The evaluation of private prison design and construction submissions in Australia: prison operator responses

A number of Australian states have employed private correctional companies to both manage, and design and construct their own facilities. Such projects have employed alternative delivery methods from what had been traditionally procured state facilities. The study highlights private prison operators' responses to the evaluation of their Request for Proposal by state governments. The findings reveal that although the evaluation of tender bids by the participating state governments was appropriate, various problems were encountered with the evaluation methodology employed to assess and award tenders. The study shows that the areas of concern include the: suitability and reliability of the evaluation methods; reactions to the bid outcomes; appropriateness of the debriefing sessions. The study shows that operators would prefer fundamental changes to the evaluation methodologies of the design and construction component of the private prison request for proposal evaluation.