1. PURPOSE OF THE
GUIDE
This
guide is intended to promote NASA-wide implementation of best practices for
debriefing offerors. It is also designed
to offer a set of uniform reference materials that include perspectives and
guiding principles in addition to debriefing practices and policies. The guide is intended to promote consistent
debriefing approaches within NASA while recognizing that the Federal
Acquisition Regulations (FAR) provide contracting officers with extensive
discretion in conducting debriefings.
Accordingly, this guide reflects the type of information that NASA
generally provides to offerors during debriefings but it does not mandate the
manner in which debriefings must be conducted.
FAR Part 15 reflects that debriefings may be done in any manner
acceptable to the contracting officer.
While
recognizing that contracting officers have extensive flexibility in conducting
debriefings, it is NASA’s operational philosophy that debriefings provide
offerors the maximum practical extent of information permitted by the FAR.
Offerors expend substantial sums of money and time to participate in the
acquisition process and deserve to receive a thorough and meaningful
debriefing.
This
Debriefing Guide is provided as a practical guide for conducting NASA
debriefings in accordance with FAR Part 15.5 and must be read in conjunction
with the FAR and the corresponding NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1815.5. This document does not expand, limit, modify,
or affect in any way the substantive or procedural requirements or rights
provided by statute, the FAR, or NFS.
2. DEBRIEFING DEFINITION
A
debriefing is a meeting with NASA personnel requested by an offeror, who
typically has been eliminated from the competition, either prior to or after
contract award. FAR Parts 15.505 and
15.506 provide debriefing guidance in accordance with the statutory
requirements at 10 U.S.C. 2305(b)(5) and (6).
The statutes and regulations prescribe the boundaries for information
that may be provided during pre and post award debriefings. This guide is designed to help NASA
contracting officers provide debriefings consistent with these requirements. Additional guidance is provided in NFS
1815.506-70 for Major Systems Acquisition Debriefings.
The FAR envisions two types of debriefings, pre-award and
post-award. NASA also routinely provides
debriefings to successful offerors upon their request. Whichever the circumstance, debriefings shall
facilitate:
·
Open, appropriate and meaningful
information exchanges that reduce misunderstandings and protests;
·
A clear understanding of NASA’s
evaluation process and the basis for the selection decision;
·
An opportunity to show that NASA
followed the rules and conducted the acquisition in an objective and fair
manner;
·
An opportunity to positively affect the
quality of offerors’ future proposals by providing meaningful feedback for
improvement in future acquisitions;
·
An opportunity to obtain feedback from
the debriefed contractors of their views of the acquisition process for that
particular procurement.
3. PRE-AWARD
DEBRIEFING
A
pre-award debriefing is a meeting, prior to contract award, with NASA personnel
requested by an offeror who has been eliminated from the competition. Pre-award debriefing requirements are
discussed in FAR Part 15.505. Such a
debriefing may be conducted orally, in writing, or in any other method
acceptable to the contracting officer. The purposes of a pre-award debriefing
are to:
·
Explain NASA’s evaluation of significant
elements in the offeror’s proposal.
·
Summarize NASA’s rationale for
eliminating the offeror from the competition; and
·
Reasonably respond to offeror’s relevant
questions about whether NASA personnel followed the source selection procedures
contained in the solicitation, applicable regulations and other applicable
authorities in the process of eliminating the offer from the competition.
4. POST-AWARD
DEBRIEFING
A post-award debriefing is a meeting,
after contract award, with NASA personnel requested by an offeror who typically
has been eliminated from the competition.
Post-award debriefing requirements are discussed in FAR Part
15.506. The purpose of a post-award
debriefing is to furnish the basis for the selection decision. Post-award debriefings must include the
information listed in FAR 15.506(d).
Successful offerors may also request post award debriefings.
5. INFORMATION PROVIDED
A. The information listed in paragraph C, below,
is typically shared with unsuccessful offerors in keeping with NASA’s policy of
providing the maximum practical information to debriefed offerors. Prior to the debriefing, the debriefed offeror
is provided with a meeting agenda and a copy of the source selection statement
that includes much of the listed information.
The agenda may be in “bullet” format and should include the topics
addressed in the debriefing (for topics, see section 17 of this guide).
