I was approached by a local municipality about a new Council Chamber being built. At the meeting with the CAO on Friday, it became apparent that there was no design spec for the project and I was there to give up design ideas. They asked me to send them a proposal but I told them that I would need to have a design contract before I could do that.

We don't have a design contract per say and just wondering what to include in it. If anyone has some input or maybe a template that I could refer to; I would really appreciate it.
TIA

Get a list of the requirements- what do they need? Do they have a clue about technology and are they going to try to keep up with future tech?

They have no clue. I essentially need to tell them what they need. AV, lighting and shading. I have the design concept in mind but want a design contract before I give it up. It will go to RFP so I want to make sure everyone is bidding Apples to Apples.

So you're being hired to write a spec and do some drawings?

Write a little basic SOW that says what the project is and will have. Then come up with a price for design and engineering and have them sign off that you will deliver the design and engineering plus a bid spec for a system that supports the SOW/client requirements. Those drawings are theirs upon full payment of the fee (which you should get up front), to do with as they please. A contract for your completion of the project will be delivered separately (as a bid). Obviously you will be the best qualified to complete.....

If they have no idea what they need, should they really be on the City Council?

What are the room's dimensions, occupancy and will it be used for a lot of public meetings, or mainly just the council and a few observers?

Amplifiers- more power than needed. You can't buy headroom later without it costing a lot and having the city ask why it wasn't offered during the design phase.

Do it the way a design-build firm does- charge for the design and build it into the final price, so it looks like they're getting a discount.

Are you competing with other integrators?

I'm not competing on the design phase but will be on the RFP. The room will be approx. 3000 ft. Due to hearing impaired concerns I'm leaning towards the IONYX columns by renkus

If they have several hearing-impaired people who would attend on a regular basis, Atlas has a good system that transmits RF to a small receiver and the range isn't as limited as Bluetooth. We used to install them when I worked for an AV contractor that did mostly LDS facilities.

Also, ask if they'll have offices where sound masking would be a benefit.

There's no reason for someone who excels at city government to have a friggin' clue about audio for a Council Chamber. Or video. Or interfaces. Cameras. Hearing impaired. Not even necessarily wheelchair access, though they learn that on the job.

I'm not saying they need to know about audio, but they should know how the space will be used.

They have a zoning and inspection department for details like ADA, etc.

Typically in instances like this, a company like GMan's or another "consultant" type company is brought in to design the system.  The "Design" of the system isn't free and it isn't cheap.  I would be very suspicious of this....Not that they're up to no good, but the simple fact that they know this already. So, why aren't they or haven't they hired the proper consultant already?

The reason they do this is because you can "rig" the design by stating that specific items must be installed.  Say for example you were a vendor for X, and you knew that there weren't any other X vendors in the area, you'd almost assure yourself the bid by spec'ing the equipment.

Very strange for a company designing the system also being allowed to bid on it.  I don't know how you crazy Canadians do it, but it's out of the ordinary.  It certainly plays into your hands.

But it would still send my red flags up.

And in America, they have to go public with the bid, they can't simply choose who they want to work with because they like you better. 

I agree. Generally this is the case up here as well. The difference in this case is they thought that it was a simple bid process. The scope of work involves lighting, shading, 2 projectors and screens, HDMI matrixing, microphones, IOS, Mac, PC and Android audio / video streaming. I explained to them that in order to do the project correctly; it would need to be designed properly.

We've found the Renkus Heinz solution to be far better than the Atlas solutions. It allows us to bend / steer the audio throughout the room and the frequency shelving capability is quite impressive.

You may also need an assisted listening system. Look into Listen Tech.

A design contract is the same as any other contract - define the scope of work/deliverables. So define WHAT you are providing as design and what the price is for it. An example might be:
1. Blueprints per exhibit a.
2. Specifications per exhibit b.
3. Schematics per exhibit c.

You need to define how you'll approach budget and have some type of discussion about it prior - otherwise if you go back and design a 100K (pick *any* number) system and the budget is actually 50K.

You also need to define how many hours of design is included, and what you charge per hour for work beyond what is included - design can NEVER be open ended or they can reject the first design and keep asking for redesigns.

Google is your friend, I suggesting Googling on some example design contracts, even if they are for other industries you'll probably find some useful ones. We have some sample contracts and also scopes of work posted in the downloads section at our private integrator only forum esiorg.com, but I don't believe we have any that are design specific.

p.s. what "design" is Not, even though people often mistakenly refer to it as "design", is a list of equipment. That is a small part of design. Just thought that is worth clarifying.

I have been involved in a few jobs where we were paid to design the system. After they pay for it they own it. So charge them as if you are Not getting the job. Because a large part of getting the job is the design. If that is done already it's lowest bidder and a truck slammer could do it for alot less.