14 FAH-2 H-200
ACQUISITION BASICS
14 FAH-2 H-210
ACQUISITION METHODS
(CT:COR-29; 03-27-2015)
(Office of Origin: A/OPE)
14 FAH-2 H-211 GENERAL
(CT:COR-29; 03-27-2015)
There are two basic methods of acquiring goods and
services for the U.S. Government. The first is through existing and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 48 CFR 8.7 required sources of supply (e.g., National
Industries for the Blind (NIB) or Ability One, formally known as the
Javits-Wagner-ODay (JWOD) program). The other is an open-market acquisition
using either simplified acquisition techniques or formal contracting methods.
14 FAH-2 H-212 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION
METHODS
(CT:COR-29; 03-27-2015)
a. Simplified acquisitions are purchases of supplies,
nonpersonal services, or construction when the total amount involved in any one
transaction, including options, does not
exceed the simplified acquisition threshold and one of the simplified
procedures of FAR 48 CFR 13 are followed
(e.g., imprest fund, purchase card, purchase orders, or blanket-purchase
agreements).
b. The purpose of simplified acquisition methods is to
accomplish acquisitions with a minimum of administrative costs; improve
opportunities for small business concerns in the local trade area (domestic
only); and eliminate the more costly and time consuming paperwork involved in
formal acquisitions.
c. Small business set-asides: In accordance with 48
CFR 13.003, domestic offices must reserve
each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated value
exceeding $3,000 and not exceeding $150,000 for U.S. small-business concerns.
Posts abroad are encouraged to comply with this policy whenever practical, especially when ordering supplies or services from
U.S. vendors.
14 FAH-2 H-213 FORMAL ACQUISITION
(CT:COR-29; 03-27-2015)
When the amount of the supplies or services to be acquired
exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, the Department must use one of
the two formal acquisition methods: sealed bidding or negotiation.
Contracting officers representatives (CORs) should note that it is the
contracting officer's responsibility to make the decision concerning which
method to use in a given acquisition.
14 FAH-2 H-213.1 Sealed Bidding
(CT:COR-29; 03-27-2015)
a. Sealed bidding (48
CFR 14) is a method of contracting
characterized by competitive bids that are sealed by the respective vendors
before being given to the U.S. Government; opened by the U.S. Government in a
public ceremony; and with contract award being made to the lowest-priced
acceptable bidder. Sealed bidding is used when the U.S. Government can
describe its requirements clearly and without ambiguity. In sealed bidding,
communication between the parties is limited to the U.S. Government's written
solicitation (invitation for bid (IFB) and the vendor's written bid). Sealed
bidding involves the following steps:
(1) Draft specification or
performance work statement: The requirements office (or COR) provides
this description;
(2) Prepare solicitation: The
IFB must describe the requirements clearly, accurately, and completely without
unnecessarily restrictive specifications that would unduly limit the number of
bidders;
(3) Publicize IFB: The
contracting officer publicizes IFBs through appropriate means, which normally includes
Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) (domestically) or local
newspapers or websites (abroad) and in
sufficient time to enable prospective bidders to prepare and submit bids;
(4) Submit bids: Bidders
submit sealed bids to be publicly opened at the time and place stated in the
IFB;
(5) Evaluate bids: The
contracting officer and COR evaluate bids without discussion with bidders; and
(6) Award contract: The
contracting officer awards to the lowest-priced, responsive, responsible
bidder.
b. The contracting officer will consider sealed bidding
when all of the following conditions are met:
(1) Time permits the solicitation, submission, and
evaluation of bids;
(2) Award can be made on the basis of price or
price-related factors;
(3) Specifications define requirements adequately so
that it is unnecessary to conduct discussions; and
(4) There is a reasonable expectation of receiving
more than one bid.
c. Generally, sealed bidding is not used abroad,
because the concept is not familiar to foreign firms and does not allow the
Department to conduct negotiations that are
normally needed to clarify offers and establish
acceptable terms and conditions. Sealed bidding prohibits discussions,
price, or otherwise, between the bidders and the Department after bid opening.
For this reason, negotiation is recommended for posts abroad.
14 FAH-2 H-213.2 Contracting by
Negotiation
(CT:COR-29; 03-27-2015)
a. Negotiation refers to any U.S. Government
acquisition method that is not sealed bidding. Negotiation must be used
whenever one or more of the four prerequisites to sealed bidding (sufficient
time, award based on price or price-related factors, well-defined
specifications, adequate competition) is lacking (reference
48 CFR 15).
b. In contracting by negotiation, the contracting
officer requires that offerors package their technical proposals and their
price proposals separately. The U.S. Government then evaluates each offeror's
technical proposals and price proposals. There is no public opening of
proposals. After evaluation of offers, the contracting officer may hold
negotiations with offerors in the competitive range, advising each of the
deficiencies in its proposal, and request final proposal revisions. After
evaluation of final proposal revisions, the contracting officer awards to that
offer evaluated to be of the greatest value to the U.S. Government, price and
other factors considered. A major feature of negotiated procurement is its
emphasis on the technical aspects of proposals, in addition to price, rather
than on price factors alone.
c. Contracting by negotiation involves the following
steps:
(1) Draft specification or
performance work statement: The requirements office (or contracting
officers representative (COR)) provides this description;
(2) Prepare request for proposals
(RFP): As in the case of an invitation for bid (IFB), the U.S.
Government describes its requirements clearly, accurately, and as fully as
possible, and does so without unnecessarily restrictive requirements which
would unduly limit the number of offerors;
(3) Publicize RFP: The
contracting officer publicizes the RFP through all appropriate means, including
Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps), local newspapers, embassy, consulate or procurement office website,
or any other locally acceptable means of advertising the requirement;
(4) Submit proposals:
Offerors prepare and submit technical and price proposals in response to the
RFP. Proposals are not opened in public;
(5) Evaluate proposals: A
technical evaluation panel (TEP) evaluates the technical proposals against the
technical evaluation criteria included in the RFP. The contracting
officer evaluates the price proposals to determine whether the proposed prices
are reasonable and reflect the offeror's understanding of, and ability to
perform, the contract. The contracting officer then determines which proposals
are in the competitive range based on both technical and price factors. The
contracting officer may also choose to award on the basis of initial proposals,
in which case steps (6) through (8) of this section are eliminated;
(6) Conduct discussions: The
contracting officer holds oral and/or
written discussions with each offeror in the competitive range to resolve
uncertainties and to provide each offeror with an understanding of the
technical or price weaknesses in its proposal. The COR and other TEP members
may participate in the conduct of discussions;
(7) Request final proposal revisions:
When discussions are concluded, the contracting officer issues a written
request for final proposal revisions from all offerors in the competitive
range;
(8) Evaluate final proposal revisions:
The TEP and the contracting officer evaluate final proposal revisions in the
same manner as initial offers; and
(9) Award contract: The
contracting officer awards a contract to the responsible offeror whose offer is
most advantageous to the U.S. Government, considering price and other related
evaluation factors as stated in the solicitation.
14 FAH-2 H-214 THROUGH H-219 UNASSIGNED