14 FAH-2 H-450
DEBRIEFING OF UNSUCCESSFUL OFFERORS
(CT:COR-1; 12-20-2005)
(Office of Origin: A/OPE)
14 FAH-2 H-451 GENERAL
(CT:COR-1; 12-20-2005)
a. The contracting officer must promptly notify each
offeror (either by pre-award or post-award notice) whose proposal is determined
to be unacceptable or is not selected for award.
b. Within three days after the award of contracts
resulting from solicitations in any acquisition over the simplified acquisition
threshold, the contracting officer notifies all of the unsuccessful offerors in
writing. The notice includes:
(1) The number of offerors solicited and proposals
received;
(2) The name and address of each offeror receiving an
award;
(3) The items, quantities and unit prices of each
award; and
(4) In general terms, the reason(s) the offeror's
proposal was not accepted.
c. When a contract is awarded on a basis other than
price, unsuccessful offerors, upon their written request, may request a
debriefing. The contracting officer must furnish the basis for the selection
decision.
d. A debriefing may be conducted orally or in writing.
It describes in general terms why the offeror was not selected for award. The
debriefing should tell an unsuccessful offeror which areas of its proposal were
deficient and whether the deficiencies were factors in its not having been
selected. The debriefing should not reveal confidential or privileged
commercial or financial information, trade secrets, or the relative merits or
technical standing of the other offerors, including that of the successful
offeror.
e. If an unsuccessful offeror believes that its failure
to obtain the award was not justified, it will rely on the information given in
the debriefing to determine whether it should seek recourse. Accordingly, it
is essential that the debriefing be fair, objective, and impartial, and that
the information be factual and consistent with the findings of the contracting
officer.
f. The contracting officer may request the assistance
of the contracting officers representative (COR) and other technical
evaluation panel (TEP) members in responding to debriefings.
14 FAH-2 H-452 PROTESTS
(CT:COR-1; 12-20-2005)
a. A protest is a formal, written complaint by an
interested party, usually an offeror or potential offeror, based on a perceived
defect in the solicitation or a deficiency in the source selection process. A
protest may be filed directly with the contracting officer or the Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
b. To be considered, a protest against a solicitation
or contract award must meet all of the following requirements:
(1) It must be submitted in writing to the contracting
officer or GAO;
(2) It must specify factual, legal, or other defects
in the solicitation, the award, or both; and
(3) It must be filed in a timely manner.
c. When a protest is filed before contract award, the
contract may not be awarded until the protest is decided, unless the agency
decides that not awarding the contract would injure the U.S. Government. If a
protest is filed after award, the contracting officer, with advice from the
legal adviser, must determine whether or not to allow the contractor to
proceed.
d. While contracting officers representatives (CORs)
are not directly involved with the protest procedures, the contracting officer
and the legal adviser often call upon the COR to provide information in defense
of the agencys position. CORs should also understand that no information concerning
a protested acquisition should be provided to anyone other than the contracting
officer without the contracting officers knowledge and approval.
14 FAH-2 H-453 THROUGH H-459 UNASSIGNED