External Relations

Please address the following questions based on the scenario provided below. Each answer should be at least 100 words in length. Thank you.

A consulting company that has been working for your agency for the past year is interested in a current RFP for organizational consulting. They are experienced in this area and have done a good job on their existing contract, such as controlling costs and delivering services on schedule. They have asked you to join them for coffee at a local shop so they can get a better lay of the land on the upcoming RFP.

1. What is your response to the consultant? Do you join them for a meeting over coffee? If so, do you pay for your own coffee or consider a cup of coffee to be nominal and allowable as a gift? Does it really matter who pays for the coffee? Please explain and defend your position.

2. Assume that a procurement colleague in a similar situation agreed to have a cup of coffee with a consultant. While they felt slightly uneasy about the meeting (as an RFP was ready to hit the street), they figured that a short discussion would do no harm. Their rationale was that once the RFP was released, it would be open and available to all. What are some potential problems with this position and logic?

3. Is it really that big of a deal if another consultant sees you having coffee with their competitor? Might this result in the appearance of impropriety? If so, what might be some of the fallout of such an appearance?