Being familiar with the structure of a solicitation is imperative if you hope to be a successful federal government contractor. However, the solicitations that accompany competitive procurements, in the form of a “request for quote,” “invitation for bid,” or “request for proposal,” are often lengthy, making it easy for contractors that are new to federal government contracting to get lost in the legalese, and unable to pinpoint the vital information. Does that mean that parts of the solicitation are not important? Not at all. Contractors should be familiar with all parts of the solicitation. But knowing what to expect, and how to quickly find information that may make or break your decision to submit an offer will increase your efficiency and effectiveness when drafting proposals, saving you precious time for other important things…
Section M: Evaluation Criteria lays out exactly how the selection process should occur. Generally, evaluations look at key personnel qualifications, organizational structure and management approaches, technical management approach, relevant experience, past performance, transition plans, and cost and fees. This section will also let you know the method by which proposals will be evaluated. The most common in negotiated procurements being best value—meaning generally that the government will compare offers on various factors such as technical, management, and past performance, as well as price —and lowest price technically acceptable—meaning price is the most important factor.
While the list of required information seems long, it is important to know your way around a solicitation. As mentioned, some agencies may not organize their solicitations in accordance with the uniform contract format. But, even if an agency you regularly contract with does not, there is likely another method to the madness that is solicitation drafting, and knowing how they are organized will help you to efficiently evaluate a solicitation to determine whether it is something that would be a good fit for your business… Read the full article here.
