DP3

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP3

Should Engineer A offer his own firm's design services to Smithtown for the road project on which he previously advised contractor selection and evaluated the terminated contractor's performance, or should he decline to offer and instead facilitate an open competitive procurement process?

After Engineer B's contract is terminated — a termination to which Engineer A's advisory evaluation contributed — Smithtown needs a replacement design engineer for the road project. Engineer A, who advised on Engineer B's selection and evaluated Engineer B's deficient performance, now faces a decision about whether to offer his own firm's services to fill the vacancy. Accepting would convert his prior advisory and evaluative authority directly into private commercial gain on the same project, placing him in the position of reviewing his own prior advisory work.

Engineer A declines to offer his firm's services for the replacement design contract, discloses to Smithtown the conflict of interest that bars him from competing for this work, and advises Smithtown to conduct an open, qualification-based competitive selection process in which all qualified firms — excluding Engineer A's — may participate.

Engineer A discloses to Smithtown his prior roles in advising on Engineer B's selection and evaluating Engineer B's performance, then offers his firm's design services on the theory that full disclosure cures the structural conflict and that Smithtown's practical need for engineering services justifies the engagement.

Engineer A offers his firm's design services to Smithtown and agrees to perform the road design work, treating the termination of Engineer B as having resolved the prior conflict and proceeding on the basis that his firm is qualified and available to serve the municipality's immediate need.

Part-Time Municipal Advisory Engineer Seeking to Transition to Design Contractor