B. One possible way to provide information at a
debriefing is to provide a copy of the relevant portions (properly redacted to
preclude release of proprietary information) of charts or materials that the
Source Evaluation Board (SEB) presented to the contracting officer (for
pre-award debriefings) or the Source Selection Authority (SSA) (for post-award debriefings). The information must be completely consistent
with the information presented to the contracting officer or the SSA regardless
of the form or document used to convey this information to the debriefed
offeror.
C. INFORMATION PROVIDED DURING DEBRIEFINGS:
PRE-AWARD
DEBRIEFING—
In addition to
the information listed for disclosure in FAR 15.505(c), NASA will provide the
following, if applicable:
·
All of the debriefed offeror’s
strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies
·
The debriefed offeror’s adjective
ratings for each Mission Suitability factor
·
The debriefed offeror’s overall
Mission Suitability adjective rating
·
The debriefed offeror’s Past
Performance adjective rating
·
A summary of the debriefed
offeror’s performance that resulted in the assigned Past Performance rating
·
Significant probable cost
adjustments made for the debriefed offeror (explain reasons for adjustments and
quantify in approximate percentage increase or decrease).
The
information listed in FAR 15.505(f) shall not be disclosed.
POST-AWARD
DEBRIEFING—
(1)
In addition to the information listed for disclosure in FAR 15.505(d) and the
information listed above for disclosure in NASA Pre-award Debriefings, NASA
will provide the following:
·
Number of offerors
·
Identity of offerors
·
Identity of offerors in the
competitive range
·
The awardee’s adjective ratings
for each Mission Suitability factor
·
The awardee’s overall Mission
Suitability adjective rating
·
The awardee’s Past Performance
adjective rating
·
Probable cost comparison between
the awardee and debriefed offeror (expressed in approximate percentage
difference)
·
Summary of the impact of discussions and
proposal revisions on the original evaluation findings for the proposal, so
that the offeror can gauge the success of its efforts regarding any discussions
that were held and proposal revisions that were submitted
The
information listed in FAR 15.506(e) and, for major systems acquisitions
conducted in accordance with NFS Part 1834, the information set forth in
NFS1815.506-70(a), shall not be disclosed.
(2) Mission Suitability point scores are used as a
pre-decisional source selection tool. Awardee and debriefed offeror point
scores may be disclosed during the debriefing at the discretion of the
contracting officer. If the SSA referenced points within the selection
decision, the offeror’s Mission Suitability point scores will be released
during the debriefing.
6. PRIMARY DEBRIEFING
AUDIENCE
Debriefings must be conducted when they are
“required” by the FAR. The FAR
prescribes required debriefings as those properly requested within the
timeframes specified in Parts 15.505 and 15.506. An offeror who complies with those requirements
is entitled to receive a debriefing.
Accordingly, NASA must conduct a debriefing for an offeror if: (1) the offeror makes a written request for a
debriefing, and (2) the request is received by the contracting activity within
3 calendar days after the offeror received notice of exclusion from the
competition or contract award. Time
periods are computed in accordance with FAR 15.501.
7. SECONDARY DEBRIEFING AUDIENCE
A.
Offerors Who Submit Late Debriefing Requests. NASA generally provides debriefings to
offerors who submit untimely requests.
However, such debriefings are not “required” and considerations related
to such non-required debriefings are discussed under the heading “Timeliness
Considerations,” below.
B.
Successful Offerors. Awardees may
request and receive a debriefing.
C.
Subcontractors. NASA does not
provide subcontractors with separate debriefings. However, with the prime contractor’s consent,
subcontractors may attend debriefings provided to their prime contractors.
8. REQUIREMENTS
A. REQUIRED PRE-AWARD DEBRIEFINGS: See FAR 15.505(a) and (b).
B.
REQUIRED POST-AWARD DEBRIEFINGS: See
FAR 15.506(a).
9. TIMELINESS
CONSIDERATIONS
A. The scheduling of a debriefing may have significant
ramifications if a protest is later filed. It is important that the contracting
officer schedule the debriefing at the earliest possible date. The contracting
officer should inform the offeror of the scheduled date in writing via
electronic means with immediate acknowledgment requested or by other immediate
means, which provides positive indication of the time of actual receipt. If the
offeror is unable to attend the scheduled date and requests a later date, it is
important to maintain a copy of the written notice to the offeror of the date
that was initially offered as well as a copy of the offeror’s written request
for a later date.
