Updated: Nov. 6, 2010
Maine Qualification Based Selection Program
Qualification Based Selection is an objective and fair process
used by owners to select a design professional based on the
qualifications of the designer in relation to the specific project.
This process is used for nearly all Federal projects, and public
improvement and public school projects administered by the Maine
Bureau of General Services. This process is also recommended by the
American Bar Association in their "Model Procurement Code for State
and Local Government".
Planning and design are the first steps in any construction project.
The cost of these first steps is small in comparison to the
construction cost and even much smaller when compared to the
life-cycle cost of the project. (The federal government estimates
the original design service costs amount to 1% or less of the
project's life-cycle cost.) It makes excellent economic sense to
obtain the best qualified designer as this will have long-term
economic benefits. These economic benefits far exceed any possible
difference in the cost of the original design.
Although the QBS Program was initially developed and promoted for
the selection of "Design Professionals", the basic concepts of QBS
can be applied to a variety of professional services where
"Qualifications" is the primary criteria in the selection of the
firm or person to perform a professional service.
Facilitator Services
The Maine QBS Council will provide FREE Facilitator Services to
assist public agencies or other Owner Groups in developing a process
for selecting a competent and qualified design professional for
individual projects. The Facilitator will help the "Selection
Team" in understanding the benefits of the QBS process and how to
apply it to a specific project The Facilitator does not make any
recommendations of specific designers or design firms.
The Facilitator is also available to make presentations on the QBS
Process to organizations, Boards or other groups interested in the
understanding of Qualification Based Selection or the use of QBS on
a specific project.
The current Facilitator has many years experience in the use of the
QBS Process in the selection of design professionals for publicly
finance projects.
The QBS Facilitator can be contacted at:
Maine QBS Program
35 Pride St
Old Town, ME 04468-1925
Phone: 207-827-2238
or by email to:
eustis@infionline.net