
- It increases proposal costs for the owner without improving proposal quality
- It encourages more firms to invest in detailed proposals and improves the quality of submissions (Correct answer)
- It is prohibited under federal procurement regulations
- It requires all proposers to be compensated equally regardless of proposal quality
Correct answer: It encourages more firms to invest in detailed proposals and improves the quality of submissions
Stipends reduce the financial risk for proposing teams, encouraging greater investment in proposal development and attracting stronger, more detailed technical submissions.
Question 3: What is the purpose of an owner holding one-on-one meetings with shortlisted design-build proposers during procurement?
- To negotiate final contract pricing before proposals are submitted
- To clarify the owner's project requirements and allow teams to ask questions, improving proposal quality (Correct answer)
- To eliminate proposers who do not meet minimum qualifications
- To share confidential information from competing proposers
Correct answer: To clarify the owner's project requirements and allow teams to ask questions, improving proposal quality
One-on-one meetings allow shortlisted teams to seek clarification on project goals, while owners gain insight into team approaches—improving the overall quality of final proposals.
Question 4: Which owner behavior during construction is most likely to undermine the design-build team's integrated process?
- Requesting monthly schedule updates from the design-builder
- Directing the design-builder's subcontractors directly without going through the design-builder (Correct answer)
- Attending design-builder-led coordination meetings
- Reviewing design submittals for conformance with the RFP
Correct answer: Directing the design-builder's subcontractors directly without going through the design-builder
Bypassing the design-builder to direct subcontractors disrupts the integrated chain of command, creates conflicting instructions, and undermines the design-builder's accountability for project outcomes.
Question 5: What role does the owner's representative play in reviewing the design-builder's design submittals?
- To approve every design detail before construction proceeds, as in design-bid-build
- To review submittals for conformance with RFP requirements and Owner's Project Requirements, not to prescribe design solutions (Correct answer)
- To correct errors in the design-builder's engineering calculations
- To verify that subcontractor bids are competitive
Correct answer: To review submittals for conformance with RFP requirements and Owner's Project Requirements, not to prescribe design solutions
The owner's review role in design-build is to confirm performance and requirement compliance, not to dictate design solutions, preserving the design-builder's design responsibility.
Question 6: Under DBIA principles, how should an owner handle a situation where the design-builder identifies a site condition that differs materially from information provided in the RFP?
- Deny the claim because all site conditions are the design-builder's risk
- Evaluate the claim fairly under the contract's differing site conditions clause and negotiate an equitable adjustment (Correct answer)
- Terminate the contract for the design-builder's failure to investigate site conditions
- Require the design-builder to absorb all costs as part of the fixed price
Correct answer: Evaluate the claim fairly under the contract's differing site conditions clause and negotiate an equitable adjustment
DBIA advocates for fair risk allocation; differing site conditions clauses allow equitable adjustments when actual conditions differ materially from those represented in RFP documents.
Question 7: What is the benefit to an owner of including a dispute resolution ladder in a design-build contract?
- It eliminates the owner's right to seek arbitration or litigation
- It provides a structured escalation process that encourages resolution at the lowest possible level before formal proceedings (Correct answer)
- It transfers all dispute resolution authority to the design-builder
- It requires all disputes to proceed directly to federal court
Correct answer: It provides a structured escalation process that encourages resolution at the lowest possible level before formal proceedings
A dispute resolution ladder encourages project-level resolution of issues before they escalate to arbitration or litigation, saving time and preserving the working relationship.
DBIA Owner Engagement 4
What is the owner's primary obligation when issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in a two-step design-build procurement?