B. If an offeror submits an untimely request for
debriefing (i.e., received more than 3 days after notice of exclusion), the
contracting officer should nonetheless conduct a debriefing if it is
appropriate and feasible. However, the contracting officer should inform the
offeror that the request is untimely, that the debriefing is not a “required”
debriefing under FAR 15.506(a), and that the debriefing is voluntarily provided
by the Agency solely as an accommodation to assist the offeror in improving
future proposals. See also FAR Part
33.104(c)(1) (Protests after award).
10. LOCATION
A. The Contracting officer is responsible for
selecting a suitable location for the debriefing that ensures a professional
presentation in a non-distracting environment.
A debriefing may be conducted orally or in writing. It may be accomplished
via telephone, video, fax, or a face-to-face meeting. However, within NASA, SEB
procedure debriefings are generally conducted in face-to-face meetings. In some instances, especially where the
contracting officer is the SSA, it may be appropriate for NASA to respond with
a written debrief. When a written
debriefing is used, the contracting officer must ensure that all parties are
clearly aware of the conclusion of the debriefing (in the event the contractor
responds with written questions). The conclusion of the debriefing process
triggers protest time-lines.
B. A conference room of appropriate size and
appointment will normally suffice. The contracting officer should consult with
the offeror and arrange for adequate seating. The contracting officer should
verify whether any classified material will be discussed and make appropriate
arrangements as well as determine the availability of a nearby room for the
NASA personnel to use in case a discussion or caucus is necessary.
C. Although face-to-face debriefings are usually
preferable, it may be appropriate to conduct debriefings by telephone or other
electronic means. Sometimes, it will be financially prohibitive for the offeror
to attend in person. The offeror’s needs should be afforded due consideration
when determining the method of conducting the debriefing.
D.
If some of the NASA personnel cannot be present, the contracting officer
may decide that those individuals' attendance is best accomplished by telephone
or video-conference. The possibilities are endless - make use of available
technology and what makes sense.
11. NASA PERSONNEL
The
NASA personnel at the debriefing should include the contracting officer and
other management, procurement, technical, and legal personnel as required to
appropriately debrief the particular offeror.
However, NASA personnel attendance should be kept to the minimum
necessary to provide a comprehensive debriefing.
G. Source Selection Authority. Best practices dictate that, unless the SSA
is the contracting officer, the SSA does not attend or participate in a
debriefing. However, NASA debriefing
participants shall be intimately familiar with the SSA decision rationale. In the rare occasions when a high-level SSA
desires to attend the debriefing, both procurement and legal personnel should
carefully prepare the SSA.
12. OFFEROR PERSONNEL
A. Normally, no limitation is placed on the number
of offeror personnel in attendance at the debriefing. Nonetheless, space
limitations of NASA facilities may require restrictions on the number of
offeror personnel invited to attend. The contracting officer, however, should
not impose restrictions unless suitable alternate facilities are unavailable.
B. The contracting officer should ensure that
the offeror personnel consist of corporate level individuals familiar with the
offeror’s efforts in relation to the procurement. The spectrum may range from corporate Chief
Executive Officers to Program and Project Managers, Cost and Proposal Writing
Individuals and key subcontractor personnel.
It is imperative to request the list of attendees, company affiliation
and title prior to the debriefing so that appropriate accommodations may be
made.
13. SUCCESSFUL
DEBRIEFING
A. Often, unsuccessful offerors are able to
accept negative findings in a debriefing if they perceive that NASA has acted
with fairness, consistency, objectivity and in accordance with the evaluation
criteria described in the solicitation.
However, the debriefing is unlikely to alter opinions and perceptions
that arise earlier in the process. Thus,
the Agency’s credibility and rapport with a debriefed offeror begins upon the
first contact with the offeror.
B. Items that serve as a foundation for
successful debriefings include:
·
Cordial treatment of the offerors by
procurement personnel
·
Procurement personnel availability
during the “pre-proposal” phase to allow industry to become familiar with
agency requirements
·
Development of evaluation factors that
help identify “key swingers” and that favor no particular offeror
·
Development of professional work
products (e.g., the draft solicitation, the solicitation, questions to
offerors)
·
Meaningful consideration of issues
received during any pre-proposal conference
·
Establishment of an “open door” policy
prior to the communications blackout used to help potential offerors become
familiar with NASA’s requirements
·
Sincere and apparent effort to obtain
good competition
·
Fair and unbiased approach employed and
conveyed by procurement personnel
If
these steps are taken during the course of the procurement, the debriefing has
a good prospect of opening with a degree of rapport that can foster a
productive and successful meeting.
