Selecting an IT Consultant

By Lori Pollari-Welbes, National Council of Nonprofit Associations, lpollari@ncna.org

Copyright 2002 by National Council of Nonprofit Associations

So you want to hire a consultant. Or perhaps you are not sure whether you need a consultant. Many aspects of IT can benefit from a consultant ? network administration, database implementation, desktop application support, website redesign, and technology planning are just a few possibilities. You may find a consultant that can do all of this for you, or work with several different consultants to meet your needs.

Identifying Your Needs

Before pursuing a consultant, first consider the resources you have available to you. Is there a staff person that has interests or expertise that you can tap? How about a board member or volunteer? These alternatives are important to consider, as they may help you to save money and time.

If you decide to hire an outside consultant, make sure you clearly identify the scope of the project. This is one of the biggest factors in ensuring a successful consulting arrangement.

Plan in advance and communicate to potential vendors your:

• Goals ? what would make this project a success
• Expected Deliverables ? the tangible items and documents you will have at the end of the project
• Timeline ? anticipated start and end date
• Budget ? identifying what resources you can put forward will insure a realistic response
• Requirements or constraints ? if there are limitations on types of vendors you can do business with, make that clear
• Staff resources ? identify the primary staff contact and roles of other staff on the project
• Criteria for selection - the key factors that will make one vendor stand apart from the others

Soliciting and Reviewing Proposals (RFPs)

Communicating your expectations in the format of a request for proposals (RFP) is a preferred method by many vendors and clients. Some vendors will hope to save you the time by contracting with you before you can submit an RFP (they would prefer to meet with you and be the only proposal you review), but your policies may require a bidding process for projects over a certain dollar amount.

Choosing a Vendor

Once you have proposals and are meeting with vendors, having your selection criteria clearly identified will facilitate your decision-making process. Is staying within budget the most important factor? Are technical skills and ability to be strategic important? Is the company stable? What is their staff turnover rate? What recent similar projects have they completed? Criteria can be inserted into a rating form to facilitate an objective review of vendors and their proposals. Even if you have a few vendors to consider, documenting how they compare will be good justification down the road if there is any question about why a vendor was selected. Also be sure to complete reference checks. Contacting references prior to setting up meetings with vendor can help you to narrow down the field and avoid meeting with vendors whose skills or service may be lacking.

Contracts

Contracting with a vendor can present unanticipated challenges. It is advisable to have an experienced contract reader or your legal counsel review contracts. A few things to keep in mind with contracts include:

• Requirements in the request for proposal should be addressed in the contract or its attachments.
• Obtain appropriate ownership of resulting work.
• Retain the right to approve subcontractors.