Contracting Officer Podcast Slides Knowledge & Insights From Contracting Officers

The Apparent Winner – Pre-award Notices for Small Business Programs Episode 073 The Apparent Winner – Pre-award Notices for Small Business Programs Original Air Date: 3 April 2016 Hosts: Kevin Jans & Paul Schauer

Formatting notes Hyperlinks: Blue font indicates hyperlinks – presentation must be in ‘Slide Show’ mode to activate the link Red bold font indicates a point of emphasis Green bold font indicates CO’s personal comment or perspective

Introduction Purpose of this podcast: To discuss and explain the Small Business Notification requirement in FAR 15.305(a)(2), that requires the government to notify small businesses if another SB beat them (on a SB set aside contract) The concept for this is fairly simple: The solicitation is a Small Business set aside One of the SBs is the “apparent” winner The CO wants to make sure the winner is actually an SB before making award One way to do this: ask the losers

FAR Part 15.503 – Notifications to Unsuccessful Offerors (a)(1) Pre-award notices of exclusion from competitive range. The CO shall notify offerors promptly in writing when their proposals are excluded from the competitive range or otherwise eliminated from the competition The notice shall state the basis for the determination and that a proposal revision will not be considered. We discussed this whole process more in Episode 053 – Notification to Unsuccessful Offerors (“Sorry” letters)

FAR Part 15.503 – Notifications to Unsuccessful Offerors (a)(2) Pre-award notice for small business programs. (i) In addition to the notice in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the contracting officer shall notify each offeror in writing prior to award, upon completion of negotiations, determinations of responsibility-- (A) When using a small business set-aside (see Subpart 19.5) (B) When using the HUBZone procedures (see Subpart 19.1305) (C) When using the SDVOSB procedures in Subpart 19.1405 (D) When using the WOSB in Subpart 19.1505

FAR Part 15.503(a)(2) (ii) The notice shall state— (A) The name and address of the apparently successful offeror; (B) That the Government will not consider subsequent revisions of the offeror’s proposal; and (C) That no response is required unless a basis exists to challenge the size status or small business status of the apparently successful offeror (e.g., small business, HUBZone, SDVSOB, EDWOSB, WOSB) (iii) The notice is not required when the CO determines in writing that the urgency of the requirement necessitates award without delay or when the contract is entered into under the 8(a) Program

When do SB Notifications happen? Acquisition Time Zones (from Podcast Episode 003) Requirements Zone Market Research Zone RFP Zone Source Selection Zone (or sole source) Execution Zones: Kick Off, Transition (Ramp Up), Performance, Re-compete

Why are SB Notifications important? The goal is to award to small business This rule was likely added because someone (LB) tried to sneak in This is the last Quality Control check prior to award Don’t let this step trip you up

Why Should Government Care? You want to award to a Small Business That was the point of setting it aside This can help you make sure you’re not getting duped This enlists the help of the industry to ‘self-police’ This ’protects’ you from someone calling sour grapes later…

Why Should Government Care? 15.503(a)(2)(1) – “prior to award” 1 hour is bad; 3 days is too long… 1 day of prevention are worth 2 months of ’protest’ Make sure your customer knows about this; plan it into the schedule. It adds integrity to the process You want offerors (especially SBs) to know the process is not “rigged”

Why Should Industry Care? Don’t be surprised when you get the letter with nothing but a heads up about the ‘apparent’ winner This goes both ways: When you win, be ready to be challenged Have your ducks in a row – especially if you’re a successful small business (say $13M in revenue and your cap is $14) When you lose, be ready to challenge Don’t wait until afterwards to protest this

Why Should Industry Care? This is one more opportunity to see into the process: Do you know the company who won? Did you see them coming? What do you know about them that you can use for later? What do you know about them that you can use now (like teaming or just being a gracious loser)? Think long term

Summary The small details matter This is another unique feature of Government Contracting - this is not likely to happen in commercial market Government team: Make sure you plan for it Make sure your customer, the losers, and the winners all know what it means Industry team: Know what this letter means (and what it does not) Plan to make the most of it and don’t get distracted unnecessarily

Contact us We are on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook We also started the Government Contracting Network Group on Facebook. Join us there! Send your topics to paul@Contractingofficerpodcast.com For Community support, contact Shelley Hall at shelley.hall@skywayacquisition.com