The contracting office maintains a comprehensive file, containing all documents related to the acquisition decision-making process and contract award. This file serves as the primary record of the government’s acquisition actions and rationale. Every procurement has an associated contract file.
This information although not published is available to the public through FOIA or requesting a bid abstract.
If you’re losing bids and want to know why, obtaining information about the procurement can help. Especially #10 below which includes the other quoted prices.
Example documentation that may be included in the contract file, as appropriate:
- Purchase request, acquisition planning information, and other presolicitation documents
- Justifications and approvals, determinations and findings, and associated documents
- Evidence of availability of funds
- Copy of or reference to posting notice of proposed acquisition
- The list of sources solicited, and a list of any firms or persons whose requests for copies of the solicitation were denied, together with the reasons for denial
- Set-aside decision including the type and extent of market research conducted
- Government estimate of contract price
- A copy of the solicitation and all amendments
- Security requirements and evidence of required clearances
- A copy of each offer or quotation and records of determinations concerning late offers or quotations. Unsuccessful offers or quotations may be maintained separately if cross-referenced to the contract file. The only portions of the unsuccessful offer or quotation that should be maintained are the completed solicitation (e.g., sections A, B, K and any other part the offeror or quoter has altered or annotated), technical and management proposals, and cost/price proposals.
- Preaward survey reports or reference to previous preaward survey reports relied upon
- Source selection or evaluation documentation
- Contracting officer’s determination of the contractor’s responsibility
- Small Business Administration Certificate of Competency
- Records of contractor’s compliance with labor policies including equal employment opportunity policies
- Data and information related to the contracting officer’s determination of a fair and reasonable price
- Packaging and transportation data
- Cost or price analysis
- Audit reports or reasons for waiver
- Record of negotiation
- Justification for type of contract
- Authority for deviations from regulation, statutory requirements, or other restrictions
- Required approvals of award
- Notice of award
- The original signed contract or award, all contract modifications, and supporting documents
- Copy of or reference to posting notice of award
- Notice to unsuccessful quoters or offerors and record of any debriefing
- Acquisition management reports
- Bid, performance, payment, or other bond documents, or a reference thereto, and notices to sureties
- Postaward conference documentation
- Notice to proceed, stop orders, and any overtime premium approvals granted at the time of award
- Documents requesting and authorizing modification in the normal assignment of contract administration functions and responsibility
- Approvals or disapprovals of requests for waivers or deviations from contract requirements
- Rejected engineering change proposals
- Royalty, invention, and copyright reports or reference thereto
- Contract completion documents
- Documentation regarding termination actions for which the contracting office is responsible
- Any additional documents on which action was taken or that reflect actions by the contracting office pertinent to the contract
- A current chronological list identifying the awarding and successor contracting officers,with inclusive dates of responsibility
- When limiting competition or awarding on a sole source basis to small business concerns, documentation of the type and extent of market research and that the NAICS code assigned to the acquisition is for an industry that SBA has designated
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