Local Public Agencies and Other Bidding Opportunities

Local Public Agencies (LPAs) are local agencies like cities, counties or tribal governments that use their own, state or federal funds for construction, design or goods and services contracts. Each type of funding source will have different requirements.  Generally, federal funding sources have more requirements than local sources.

State universities and the federal government also offer numerous bidding opportunities, which may also be funded with local, state and federal funds that have different requirements.  These requirements are generally explained in each solicitation or contract advertisement.

There are several different types of common professional services contracts and goods and services contracts available from Local Public Agencies (LPAs) and other sources. The requirements for these different types of contracts are generally explained in each solicitation or contract advertisement.   The most common contract types are

• Project Specific Contracts — these contracts focus on providing services for a specific individual project (e.g., conduct a research study).
• On-Call Contracts — these contracts designate certain firms as “on-call” and allow the agencies to assign qualifying work to firms when it would be impractical, unfeasible, or otherwise undesirable to go through the entire bidding process. While having an on-call contract can be advantageous, there is no guarantee that any work will actually be assigned to your firm as a result of the contract.
• Supplemental Services Contracts — these contracts allow the agencies to hire individuals or firms to provide ancillary services, either in support of a project specific contract or a general agency need.
• Materials Only Contracts — these contracts allow the agencies to obtain needed materials directly from suppliers rather than going through an intermediary.

Local Public Agency projects get funds from various sources, and sometimes a funding source adds additional requirements to both bidding and contract compliance. The most frequent funding sources are

• the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
• the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
• the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
• the State of Arizona.
• local governments (e.g., the City of Phoenix).

Generally, federal funding sources have more reporting, hiring and wage requirements than local sources.

The Business Engagement and Compliance Office (BECO) maintains links to most state and local agencies, including universities that may offer separate bidding opportunities. These links can be found in the BECO section of the ADOT website under Bidding Opportunities. 

Additionally, many federal bidding opportunities can be found at the Federal Business Opportunities website.

Contact information about each of these entities is listed on their websites.