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Good faith efforts require bidders, respondents and prime contractors to make and demonstrate an effort to provide subcontracting opportunities to WSSC-approved SLBE firms pre- and post-award on WSSC-funded contracts. The bidder, respondent or prime contractor is required to contact WSSC-approved SLBE firms at the time the contract is solicited for bid. Good faith efforts to contact and work with WSSC-approved SLBE firms must be documented to the Commission. This good faith effort must continue throughout the life of the contract, if awarded. Sustained good faith efforts should be made with the intention of producing desired or required results. Good faith efforts do not necessarily include due diligence. The good faith efforts of the bidders’, respondents’ and primes’ intent to comply with the SLBE subcontracting requirement and evaluation of that intent based on a review of, but not limited to, all of the following:

(a) Provide a copy of the advertisement(s) in local or trade publications and the services that they are attempting to subcontract. This effort would need to be made well in advance of pre-bid meetings, and at the very least, well before the bid or proposal due date.

(b) Provide a list of SLBE firms that were contacted. There should also be a statement regarding what type of contact was made with each firm and why these firms were not suitable to service this project.

(c) Provide the list of opportunities that the prime contractor (bidder, respondent or proposer) had in regards to the portion of the project they intended to subcontract out. What areas would be better served by an entity that may have specialized services (i.e., trucking, paving, special supplies, electrical engineering or asbestos abatement).

(d) Submit a copy of information that was forwarded to the list of potential subcontracting firms. This step is to illustrate that adequate information was provided to firms that were contacted.

(e) Provide evidence that no bid was rejected without a sound reason. This can be addressed adequately by complying with requirements in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

(f) Demonstrate attempts were made to assist interested SLBE firms with obtaining bonding or insurance that the bidder/respondent/proposer may make as a requirement of the SLBE firm to subcontract.

(g) Demonstrate that they (prime contractor-bidder, respondent or proposer) utilized the services of the SLMBE Office and WSSC’s Supplier Portal System or any successor Web-Based Compliance System thereto, or one of the certifying agencies recognized by WSSC in establishing the initial contact list. Provide a copy of the information that was furnished by these agencies and was used in contacting bidders or respondents.

(h) Provide the list of SLBE firms that were invited to bid on subcontract work, but were not available to work.

(i) Provide the list of SLBE firms that were invited to bid on subcontract work, but did not respond to the IFB.

(j) Provide the list of SLBE firms that submitted bids which were not the low acceptable bid or fiscally sound according to the bidder, respondent or prime contractor’s contracting policies.

(k) Demonstrate that the bidder or respondent selected portions of the work that could be performed by SLBE firms in order to increase the likelihood of meeting the subcontracting requirements (including, where applicable, breaking down the contract work into economically feasible units to facilitate subcontractor participation).

(l) Provide documentation that SLBE firms were invited, where appropriate, to meetings/conferences to inform them of subcontracting opportunities.

(m) Provide documentation of written notice, to a reasonable number of specific SLBE firms, of the bidder’s or respondent’s interest in the contract that is being solicited, in sufficient time in order to allow SLBE firms to participate effectively. (REG-PROC-SD-2017-005 § VI(H))