DP1

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

DP1

Should Firms A and B offer their services as prime professional in the specialized procurement, or decline the prime role and recommend direct engagement of Engineer X?

Firms A and B face the threshold question of whether they may ethically offer their services as prime professional in a highly specialized procurement where all substantive technical work falls within Engineer X's expertise and their own proposed contribution would be nominal in nature. This decision point addresses the substantive contribution threshold, the competence prerequisite for accepting a prime engagement, and the honesty obligations governing qualification submissions to a government agency.

Decline to submit as prime professional, affirmatively disclose to the agency that the specialized work falls entirely within Engineer X's expertise, and recommend that the agency engage Engineer X directly as the best-qualified professional for the services required.

Submit a qualification response as prime professional while explicitly disclosing to the agency that Engineer X will perform all substantive specialized technical work and that the firm's own contribution will be limited to administrative coordination and project management, allowing the agency to assess whether this structure serves its needs.

Submit a qualification response as prime professional, representing the firm's contribution as encompassing project management, client interface, quality assurance, and local regulatory coordination — relying on the contextual calibration principle that such contributions may satisfy the substantiality threshold — while identifying Engineer X as the specialist subconsultant for the core technical work.

Firms A and B