far part 8 brief explanation

We have seen how easily a debriefing can turn into a lose-lose proposition. } Federal Supply Schedule contracts, however, are not treated as task or delivery order contracts and are not subject to the bar. It is important to note that information conveyed by the agency in a notice to an unsuccessful offeror may, of itself, trigger the 10-day protest deadline, even if the offeror requests further information.

Notice that other type of buys under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisitions such as blanket purchase agreements (BPAs), orders under BPAs, and simplified procedures for commercial items under FAR Subpart 13.5 do not provide for any type of debriefing. font-size: 1em; The staff and instructors at the Public Contracting Institute would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! .svg-inline--fa { <> If a supplier requests information on an award that was based on factors other than price alone, a brief explanation of the basis for the contract award decision shall be provided (see 15.503(b)(2)). Vendors participating in these solicitations have more debriefing rights so please keep reading this white paper. With seminars, webinars, and on-site training, PCIs course content and instruction are of the highest caliber in the industry.

A.

(1) The agency's evaluation of significant elements in the offeror's proposal; (2) A summary of the rationale for eliminating the offeror from the competition; and.

On December 11, Ampcus protested. All Rights Reserved. If you responded to a Request for Proposals (RFP) under FAR Part 15, you are entitled to a required debriefing. To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra: [HOT] Read Latest COVID-19 Guidance, All Aspects [SCHEDULE] Upcoming COVID-19 Webinars & Online Programs, [GUIDANCE] COVID-19 and Force Majeure Considerations, [GUIDANCE] COVID-19 and Employer Liability Issues. Called an enhanced debriefing, contracting officers now must include in the debriefing information provided to unsuccessful offerors an opportunity to submit additional questions related to the debriefing within two business days after receiving the debriefing. But occasionally one of these differences affects the analysis of the merits of a post-award protest. } Cl. If you responded to a Request for Proposals (RFP) under FAR Part 15, you are entitled to a required debriefing. Grp., Inc., B-413901, B-413901.2, Jan. 9, 2017, 2017 CPD 38 at 7 (denying allegation that the agency should have considered the past performance of the protesters proposed subcontractors and noting that, unlike FAR Part 15, FAR part 8 does not suggest that in evaluating an offerors past performance an agency should also consider the past performance of its proposed subcontractors). On occasion, an unsuccessful contractor will miss this 3-day deadline. The governments mistake in many cases never really harmed the unsuccessful offerors chances of getting a contract. Enter your email below to stay up-to-date. endstream .sd-content a.nc-twitter-circled{ 1 0 obj

endobj As a practical matter, it may well be in the governments interest to disclose the mistakes early in the process rather than having a mistake come out during a lengthy protest process that the government will win. /*height: .8em;*/ fMEHDsg8| `Oz`\? GJSpMqR@#K stream .sd-content a hover { ASSUMING YOU WERE ELIMINATED FROM THE COMPETITION PRE-AWARD: Deciding on whether to get a pre-award or a post-award debriefing. Under 4 CFR 21.2, disappointed offerors protesting the award of a contract must file their protest within 10 days after the basis of the protest is known or should have been known. Notwithstanding the seemingly clear language, this is the subject of regular dispute, particularly with respect to procurements that require a debrief or explanatory letter to the party not receiving award. GAO DECISIONS MAY NOT BE BINDING, BUT THEY CANNOT BE IGNORED. These fair-opportunity competitions are subject to the regulations in FAR Part 8not the regulations for negotiated procurements in FAR Part 15 or the rules for task and delivery orders in FAR Subpart 16.5. }. Rather than a formal debriefing, those procurements generally require only a brief explanation letter addressing the basis for awards based on factors other than price alone. PCI offers training in all facets and at every level of government contracting, both to the public and private sectors. - A government contractor can always ask the government for a debriefing for any kind of procurement. So we want to share our business approach to debriefings. Not all contracting officers will disclose the second and third ranked companies by name. This required item, however, has real value to the government. xnH"fwsv`Y%$'0U$b7%:>b_^Cv}z{7yy^~YG?.oNO^(S(,26N3|?~8=4z|S;gLN.M?~gn1W pm'nJM2_=Xm0 xuL5'6v=\wu85Q6iz&[L]CPJ0bN(V= jfE(Va? .sd-content a.nc-fa-print{ The GAO found for the protester, explaining that the basic timeliness rule is that a protest challenging a contract award . For requirements above a certain value, agencies ordinarily hold competitions among Schedule contract holders for issuance of orders or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) under the vendors Schedule contracts. Unfortunately, FAR gives no details of what a brief explanation involves. . (1) The Government's evaluation of the significant weaknesses or deficiencies in the offeror's proposal, if applicable; (2) The overall evaluated cost or price (including unit prices), and technical rating, if applicable, of the successful offeror and the debriefed offeror, and past performance information on the debriefed offeror; (3) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during the source selection; (4) A summary of the rationale for award; (5) For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror; and.

