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Agreed. But "going to bid" will almost certainly constrain to a profit motive. Even if there was a case where a bidder is non-profit, I can't fathom how they w
by bumby 4y ago
Agreed. But "going to bid" will almost certainly constrain to a profit motive.
Even if there was a case where a bidder is non-profit, I can't fathom how they would bid on a project with the intent to be in the red. Maybe there are more exotic ways to run a lab, but it seems like the choice is to either figure out how to work with a profit motive or be a primarily civil servant lab.
The govt can sometimes try a "best value" award instead of low bidder, but that tends to make lawyers skittish because it opens up avenues for the losing bidders to protest the award.
- eru 4y ago> Even if there was a case where a bidder is non-profit, I can't fathom how they would bid on a project with the intent to be in the red. Yes, exactly. Budget constraints exist for all organisations. Profit isn't usually a big part of any budget.
- bumby 4y agoProfit isn't usually a big part of any budget. Ok, but budget directly influence profit, no? Do you have a proposed solution? How would one mitigate the "low bid" incentive? My experience is that it creates an incentive to often create excessively low bids (to the point of not being profitable) in order to ensure a company gets a contract. And then ensure their "budget/profit" is made up by either a) cutting corners to reduce overhead or b) making change orders to increase revenue. One solution is additional oversight, but it's not clear to me that is a feasible option.