Source Selection Step by Step

Charles D. Solloway Jr.

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781567263008
• eBook ISBN: 9781567263527
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Decision Making
• Index: Business

The path to successful source selection begins with Source Selection Step by Step: A Working Guide for Every Member of the Acquisition Team. Whether you are new to the acquisition team or an experienced practitioner looking to sharpen your skills, this comprehensive, highly readable handbook will guide you through the entire acquisition process, from designing an effective source selection plan, to preparing the solicitation, evaluating proposals, establishing a competitive range, and documenting the source selection decision. With clarity and frankness, Charles Solloway presents government source selection in a step-by-step guide that offers readers quick access to needed information. In addition to guidance about the process, the book includes: • Techniques to streamline the process and reduce time and expense
• Ways to avoid common pitfalls
• Alternatives to common procedures that yield better results
• Methods to involve contractors more effectively
• Definitions of the key terms associated with government source selection. Make this book your first stop for quick and easy guidance on all aspects of government source selection.

PART I

THE FOUNDATIONS OF SOURCE SELECTION

This part is essential for the less-experienced professional in understanding the basics of source selection, the current definition of best value, and the advantages and disadvantages of the two primary types of competitive best value acquisitions: lowest-price technically acceptable (LPTA) and tradeoff. It also identifies other sources of guidance and information, both private and governmental, on source selection.

While essential for the new acquisition professional, this part may also prove to be a useful memory jogger for more experienced source selection personnel. It will help all readers, regardless of their experience, by setting the stage for understanding and applying the material presented in the later parts of this book.

CHAPTER 1

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF A CONTRACT

Before we tackle the subject of source selection, it is helpful to briefly examine some of the basic requirements for awarding a contract.

Regardless of the manner in which a source is selected, an authorized contracting officer normally cannot make an award to a contractor unless he or she has determined that:

• The contractor is responsible. In general terms, this means the contractor has a satisfactory record of perseverance and integrity and that the contractor either has, or has made provision to obtain, the necessary resources to do the job.
  As a part of the responsibility determination, contracting officers must consult the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). This relatively new online system gathers information from various government databases. This includes past performance information from the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and information on contractor integrity or perseverance from the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), which contains suspension and debarment information on contractors.
  When appropriate, the government may establish special standards of responsibility for any particular acquisition, provided that contractors are so notified when they are solicited for bids, offers, or quotes.
• The proposed contractor (offeror, bidder, or quoter) is responsive. In general terms, this means that the contractor has followed the instructions in the solicitation and has agreed before award to meet all the requirements of the proposed government contract. In negotiated procurements, as described in FAR Part 15, competing contractors that are initially found to have a nonresponsive proposal may be given an opportunity to become responsive through proposal revision if discussions (negotiations) are held and revisions are permitted.
• The price (or cost) has been determined by the contracting officer to be fair and reasonable.
• Money has been appropriated for the purpose of the contract, and the contracting officer has received the proper notification from agency fiscal authorities that the funds are available for use in awarding a contract. This notification of availability is often referred to as fund certification.

Only when these requirements have been met (or, in exceedingly rare instances, have been waived) may a contracting officer with the requisite authority execute a contract on behalf of the government. This is true regardless of the source selection process used.

CHAPTER 2

THE SOURCE SELECTION PROCESSES

Source selection is the term used to describe the processes through which the government selects a contractor—a source—to furnish goods or services.

Many acquisition officials consider the selection of a contractor to be the most crucial of all the elements in the acquisition cycle. After all, they point out, it is usually far less difficult and far less expensive to change the terms of a contract than it is to terminate a contractor for default and go through the tedious and expensive process of reprocurement. If an agency selects the wrong contractor, even the most carefully crafted contract will not compensate for the poor source selection.

Government acquisition personnel select contractors in one of two ways:

• They prepare the appropriate justifications, get required approvals, and award a contract on a noncompetitive basis.
• They award a contract on the basis of competition.

When award is made on the basis of competition (either full and open competition or limited competition), contractors are normally selected using one of three selection processes:

• Award to the responsible, responsive offeror or bidder with the lowest price when only a price has been requested and there are no accompanying written or oral proposals.
• Award to the lowest offer among those responsible offerors that, in addition to a price, have submitted a written or oral proposal (or both) that has been found to be acceptable. This method is called lowest-price technically acceptable (LPTA).
• Award to the responsible contractor offering the best value to the government (which may or may not be the lowest price), considering both price/cost factors and those non-price factors identified in the government solicitation and addressed in the contractor’s proposal. This is called the tradeoff process.

