The California Architects Board recently released a Request for Proposal seeking proposals from California licensed architects who are interested in providing architect consultant services for the Board’s Enforcement Program. For more information, please visit Cal eProcure and search for Event ID: 700 or Event Name: Architect Consultant Services.
The California Architects Board is seeking consultant services proposals from architects for the Board’s Enforcement Program. For more information, please visit Cal eProcure and search for Event ID: 700 or Event Name: Architect Consultant Services.
meta (adj): (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.
Meta would be the board releasing an RFP for RFP writing services (might not be a bad idea).
The current RFP would potentially be meta if the board consisted entirely of architects (architects seeking proposals from other architects for services) ... but it does not. Even then, to truly be meta, the board would need to provide architectural consultancy services ... again, it does not.
the proposal they are seeking is self-referential to the proposal in the request for proposals?
Mar 11, 16 4:54 pm ·
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I concur with EI.
I downloaded the RFP so I can read what they are asking for. It looks like they are looking for some architects as contracted consultants to aid the staff with their subject matter technical expertise.
Their process seems guaranteed to result in lackluster consultants. Anybody that has the time and desire to go through their 47-page RFP and multi-stage interview process for $68 to $80 an hour must not have much going on professionally. But maybe that's what they want - the laid-off, too-much-free-time, disenchanted architects will probably have the most negative energy to put toward catching their colleagues in minor infractions.
curtkram, there is no proposal in a Request For Proposals ... it is a Request For Proposals, not a proposal. A RFP cannot be self-referential by referencing a proposal because there is no proposal in the RFP. A proposal is the response to an RFP. You don't make a RFP asking for anything other than proposals, and you respond to a RFP by submitting a proposal. Saying a RFP is seeking proposals is redundant, not meta.
Similarly, the California Architects Board doesn't need to specify they are looking for a California licensed architect to provide architectural services. An architect responding to the Board's RFP will need to be licensed in California in order to provide architectural services in California. They just need to say they are looking for an architect to provide services.
Other things that are redundant that have bugged me this week ...
People saying MSDS* sheet. MSDS stands for Material Safety Data Sheet. Saying MSDS sheet is saying "Material Safety Data Sheet Sheet."
People putting notes on schedules saying "Contractor to provide and install." Provide is defined as "furnish and install." If the contractor is to provide and install, you are asking them to furnish and install and install.
Saying "Contractor to provide and install" at all in the contract documents. If you put something on the drawings and don't say anything about who provides it, the contractor has to provide it ... that is the nature of writing a contract for the contractor to follow.
I'm not normally this grumpy everyone, it's been a long week ... I need a weekend.
The Department of Redundancy Department that deals with redundancies in an organizational structure that is departmental with the goal of limiting redundancy.
A Little Meta
In my email box this morning:
The California Architects Board recently released a Request for Proposal seeking proposals from California licensed architects who are interested in providing architect consultant services for the Board’s Enforcement Program. For more information, please visit Cal eProcure and search for Event ID: 700 or Event Name: Architect Consultant Services.
Meta? Try redundant.
The California Architects Board is seeking consultant services proposals from architects for the Board’s Enforcement Program. For more information, please visit Cal eProcure and search for Event ID: 700 or Event Name: Architect Consultant Services.
Fixed it!
the california board of architects should think of hiring a grammar consultant.
Still meta, now grammatically correct!
Skills required: A desire to police a profession in the hopes of legislating and penalizing said profession back to previous levels of relevance.
meta (adj): (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.
Meta would be the board releasing an RFP for RFP writing services (might not be a bad idea).
The current RFP would potentially be meta if the board consisted entirely of architects (architects seeking proposals from other architects for services) ... but it does not. Even then, to truly be meta, the board would need to provide architectural consultancy services ... again, it does not.
Request for Proposal seeking proposals
the proposal they are seeking is self-referential to the proposal in the request for proposals?
I concur with EI.
I downloaded the RFP so I can read what they are asking for. It looks like they are looking for some architects as contracted consultants to aid the staff with their subject matter technical expertise.
Their process seems guaranteed to result in lackluster consultants. Anybody that has the time and desire to go through their 47-page RFP and multi-stage interview process for $68 to $80 an hour must not have much going on professionally. But maybe that's what they want - the laid-off, too-much-free-time, disenchanted architects will probably have the most negative energy to put toward catching their colleagues in minor infractions.
curtkram, there is no proposal in a Request For Proposals ... it is a Request For Proposals, not a proposal. A RFP cannot be self-referential by referencing a proposal because there is no proposal in the RFP. A proposal is the response to an RFP. You don't make a RFP asking for anything other than proposals, and you respond to a RFP by submitting a proposal. Saying a RFP is seeking proposals is redundant, not meta.
Similarly, the California Architects Board doesn't need to specify they are looking for a California licensed architect to provide architectural services. An architect responding to the Board's RFP will need to be licensed in California in order to provide architectural services in California. They just need to say they are looking for an architect to provide services.
Other things that are redundant that have bugged me this week ...
I'm not normally this grumpy everyone, it's been a long week ... I need a weekend.
*Unrelated to being redundant, MSDS is now simply SDS.
It's straight from the Department of Redundancy Department.
Listened to the first portion of the Radiolab podcast that was released today, Debatable, on my commute home ... it is a little meta.
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