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used in lieu of an invitation for bids (IFB) for: (a) Construction /repair work; or (b) Purchase <br />of apparatus, supplies, materials or equipment. See Subsection 11j(2), this Agreement, <br />regarding information technology goods as services. (2) The Recipient agrees that the RFP <br />method of solicitation may be used (in addition to or instead of any other procedure <br />available under North Carolina law) for the procurement of information technology goods <br />and services [as defined in N.C.G.S. 147 - 33.81(2)]. This applies to electronic data processing <br />goods and services, telecommunications goods and services, security goods and services, <br />microprocessors, software, information processing, office systems, any services related to <br />the foregoing, and consulting or other services for design or redesign of information <br />technology supporting business processes. The Recipient will comply with the following <br />minimum requirements [N.C.G.S. 143 - 129.8]: (a) Notice of the request for proposals shall be <br />given in accordance with N.C.G.S. 143- 129(b). (b) Contracts shall be awarded to the person <br />or entity that submits the best overall proposal as determined by the awarding authority. <br />Factors to be considered in awarding contracts shall be identified in the request for <br />proposals. (c) The Recipient may use procurement methods set forth in N.C.G.S. 143 -135.9 <br />in developing and evaluating requests for proposals. (d) The Recipient may negotiate with <br />any proposer in order to obtain a final contract that best meets the needs of the Recipient. <br />(e) Any negotiations shall not alter the contract beyond the scope of the original request for <br />proposals in a manner that deprives the proposers or potential proposers of a fair <br />opportunity to compete for the contract; and would have resulted in the award of the <br />contract to a different person or entity if the alterations had been included in the request for <br />proposals. Co Proposals submitted shall not be subject to public inspection until a contract <br />is awarded. (3) The Recipient agrees that the RFP method, in accordance with FTA Circular <br />4220.1E, under the guidelines of FTA "Best Practices Procurement Manual," should be used <br />for procurements of professional services, such as consultants for planning activities and for <br />transit system operations /management. The Recipient acknowledges that certain <br />restrictions apply under North Carolina law for use of the RFP method and these <br />restrictions and exceptions are discussed in Subsections 11j(1) and 11j(2) of this <br />Agreement. (4) When the RFP method is used for procurement of professional services, the <br />Recipient agrees to abide by the following minimum requirements: (a) Normally conducted <br />with more than one source submitting an offer (proposal); (b) Either fixed price or cost <br />reimbursement type contract will be used; (c) Generally used when conditions are not <br />appropriate for use of sealed bids; (d) Requests for proposals will be publicized; (e) All <br />evaluation factors will be identified along with their relative importance; (f) Proposals will <br />be solicited from an adequate number (3 is recommended) of qualified sources; (g) A <br />standard method must be in place for conducting technical evaluations of the proposals <br />received and for selecting awardees; (h) Awards will be made to the responsible firm whose <br />proposal is most advantageous to the Recipient's program with price and other factors <br />considered; and (i) In determining which proposal is most advantageous, the Recipient may <br />award to the proposer whose proposal offers the greatest business value (best value) to the <br />agency. "Best value" is based on determination of which proposal offers the best tradeoff <br />between price and performance, where quality is considered an integral performance <br />factor. <br />j. Award to Other than the Lowest Bidder. In accordance with State statutes, a third party <br />contract may be awarded to other than the lowest bidder, if the award furthers an objective <br />(such as improved long -term operating efficiency and lower long -term costs). When <br />specified in bidding documents, factors such as discounts, transportation costs, and life <br />cycle costs will be considered in determining which bid is lowest. Prior to the award of any <br />contract equal to or greater than $2,500 to other than apparent lowest bidder, the Recipient <br />Page 11 of 18 <br />