14. PREPARATION
A. A successful debriefing requires preparation.
Experience has shown that going into a debriefing unprepared is the surest way
to lose the confidence of the offeror and lose the opportunity to effectively
communicate the agency position.
B.
Preparation must begin prior to notification to offerors of exclusion from the
competitive range and/or before announcement of contract award, because
debriefings may occur promptly following the establishment of the competitive
range and/or after a contract is awarded.
The keys to a smooth debriefing process include determining the timing
of the announcements, the establishment of the competitive range or the source
selection and availability of personnel who will attend. The SEB assists the
contracting officer in preparing for and conducting the debriefing. Accordingly, the contracting officer must
inform the evaluators that their duties include assisting with debriefings at
the time the evaluation board is formed.
C. The extent of preparation necessary varies
considerably with the complexity of the procurement. Sometimes, merely
preparing debriefing talking points is sufficient. Other times, dry run
rehearsals are necessary. Within NASA,
dry runs are routinely performed prior to complex or high-dollar value
procurement debriefings.
D. All NASA personnel attending the debriefing
must be briefed on their roles and expected demeanor during the debriefing.
Argumentative or defensive conduct should be forbidden, and NASA personnel
should be instructed to make their presentations in a positive manner.
15. LIMITATIONS
Debriefed
offerors often display persistent curiosity about the content of their
competitor’s proposals. Resist these
efforts. Statutory and regulatory rules
strictly limit the information that NASA may disclose regarding other offeror’s
proposals.
A. Among other things, FAR Part 15.505(f)(3) precludes
NASA from disclosing, directly or indirectly, the content of any other proposal
in a pre-award debriefing. Likewise, the
Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. 423, implemented at FAR Part 3.104-4,
precludes NASA from releasing contractor bid or proposal information, other
than as permitted by law. It also
precludes release of source selection information including information
regarding the evaluation of offeror’s proposals. Similarly, the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C.
1905, generally precludes NASA personnel from disclosing proprietary
information received from an offeror.
B. In a post-award debriefing, the FAR permits
disclosure of the successful offeror’s top-level prices and the rationale for
award. However, FAR Part 15.506(e)
precludes NASA from disclosing information that is exempt from release under
the Freedom of Information Act including trade secrets, privileged or
confidential manufacturing information, confidential commercial and financial
information (including cost breakdowns and profit) and the names of individuals
providing past performance information.
The Trade Secrets Act also precludes NASA from releasing proprietary
information received from an offeror.
This guide permits maximum practical disclosure, during post-award debriefings,
of source selection information consistent with applicable legal limitations.
C.
When offerors inquire regarding the specifics of other proposals, NASA
contracting officers should remind them of the purposes of debriefings. Debriefings are not a forum in which to
compare and contrast successful and unsuccessful offers or to debate NASA
decisions. The General Accounting Office
has recognized that debriefing purposes are two fold: (1) to inform the offeror of its significant
weaknesses and deficiencies, and (2) to provide essential information in a
post-award debriefing on the rationale for the source selection decision.
16. DEBRIEFING MATERIALS
A. Debriefing material may include
briefing charts, if any were prepared in accordance with Center procedures, and
notes prepared for use during the debriefing.
NASA contracting officers should bring a copy of the source selection
statement and the solicitation, as well as a sign-in sheet to document attendance.
B. NASA personnel shall NOT bring the
following materials into the debriefing room.
The presence of these documents can lead to the inadvertent disclosure
of proprietary information and prohibited point-by-point comparisons of
proposals.
·
Proposals of other offerors, and
·
Proposal evaluation reports of other
offerors' proposals.
C. Faulty memory or misstatements by SEB or
acquisition personnel are detrimental to a successful debriefing. Thus,
contracting officers must ensure that necessary notes or other documents are
accessible during the debriefing.
17. A SUGGESTED
DEBRIEFING FORMAT
A. Debriefing
Official
The contracting officer is
responsible for the debriefing and must never lose control of the
debriefing. (Procurement representatives
at a level higher than the contracting officer with thorough knowledge of the
procurement may serve as the debriefing official in more complex, high dollar
value actions.)
Speak with One Voice
It is
important for agency debriefing participants to have a unified presentation. Disunity among the NASA representatives may
impair teamwork, consistency and, ultimately, credibility. Likewise, inconsistency with statements or
conclusions within the source selection document or other information that may
be available to the offeror can lower the offeror’s confidence that the agency
acted appropriately in making its decision.
