Exchanges with Industry Before Receipt of Proposals (4-4) Essay

Words: 2485
Pages: 10

Exchanges With Industry Before Receipt of Proposals (4-4) Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) “prescribes [the] policies and procedures governing competitive and noncompetitive negotiated acquisitions.” One component of negotiated acquisitions that occurs early in the acquisition process is the solicitation of proposals. FAR 15.201, titled, “Exchanges with Industry before Receipt of Proposals,” regulates the type and manner of communications, also sometimes referred to as exchanges, which can – and cannot – take place between the Government and potential suppliers prior to the receipt of a potential supplier’s proposal and the subsequent award of a contract.
This paper will address a few of the various types and
…show more content…
The conference is also used to elicit the interest of prospective contractors in pursuing the task.
The primary goal of a Pre-Solicitation Conference is to, “promote a full understanding of the Government’s specific acquisition requirement and to enhance the Government’s ability to obtain quality supplies and services.”
Acquisition Instruction 16 (AI-016) of the Department of the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI) states that the exchange of information – both on the part of the Government and industry – is the primary aspect of a Pre-Solicitation Conference or Industry Day. According to the instruction, “the Contracting Officer should contemplate providing draft documents in advance of the conference to allow sufficient time for industry review,” because, “allowing sufficient time for industry to review documents and provide comments and ask questions during the conference increases the effectiveness of the process reducing misunderstandings of proposal requirements.”
There is no regulation-specific format for how to conduct a Pre-Solicitation conference. However, since typically at events like there the Government may be providing materials specific to the planned acquisition, such as a draft RFP, the Contracting Officer is usually a