City of Knoxville's Policy for Requests for Proposals

City government issues requests for proposals (RFPs) in order to solicit suggestions and possible solutions to a variety of problems and opportunities. This process, which is by nature competitive, may ultimately lead to contractual relationships between the public and private sectors. Therefore it must be conducted in a manner such that the public has the highest degree of confidence that its interests are protected. This can best be achieved if the city ensures fairness among those offering competing proposals while placing the city in the strongest possible negotiating position. The city must also see that citizens and their representatives are informed to the greatest degree possible.

Unfortunately, the goals of fairness, effectiveness, and openness sometimes conflict in this context. For this reason and concerns about collusion, coercion and other forms of illegal procurement tampering, state law and the city code allow for nondisclosure of information during the time period between the submission of proposals and the final negotiated outcome so that any entity whose proposal is selected for further negotiation does not have information regarding offers proffered by others. Such knowledge could both facilitate procurement tampering and damage the city's ability to negotiate the best contract, thereby significantly increasing the cost of the product or service to the government, and ultimately, the cost to its citizens and taxpayers.

The position of the city is to maximize openness to the extent that fairness and the public interest are not unduly compromised. Assigning hard-and-fast rules is difficult because each project may have unique elements. In general the following guidelines will apply:

1. Proposals for products and services other than engineering or architectural services: