Federal Acquisition Process

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Once the solicitation has been made public and the pre-bid conference is held, interested contractors will send in proposals and source selection begins. For negotiated procurements, the acquisition team will review each proposal and assess for proposal content and inclusions, as well as the cost of any products or services included in the proposal. The Contracting Officer will also make sure the proposal meets the evaluation factors and sub-factors listed in the solicitation. After all proposals have been reviewed, the Contracting Officer will determine which sources fall within the competitive range. Only those determined to be “highly rated and efficient” will be considered to be in the competitive range. Those sources that do not fall within the range, but are close have the opportunity for negotiation. Prospective contractors who have had past performance issues are removed from the competitive range and are not given the opportunity for negotiation. Tradeoffs are then completed and the negotiation strategy and plan are finalized.

During the Negotiations phase, each offeror is given the opportunity to revise or clarify their proposal based on deficiencies, as well as strengths and weaknesses found. Final proposal revisions are called for by the CO and negotiations close. Proposals submitted are then reviewed to determine if revisions changed the aspects of the proposal.

Contract award, performance and closeout are the final steps of the acquisition process. Upon completion of the negotiations phase, contract award is given to the contractor whose proposal provides the best value to the government. Awards given in a negotiated procurement can be chosen based on several selection factors as opposed to sealed bidding which is interested only in price. Once all parties attend the post-award conference, the acquisition team begins performing the tasks and activities associated with the day to day contract performance.

Once all contracts and obligations have been fulfilled, the government will process final payments associated with the award and discharge all contractors. “A contract is physically complete when: (1) all required work has been delivered or performed, inspected and accepted, and all options have been exercised or have expired; or (2) a contract determination notice has been delivered to the contractor” (Engelbeck, 2002). The contract closeout must have joint participation from the government and the contractor.

The federal acquisition process included in the FAR was initially created to consolidate the processes of government agencies in an effort to create one set of standards that all agencies could use. After many revisions, today’s process encompasses vital concepts needed to provide efficient and effective procurement. The acquisition process and its reform, will remain a topic of continuous improvement as long as the government spends money, but if implemented correctly, will contribute to the accomplishment of successful acquisition outcomes more efficiently for any federal agency.

References

CCH Federal Acquisition Regulation, FAC 2005-79, “F.A.R.”; January 1, 2015.

Engelbeck, R. Marshall. (2002) Acquisition Management. Vienna, Virginia: Management Concepts.

Edwards, V. J. (2003). Competitive Processes in Government Contracting: The FAR Part 15 Process Model and Process Inefficiency. WIFCON.com; Retrieved from www.wifcon.com/anal/analcomproc.htm

Federal Government Contract Overview, FindLaw, Retrieved from

http://corporate.findlaw.com/law-library/federal-government-contract-overview.html