What is the Design and Construction Excellence Program?
The Design and Construction Excellence program (D+CE) is simply how DDC does business. The program comprises a range of administrative processes, procurement approaches and management strategies encourage the best architects, engineers, construction managers and contractors to do business with the City, and to enable DDC to effectively manage the design and construction process, all in the interest of delivering the highest quality civic buildings and infrastructure for the City.
One of the cornerstones of the program is the use of Quality-Based Selection to hire design firms and construction managers. World-renowned and emerging consultants – including many minority and women-owned firms – are hired to design efficient, contemporary, and visually-engaging civic structures based on their qualifications, past experience and the quality of their staff. The design consultants working for DDC are responsible for designing many of the City’s most prominent public buildings.
How does DDC hire architects?
The majority of DDC’s design work is issued under requirement contracts known collectively as “the 8/20,” or previously as “the 8/24.” These contracts are used for all DDC projects up to $50 million in construction value, with the exception of certain engineering and specialty work. Currently, the “8/20” are two groups of requirement contracts- a group of 8 firms hired to work on design projects where the construction value is between $15 million and $50 million, and a group of 20 small firms who are hired to work on design projects up to $15 million in construction value.
The program also includes stand-alone, project specific contracts, typically for very large projects with a construction value over $50 million. These are procured through a project-specific Request for Proposals (RFP), which is done via a two-stage selection process. In the first stage, firms submit their qualifications using a streamlined submittal designed to ensure that the widest range of qualified firms can participate with minimal cost and effort required for firms to respond. A short list is then established by DDC based on these submittals. The short-listed firms move on to the second stage, which requires a more detailed technical submittal and includes an interview with DDC’s selection committee, including an outside professional peer.
Who is eligible for admission to the D+CE program?
Any licensed and registered architect or engineer, and any construction manager may respond to a DDC RFP. Firms are selected for award of contracts based on their ability to deliver architectural, engineering, or construction management excellence across a broad range of programmatic, civic and urban sites, for both public and private clients. It is not necessary for firms to have a New York City-based practice, although a local presence is required.
What can our firm expect if we are awarded an 8/20 contract?
Once selected for the two-year 8/20 contract, design consultants are given the opportunity to submit mini-proposals for a wide variety of projects including new, multi-million dollar buildings, as well as more modest additions and renovations. A selection committee then ranks the proposals, and the highest-ranked firm will be awarded the project.
This process matches the most appropriate design consultant to each of DDC’s capital projects.
Is prior public sector design experience required?
D+CE is an opportunity for firms that have no prior public sector experience. Although direct City experience is not necessary, familiarity with the challenges and rewards of designing for public space, and with complex institutional or public clients, will help strengthen proposals. For members of the D+CE program, DDC has dedicated staff who are assigned to help design consultants navigate various government requirements. Some firms without previous City experience have been successful through making creative and compelling joint venture partnerships with other firms.
When will the next round of 8/20 RFP’s be issued?
The next RFP will be issued in 2011, with contract registrations in 2012. D+CE contracts are two years long.
What can my firm do in preparation for the RFP?
Please check the business section of our website for updates on the 8/20 RFP. In addition, enrolling as an official vendor with the City in advance will make your RFP process easier. We recommend the review of previously issued D+CE RFP's available on our website, as well as providing your firm’s contact information to J.R. Martine at martinejo@ddc.nyc.gov.
How can Construction Management firms and contractors participate in the D+CE program?
We have a set of requirement contracts for Construction Management (CM) agency services that are structured in the same way as the 8/20 contracts referred to above. These are also 2-year contracts, and selections are made using the same Quality-Based Selection principles.
All our work is competitively bid, subject to New York State General Municipal Law, specifically GML 103. DDC’s work, however, is bid under a set of Project Labor Agreements that were put in place in late 2009, and are thereby exempted from the Wicks Law which would otherwise apply. This creates opportunities for general contractors to compete on a level playing field and with true control of their trades. It eliminates the confusion and inefficiency of having multiple prime contracts held by the City.
SET TEXT