Thus, the debriefing team must speak with one voice; a voice that is
consistent with the acquisition documents and decision.
B. Introduction and Objective
The debriefing should begin with
a brief introduction of all attendees.
The contracting officer should advise the offeror of the objective of
the debriefing (i.e., to advise it of the basis for the selection and to share
the strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies of its proposal in furtherance of
helping it with future competitive endeavors.)
C. Ground Rules
Next,
the contracting officer should inform the offeror of the ground rules for the
debriefing, any time constraints, and the debriefing agenda.
Some
suggested ground rules include:
·
Establish the appropriate time for
raising questions
- Entertained at any time or
- Held until the end of the
debriefing
·
State NASA’s intent to share as much
information as practical with the debriefed offeror; however, the debriefing is
not a forum for a debate.
·
NASA will not engage in a point-by-point
comparison between the debriefed offeror’s proposal and the winning
proposal.
·
NASA will not divulge information from
the selected offeror’s proposal.
·
NASA will not indulge in hypothetical
questions ( e.g., “if we had proposed this, how would you have rated it?”)
D. Source Selection Process
The
contracting officer should briefly explain the process used in evaluating proposals
and, if a post-award debriefing, selecting the awardee. NASA normally
identifies the SSA by name. The identities of the evaluators, other than those
present at the debriefing, may also be disclosed at the discretion of the local
activity. NASA should convey to the
offeror that qualified personnel evaluated the proposals.
E. Evaluation Factors
The
evaluation factors, subfactors, weights of scored factors, and relative
importance of evaluation factors, as disclosed in the solicitation, should be
restated as the foundation for discussing the evaluation results. Share the adjective ratings and definitions
used in the evaluation.
F. Evaluation Results
Refer
to Section 5 of this guide, and FAR 15.505 for pre-award and 15.506 for
post-award, for the information that NASA generally provides during debriefings
and the information that may not be disclosed at pre-award and post-award
debriefings.
G. Overall Ranking Of All Proposals (POST-AWARD)
Provide
the overall ranking of all proposals, if the proposals were ranked (i.e., the
best overall proposal, 2nd best, etc.).
H. Make and Model of Commercial End Items
(POST-AWARD)
Provide
the make and model of the item, if the awardee's proposal includes a commercial
item that is an end item under the contract.
I. Rationale For Award Decision (POST-AWARD)
NASA
must disclose a summary of the rationale for the contract award decision. The rationale is contained in the source
selection statement. Contracting officers
should furnish the debriefed offeror a copy of the source selection statement
prior to the debriefing and be prepared to discuss it during the
debriefing.
J. Questions
The
debriefed offeror is permitted to ask relevant questions pertaining to whether
NASA personnel followed the source selection procedures set forth in the
solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities. The
contracting officer must make every effort to provide reasonable responses to
those questions. However, caution must be exercised not to inadvertently
disclose proprietary information of other offerors or get into debating
hypothetical questions that may undermine the credibility of the selection.
Normally, responses should stay within the confines of the guidance stated
above. If the contracting officer is unprepared to answer a specific question
at the debriefing, the contracting officer should obtain the answer immediately
following the debriefing and promptly furnish it to the offeror.
The
debriefing is the forum for answering reasonable questions; offerors should not
be invited to submit questions after the debriefing.
K. Feedback
Prior
to concluding the debriefing, NASA contracting officers often solicit the
debriefed offerors comments regarding the solicitation and the procurement
process. This is an opportunity for NASA
to obtain valuable input regarding the offeror’s perspective.
L. Conclusion.
The
contracting officer should ensure that the offeror understands that the
debriefing is officially concluded unless outstanding questions remain. If follow-up is necessary to answer
questions, the contracting officer should ensure that the offeror understands
that the debriefing is concluded as soon as the answers are provided.
19. THE DEBRIEFING
MEMORANDUM
A. By statute and regulation, the contracting
officer must include a summary of each debriefing in the contract file. Good debriefing memorandums are essential
especially if the procurement is re-opened or re-solicited as a result of a protest
or otherwise within one year of the contract award date.
B. The debriefing memorandum should
include at a minimum:
·
A list of all attendees.
·
A summary of the information disclosed
during the debriefing. If charts were used at the debriefing they may be
attached as an efficient means to summarize disclosed information a copy of
them to the memorandum.
·
The substance of all questions and
answers discussed at the debriefing.
Include answers provided after the debriefing.