In addition to these important procedural differences, there are also certain substantive legal standards applicable to FAR Part 15 procurements that do not apply to competitions under FAR Part 8. Such a letter does not automatically create a new protest filing timeline, like a required debriefing.

However, the protest was filed within 10-days of the agencys brief explanation letter, which detailed the proposals weaknesses. Pricing offered under a FSS contract has already been determined as fair and reasonable at the time of award. For example, in Favor TechConsulting, LLC v. United States, 129 Fed. For example, if an agency provides reasonably detailed information about ratings and the basis of award in the initial notice of non-award, and that information provides a basis of protest, the 10-day clock for protesting on that particular ground begins immediately, and not on the day when the agency decides to provide a further brief explanation.See, e.g., IR Techs., B-414430 et al., June 6, 2017, 2017 CPD 162 at 6 (dismissing as untimely an allegation that the awardees price was unrealistically low, where the protester filed the protest within 10 days of its brief explanation, but where the earlier non-award notice contained the awardees price and the comparison of prices was the sole basis of the protest ground). The Government may only use the GSA Federal Supply Schedule Program (FSS) to procure commercial items (supplies or services) offered under a contractors FSS contract at firm fixed, labor hour, and/or time and materials pricing. Clickhere to read more about how we use cookies.

For example, in Castro & Company LLC, B-412398, January 29, 2016, 2016 CPD 52, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found a federal supply schedule protest timely, despite being filed thirty-three days after the award without a formal debrief. The flipside of the coin is that, if the only basis of protest is disclosed more than 10 days after award, ones CICA stay clock may have already run out before ones jurisdictional clock even begins to tick. Federal procurement protests operate on tight deadlines, so prompt evaluation of protest timelines is critical, and the assistance of counsel is often beneficial. FAR 15.505(f) prohibits the contracting officer from disclosing the following at a preaward debriefing: (3) The content of other offerors proposals; (6) Any of the information prohibited in 15.506(e). 4. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 28 0 R 29 0 R 30 0 R 31 0 R 32 0 R 33 0 R 34 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 792 612] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Federal Circuit Holds CICA Stay Clock Begins at Time of Debriefing When Disappointed Offeror does not Avail Itself of Right to Ask Additional Questions, USPTO Registers the Word THE as a Trademark for Ohio State, New Bat Rules May Affect Future Construction Projects, including New VDOT Tree Removal Limits, EPA Sets Near Zero PFAS Drinking Water Health Advisory, What To Expect From The Virginia Supreme Court Regarding Certified Questions Of Law. This website uses cookies to improve user experience, track anonymous site usage, store authorization tokens and permit sharing on social media networks. It is based on our years of government contract experience working with clients who want to get as much information from the government on why they lost a contract or task order. The Court of Federal Claims (COFC) has held similarly. endobj 1468 0 obj They must find out why they lost the last bid and how they can improve their chances for future contracts second, you must use the debriefing for relationship building with the contracting officer so that the debriefing can lead to possible future contracts the contracting officer must leave the debriefing with a better understanding of your capabilities. /Root 1468 0 R section daily down there everyone don chapter want hide many say No Required Debriefing. The advantage as we shall see below is that the post-award debriefing gets them more information. From your perspective, you naturally are discouraged and upset that the government did not see the merit in a proposal you put so much time and effort into. /Info 233 0 R NH;9-=\\&^8$=is$WBUK gpEzuJ%D <> Part 2 provides guidance on the best approach for contractors to take to ensure they get an effective debriefing. The items, quantities, and any stated unit prices of each award. Part 1 describes the steps to get a required debriefing and the information that a contractor can expect to learn at a debriefing. . << /Type /XRef /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 100 /W [ 1 3 1 ] /Index [ 1466 27 ] One of the recurring problems at a debriefing is that the government doesnt give out all the information theyre supposed to. The brief explanation letter identified Ampcus and CTECs ratings, and described the strengths and weakness associated with Ampcus quotation. PCI instructors are practicing and expert professionals, with extensive experience teaching, and our courses meet CLE, CLP, CPE, and CEU requirements. UNTIMELY RECEIPT OF APPEAL-FEDEX DELIVERY. nD=#*g0

The agency shall respond in writing to the additional questions submitted by an unsuccessful offeror within five business days after receipt of the questions. If you were involved in a GSA FSS solicitation, you don't need to read any further. Paragraph six is a debriefing requirement that seems ridiculous because it seems that FAR is forcing contracting officers to incriminate themselves by requiring them to tell you about any mistakes that they may have made during the solicitation process. The agency shall not consider the postaward debriefing. All FSS RFQ exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (that dont require a statement of work) must be either (i) posted on GSA e-Buy or (ii) sent to a sufficient number of offerors to reasonably ensure that a government buyer will receive proposals from at least 3 contractors. The General Services Administrations Federal Supply Schedule contracts are an efficient method for agencies across the Government to meet their needs for many commercially available supplies and services. They dont want to give you too much information for fear that the information could lead to a successful protest of the contract.

font-size: 30px; Lets look at the contracting officer. endobj /Size 1493 /Prev 1222098 <>/Metadata 137 0 R/OpenAction 1469 0 R/PageLayout/TwoPageRight/Pages 227 0 R/StructTreeRoot 234 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> However, you want to know where your competition came in and so you would like to know which companies were second and third for example. _-eG7a%b$,3DJN$5GOsmY]K< It is not unusual, in a complex solicitation, for the government to make a mistake. The amount of feedback you get depends on the kind of solicitation you responded to.

Zs TC&)6KP J,(+8o color: #3b5998;

But missing the required debriefing 3-day deadline means that the contractor is not entitled to the debriefing information a contractor must get under a required debriefing. Assuming that the contracting officer does not send an email, the three day period starts to run when the award is formally announced by the agency, usually on fedbizopps.gov. Bidders must anticipate plan on the contracting officer taking this limited, cautious approach and try at every step to establish a good environment for the debriefing. As always, there's no harm in asking. font-size: 30px;

In addition, contracting officers often go into a debriefing with the grudging defensive attitude. A dearth of information dissuades some companies from protesting, but it sometimes has the opposite effect: spurring some disappointed bidders to protest simply to learn why they lost and whether they were treated fairly. Information from a postaward debriefing: At a minimum, the debriefing information shall include. 4 0 obj

There are few magic words that a contractor has to use to get a timely required debriefing request. } (2) Privileged or confidential manufacturing processes and techniques; (3) Commercial and financial information that is privileged or confidential, including cost breakdowns, profit, indirect cost rates, and similar information; and. x @@# font-size: 30px; However, not all solicitations require a debriefing; for example, procurements of Federal Supply Schedules made under FAR Part 8, Simplified Acquisition Procedures under FAR Part 13, Commercial Items under FAR Part 12, and some procurements under FAR Part 16. C. Information from an Enhanced Postaward Debriefing.

