ASPRS Professional Services Procurement Guidelines

Current Documents Available for Download:

Final Guidelines document (pre-press version) as approved by the ASPRS Board of Directors August 24, 2009 (PDF)

ASPRS press release announcing Board approval (PDF)

BACKGROUND

ASPRS, MAPPS and ACSM have formed a joint committee that includes representatives from the private sector, state and federal government agencies. This committee is in the process of studying what constitutes professional vs. technical services and what procurement mechanisms are appropriate for these services. The intent is to provide an updated document to assist organizations and individuals in the determination of when it is appropriate to procure geospatial services through a qualifications-based selection process.

The focus of this effort is to provide a document outlining recommendations for procurement methods which are, in the opinion of ASPRS, the best and most appropriate means of procuring professional photogrammetry, remote sensing services and related geospatial mapping services. The guidelines document is not intended to establish any laws, rules or regulations. Furthermore, the focus of this effort is on the procurement process of the subject services and not whether a license should be required to perform them.
 

Committee Members

ASPRS:
Chair (Professional Practices Division Director):  Doug Smith, David C. Smith & Associates, Inc.
Co-chair (Past Professional Practices Division Director):  Dan Paulsen, Wilson & Company
Federal government:  George Lee, USGS
State government:  John Tull, Washington  Dept. of Transportation

MAPPS Representatives:
Marvin Miller, Aero-Metric, Inc., MAPPS President
Mike Ritchie, Photo Science, Inc.

ACSM Representatives:
John Matonich, ROWE Engineering, Inc.
Curt Sumner, ACSM Executive Director

Current and Past Documents Available for Download

Past Documents/Document History:
Power-point presentation presented at ASPRS '08 Spring conference (PPT)

First draft Guidelines document for Public Review/Comment, first comment period closed Jan. 15, 2009 (PDF)

Full text of all comments received, first comment period through Jan. 15 (ZIP)

Committee’s specific response to organizations that provided comments (ZIP)

Summary of comments received and overall Committee response / proposed actions (PDF)

Second draft revised Guidelines document submitted for Board review and further public comment, comment through April, 2009 (DOC)

Document markups and comments received, second comment period through April, 2009 (ZIP)

Committee response to comments/cover letter for final Excom/Board submittal (DOC)

Third draft, submitted for final Excom/Board review prior to final vote (DOC, redline version)

Third draft, submitted for final Excom/Board review prior to final vote (PDF)

Final revision, as submitted for Board of Directors vote for approval (PDF)

Contact Information:

Comments and feedback for committee consideration may be sent to:
guidelines@asprs.org

Charter Summary:

Deliver an updated, revised document which:
    • Includes updated technological references;
    • Maintains consistency with references to “professional services” included in recent modifications to the NCEES Model Law and Model Rules;
    • Addresses professional services vs. products;
    • Includes guidance for organizations procuring mapping services to assist in determining when qualifications-based selection processes should be used
Draft Guidelines Charter 9-18-2006 

Activities to Date: 

Status: 

The document has been adopted and will be published in PE&RS.  The target date for publication is winter ’09.  ASPRS staff will perform a final editorial review for grammar and format prior to publication.  Additional sidebars (currently in process) are being finalized with the intent to include them for publication along with the final document.  These sidebars will include a “frequently asked questions” list explaining common misunderstandings about QBS and case studies of potential procurement scenarios and how these guidelines would apply. 

 

 This page last updated: May 27, 2010