Best Practices for a FAR 15 Procurement PART 2 WHAT TO DO ONCE PROPOSALS ARE RECEIVED
Agenda Managing Proposal Responses How to brief your evaluation team Preparing Technical Evaluation board documents (Evaluation Notices and Evaluation Work sheets)
Typical FAR Part 15 Source Selection Process Source: DISA Acquisition Deskbook
Managing Proposal Responses Create a spreadsheet to track proposals received Ensure proposals are kept in a secure location FAR 15.207 (b) Review proposal to ensure all volumes and requirements outlined in RFP are received Check sam.gov to ensure offerors are eligible for award Have technical evaluation team reserve time to review proposals Depending on the number of proposals received, this can be a long period
Late Proposals Far 15.208 (g) Proposals received late shall be left unopened and retained until after award Notice shall be sent to contractor stating proposal was received late and was not accepted Contracting file must document the date/hour proposal was received, statement regarding if the proposal was considered for award, and some evidence to show it was received late (wrapper/envelope)
Acceptance of Late Proposal FAR 15.208 (b) Contracting officer determines that accepting the late proposal would not unduly delay the acquisition and the following apply Proposal transmitted through electronic commerce and was received at initial point of entry 1 working day prior to receipt of proposals There is acceptable evidence that proposal was received on Government installation and was under Government control at time it was due It was the only proposal received
Technical Evaluation Board Separate volumes based on technical team The team reviewing technical and past performance typically does not review pricing Ensure the technical evaluators are qualified to review the proposals Have Technical Team complete one review, then have OGC review to ensure in accordance with Source Selection Plan Should have an odd number of Technical Advisors
Briefing your evaluation team Send the technical review team a copy of the solicitation a couple weeks before they conduct the technical review Review the Source Selection Plan with your technical evaluators to ensure they are complaint Discuss the non-disclosure form with team Ensure discussions are kept in a secure area Hold technical team off site to avoid distractions
Sample Evaluation Worksheet
Sample Evaluation Consensus
Sample Format for Individual Proposal Evaluation
Clarifications Clarifications are limited exchanges between Government and Offerors Clarification cannot result in a change to contractors proposal
Competitive Range Competitive range the range of proposals that are most highly rated FAR 15.306 ( C) if discussions are held a competitive range must be established FAR 15.503 - The contracting officer shall notify offerors promptly in writing when their proposals are excluded from the competitive range or otherwise eliminated from the competition. The notice shall state the basis for the determination and that a proposal revision will not be considered.
Discussions with Offerors Discussions with offerors must be meaningful Do not have to discuss the same issue with all contractors (if discussing price with one offeror but another offeror has no issues with price, it is not required to discuss price with both offerors) If you are holding any discussions with offerors must establish a competitive range
Evaluation Notices Evaluation notices are used to send communication to the Offeror that show weaknesses and deficiencies of the proposal Cannot move forward with the Vendor if there are weaknesses, omissions, deficiencies Offeror is given a date/time to resubmit the corrected proposal items. Only the items in the EN can be corrected If Vendor has negative past performance must give opportunity to respond
Sample of Preaward notice of exclusion from competitive range Dear Supplier, 1. The Government has completed its initial evaluation of the proposals submitted in response to the Solicitation Number Project Name regrets to inform you that your proposal has been excluded from the competitive range and thereby eliminated from the competition. Based on the ratings that were derived against all the evaluation criteria, I have determined that your proposal is outside the competitive range because it was not one of the most highly rated proposals. 2. You may request a debriefing in writing within three days after receipt of this notice. This debriefing may be delayed until after award if so requested. However, if you do not request a debriefing within those three days, the Government is not obligated to grant either a pre-award or post-award debriefing. Your attention is directed to FAR 15.505 regarding these procedures. 3. The Government thanks you for your participation in this acquisition and looks forward to your continued interest in future business opportunities at the Organization Name.
Debriefing Unsuccessful Offerors Pre- Award Debriefing can be orally, in writing, or in-person Minimum de-briefing must include: (1) The offeror may request a preaward debriefing by submitting a written request for debriefing to the contracting officer within 3 days after receipt of the notice of exclusion from the competition. (2) At the offeror s request, this debriefing may be delayed until after award. If the debriefing is delayed until after award, it shall include all information normally provided in a postaward debriefing (see 15.506(d)). Debriefings delayed pursuant to this paragraph could affect the timeliness of any protest filed subsequent to the debriefing. (3) If the offeror does not submit a timely request, the offeror need not be given either a preaward or a postaward debriefing. Offerors are entitled to no more than one debriefing for each proposal.
Request final proposals Must have final proposal due by certain time/date Only specific items can be submitted (result of Evaluation Notice or Discussions) This is the last chance a vendor can submit their proposal BEST AND FINAL