%PDF-1.5 Identify the kind of solicitation process you were involved in. As described above, your rights to proposal feedback are very limited.

endobj

It is important to add the GSA awards contracts and orders not only under the FAR Part 8, the FSS, but also contracts and task orders under FAR Part 15 and FAR Part 16 (for example, Alliant 2, VETS 2). When that happens, a contractor can ask for the government to provide a voluntary debriefing.

must be filed not later than 10 days after the basis of protest is known, stating that the factual basis of the protest is the substance of the evaluation and the source selection rationale which the protestor did not know before receiving the brief explanation letter. Step 1. 2 0 obj

EO 14055 Proposed Rules Require Successor Contractors to Once Again Offer First Right of Refusal to Predecessor Workers, Chasing the FAR: DODs Buy American Act Final Rule, June 2022 Bid Protest Roundup: Timeliness, Scope, Defining Status Quo, Supreme Court to Consider Whether the Government Can Dismiss a False Claims Act Suit if It Opted Not to Intervene at the Outset, Morrison Foerster Government Contracts Attorneys Recognized in Chambers USA 2022 Rankings. What typically happens is that after an unsuccessful offeror receives an email from the contracting officer telling the contractor that it was excluded from the competition or that it simply lost, the contractor responds with an email asking for a required briefing. 4[g(}{pM=f pe8[&+&JIj. x'Z=^I Under FAR Part 8, however, a post-award protest is always due within 10 days of when the protester knew or should have known of the basis of a particular protest ground. 3gB$sX8s_*^wF35/v{G.:)zI[XRF7joC]9cIG_H GC&oRlZQHT]]y!M*+mU>8g@$&=BQ"`PNg:/UUD'Wu%IScBg*]R'D$+Q2Wx0yFLkCS'ziKSI\[JlLi{/eDH7!)Aq9[* kyj48jxd0bNig0E]O^w'H)*KsqPQ}.

We believe that the best use of debriefing is to use it to get the next contract. font-weight: 500;

} j~3~I+Qed^!|yH$Z3q}yI((t/`5#]$CDCvO.I ^>er>'9.n*hw6KG#&8^Y'm3 _vKt DZh}mXp2PN"_AfN_(ZG{T~F k?VV#` *H1Bt?J_ See, e.g., Atlantic Sys. Most mistakes the government makes during the solicitation process are what is referred to as harmless error. Under that bar, with certain exceptions, the GAO lacks jurisdiction over protests of task or delivery order solicitations or awards valued at less than $10 million (under civilian IDIQ contracts) or $25 million (under Defense Department IDIQ contracts). However, it will be difficult to do so because you may find the contracting officer not following the rules and not providing you all the information far says you are entitled to. When a brief explanation is devoid of meaningful information, it may be difficult to assess whether the ordering agency conducted the procurement properly. So the preliminary task is to focus on the type of solicitation you were involved in. Jim Tucker is of counsel in Morrison & Foersters Government Contracts and Public Procurement Practice Group and is based in the firms Washington, D.C. office. B. (6) Reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed. Although the FAR uses the phrase the overall ranking of all offerors it is not unusual for a contracting officer to tell your ranking, for example, you finished fourth. E2]Ph5la70*_g'qXHq_f`-gEz>f@:0elP\7 In procurements subject to FAR Part 15s debriefing rules, the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) ordinarily entitles a protester to an automatic stay of contract performance if the GAO notifies the procuring agency of a filed protest by the later of 10 days after contract award or five days after the close of a required post-award debriefing. As an NCMA education partner, credits earned from our courses can be applied toward CPCM, CFCM and CCCM certifications. In general terms, the reason(s) the offeror's proposal was not accepted.

far part 8 brief explanation

far part 8 brief explanationLeave a Comment melissa and doug furniture dollhouse

far part 8 brief explanation
Leave a Comment
melissa and doug furniture dollhouse