Product & Service Procurement Consulting

Decision Aid will assist your organization through the complicated process of procuring products and services ranging from bleeding control kits and radio interoperability gateways to emergency notification systems and security system installers.

The next emergency response or security widget may promise you everything but has it ever been used during a real incident? Many professional associations conduct significant amounts of research and testing on products, but many prospective customers never have the time to review the reports. Let us do the hard work of organizing and simplifying the overwhelming number of products and services on the market. Decision Aid can assist you in selecting the best option within your organization's available resources.

Our services include:

• Interviewing you and other essential stakeholders to determine the specific requirements of the product/service to be procured ("fact-finding").
• Identifying possible funding sources including federal grants
• Researching qualified vendors and services.
• Interviewing other organizations utilizing the product/service for feedback and recommendations.
• Reviewing DHS Science and Technology, DHS System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) Program, InterAgency Board (IAB), and trade/professional association resources for recommendations on brands, vendors, and product types that have been verified and vetted by professionals.
• Ensuring product violates no applicable laws or regulations
• Obtaining sole-source verification from vendor to meet your organization's procurement policies.
• Identifying applicable existing contracts (GSA or other consortium/cooperative purchasing agreements) for the product/service desired.
• Forecasting training & maintenance needs.
• Crafting Requests for Information (RFI), Requests for Qualifications (RFQ), Requests for Proposals (RFP), and Invitations for Bid (IFB) aligned with your organization and funders procurement policies (2 CFR 200).
• Crafting clear and concise responses to vendor questions.
• Interviewing vendors and verifying their ability to meet your organization's requirements.
• Reviewing the product's ability to meet regulatory, industry, and safety standards
• Creating simple decision aids to assist you and other decision makers in the process of comparing required and optional features/services in bid responses from each vendor.
• Working with you, your purchasing/procurement office, legal counsel, and risk management to align final contract language to your organization's policies and grant funder's requirements.
• Assisting with service implementation and evaluation of contract terms completion.

Let Decision Aid Help You With:

Looking for funding opportunities to help fill your preparedness gaps? Decision Aid also provides grant consulting services.