Contract process improvement consulting

Ulster County Department of General Services is requesting proposals for professional consulting services to evaluate and redesign the County's contract development and execution processes under RFP-UC26-031, with proposals due August 7, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. A local economic development preference applies: vendors located within Ulster County receive five evaluation points; those in contiguous counties receive three points; those within New York State receive one point.

The scope requires comprehensive evaluation including stakeholder analysis, current workflow assessment, benchmarking against peer jurisdictions, and development of two distinct implementation plans (short-term using existing resources and long-term modernization). The consultant must deliver nine mandatory deliverables: stakeholder analysis report, comprehensive current evaluation report addressing staffing, technology, processes and documentation, benchmarking and best practices report, implementation plan using existing capacity, expansion plan for long-term modernization, updated contract documentation package, final presentation to County leadership, executive summary, and all project files in editable formats. The Ulster County Living Wage Act applies if the contract value is $50,000 or more annually.

Proposals are evaluated on overall plan to provide required services (35 points), fee/pricing proposal (30 points), qualifications and experience (20 points), understanding of County goals and objectives (10 points), and local economic development (5 points). The evaluation committee may conduct interviews with selected respondents during the week of August 31, 2026, with notice of intent to award anticipated for the week of September 15, 2026. The contract term commences January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027, with County options to renew for two additional one-year periods under identical prices and conditions. Submission requires one unbound original, one photocopy, and one electronic copy in MS Word and PDF format; the fee/cost proposal must be submitted separately and unbound. Four addenda have been issued; Addendum 4 clarifies that references may be from comparable projects with other public institutional clients (including federal agencies), Living Wage requirements apply only to Covered Employees, proposers retain ownership of pre-existing methodologies while deliverables become County property, and proposers may identify additional costs if deliverable quantity exceeds initial estimates.