Source selection methods, evaluation criteria, and best value tradeoff concepts used in federal contract award decisions.
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- What are the two primary source selection methods under the FAR?
- Sealed bidding (FAR 14) and competitive proposals (FAR 15).
- Define 'best value' in the context of federal source selection.
- The highest overall quality and best overall benefit to the government, achieved through balancing tradeoffs among technical merit, past performance, cost, and schedule.
- What is the primary difference between sealed bidding and competitive proposals?
- Sealed bidding requires bids to be firm and final at opening; competitive proposals allow discussions with offerors after receipt.
- What must a source selection plan document?
- The evaluation factors, their relative importance, the evaluation process, selection methodology, and any discussions policy.
- What is the 'competitive range'?
- The range of offerors whose proposals have a reasonable chance of being selected for award.
- What are 'discussions' in federal contracting source selection?
- Written or oral communications between the contracting officer and offerors within the competitive range to clarify or improve proposals, conducted after initial evaluation.
- What is the difference between 'clarifications' and 'discussions'?
- Clarifications are one-way requests to offerors for minor factual information; discussions are two-way exchanges to allow improvement of proposals.
- What does 'lowest price technically acceptable' (LPTA) mean?
- A source selection approach where proposals meeting or exceeding minimum technical requirements are ranked by price, with the lowest-priced qualifying proposal selected for award.
- Who has the authority to make the final source selection decision?
- The source selection official, typically the contracting officer or a senior official designated in the acquisition strategy.
- What is a 'source selection board' and what role does it play?
- A group of specialists assembled to evaluate proposals and make recommendations to the source selection official; advisors only, not decision makers.
- What must be documented in the evaluation record for each proposal?
- Strengths, weaknesses, risks, and scoring or ratings against each evaluation factor, plus rationale for any tradeoffs made.
- What is 'cost realism' analysis?
- An evaluation of whether proposed costs are realistic and achievable given the contractor's technical approach, resources, and schedule.
- Define 'past performance' as an evaluation factor.
- A contractor's history of on-time delivery, quality, compliance with contract terms, and successful similar work on prior contracts.
- What is required when evaluating a proposal with cost-plus pricing?
- Evaluation of the reasonableness of the profit or fee, the contractor's cost control systems, and the estimated costs for the work.
- What must the source selection decision document include?
- The rationale for selection, discussion of tradeoffs made, why the selected offeror represents best value, and addressing any significant evaluation issues.