The tradeoff process was traditionally considered to be the only best value process. However, in 1997 the language defining best value in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the acquisition bible of the executive agencies, was changed. Best value is now defined as an outcome (rather than a process) that may be achieved through LPTA, tradeoff, or some combination of these two processes.

Notwithstanding this change in the FAR, many people in the acquisition community still use best value as a synonym for tradeoff in their communications with people both within and outside the acquisition community. Best value is also frequently used as a synonym for tradeoff in articles published in professional magazines and even in some of the protest opinions issued by the Comptroller General or the Court of Federal Claims. It is a longstanding habit that has been hard to break.

The part of the FAR dealing with source selection is FAR Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The source selection processes and procedures described in Part 15 deal only with LPTA or tradeoff. Accordingly, we focus on those two processes in this book.

Exhibit 2-1 is an overview of the activities that take place during the source selection process. Exhibits 2-2 and 2-3 are graphic representations of the process, starting with identifying the government requirement and ending at selecting the source. These exhibits may include terms and actions not yet familiar to the reader. If that is the case, it is suggested that the reader examine the exhibits now just to get an overall feel for this complex process. The reader can then refer back to these exhibits, where appropriate, as he or she proceeds through the text. For the benefit of the reader, these exhibits will appear again in Chapter 38.

EXHIBIT 2-1 The Normal Sequence of Events in Source Selection

When award is to be made without holding discussions

1. Identify the requirement.
2. Planning begins; assign responsibilities.
3. Market research begins.^*
4. Prepare the acquisition plan (AP) and the source selection plan (SSP).
5. Issue the draft request for proposal (RFP), if any, and conduct other presolicitation exchanges.^**
6. Issue a synopsis of the requirement at www.fedbizopps.gov, the governmentwide point of entry (GPE). This notifies the public that a solicitation is to be issued and often occurs at the same time as activity 7, preparation of the solicitation.
7. Prepare the solicitation. A request for proposal is used for most source selections other than simplified acquisitions. Simplified acquisitions often are accomplished using a request for quotation (RFQ).
8. Issue the solicitation.
9. Conduct the preproposal conference or site visit, if any.
10. Receive proposals.
11. Evaluate proposals.
12. Obtain clarifications, where appropriate.
13. Select the source, document the rationale, and make the award.^***
14. Notify competitors, and offer debriefings.
15. Hold debriefings.

When discussions are to be held

1. Identify the requirement.
2. Planning begins; assign responsibilities.
3. Market research begins.^*
4. Prepare the acquisition plan and the source selection plan.
5. Issue the draft RFP, if any, and conduct other presolicitation exchanges.^**
6. Issue a synopsis of the requirement at www.fedbizopps.gov, the governmentwide point of entry (GPE). This notifies the public that a solicitation is to be issued and often occurs at the same time as activity 7, preparation of the solicitation.
7. Prepare the solicitation. A request for proposal is used for most source selections other than simplified acquisitions. Simplified acquisitions often are accomplished using a request for quotation.
8. Issue the solicitation.
9. Conduct the preproposal conference or site visit, if any.
10. Receive proposals.
11. Evaluate proposals.
12. Conduct communications, where appropriate.
13. Establish the competitive range.
14. Notify those not placed in range; offer debriefings.
15. Hold debriefings at a time determined by the contracting officer. They may be delayed until after award at the request of a competing contractor or if the contracting officer chooses to do so.
16. Hold discussions with those in the competitive range.
17. Receive interim proposal revisions, if permitted or required.
18. Request and receive final proposal re...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Part I: The Foundations of Source Selection
• Part II: Preparing for Source Selection
• Part III: Soliciting Proposals and Preparing for Evaluations
• Part IV: Evaluating Proposals and Conducting Limited Exchanges
• Part V: Establishing the Competitive Range and Holding Discussions
• Part VI: Obtaining Final Revisions and Selecting the Source
• Part VII: Notifications, Debriefings, and Protests
• Part VIII: Streamlining
• Part IX: Variations in Source Selection
• Part X: Ethics
• Appendix I: Examples of Rating Methodologies
• Appendix II: Sample Sections L and M from a Solicitation
• Appendix III: Definitions
• Appendix IV: Additional Resources
• Index