JTSurfah Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Are there known issues with establishing Q&A deadlines in RFQ's? How about closing a solicitation when a question is received just hours before the closing date/time, but after the Q&A deadline? I was just told that our legal department will not support enforcing a Q&A deadline even if one is established. I don't necessarily agree with the position since it puts us at the mercy of any KTR whose strategy could very well be to ask last minute questions in order to extend a proposal/quote submission deadline, but thought I'd look around a bit before I discuss it with counsel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ji20874 Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 A contracting officer is not required to answer every question. If a question does not ask for information that would be necessary for the preparation of proposals, you don't need to answer it. A contracting officer wants an effective and hopefully efficient acquisition. A contracting officer will want to answer questions providing information that would be necessary for the preparation of proposals. But sometimes, like a parent with children or a teacher with students, you get to a point where you've said enough and its time for proposals to come in. If a contracting office chooses to give control of the Q&A process over to contractors, who are allowed to ask questions at the last minute with a guarantee of extending the date set for receipt of proposals, well, shame on that office but it can be as weak or as strong as it wants to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithB18 Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Set a date and stick to the date. Don't be afraid to not answer every question. You want to ensure the process is fair to all, but you also want to make sure you don't inadvertently answer a question in a way that contradicts your solicitation. I don't think you need your legal department's support to enforce the deadline. I would think that counsel would have an opportunity to review the solicitation prior to its release--if they had a problem with the mechanism for questions, they should have raised it at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mansfield Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 I could not find anything saying that imposing a Q&A deadline is prohibited, nor could I find anything that requires the Government to extend the deadline for receipt of proposals because it receives a last minute question. Instead of imposing a deadline, you could advise offerors that it may take you up to X days to respond to a given question. Thus, if they want their question answered before the solicitation closing date, they should have it in by [insert date]. Questions received after [insert date] may not be answered prior to the solicitation closing date. This doesn't impose a deadline for questions and it would communicate to offerors that the timing of their questions will have no effect on the solicitation closing date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vern Edwards Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Are there known issues with establishing Q&A deadlines in RFQ's? How about closing a solicitation when a question is received just hours before the closing date/time, but after the Q&A deadline? I was just told that our legal department will not support enforcing a Q&A deadline even if one is established. I don't necessarily agree with the position since it puts us at the mercy of any KTR whose strategy could very well be to ask last minute questions in order to extend a proposal/quote submission deadline, but thought I'd look around a bit before I discuss it with counsel. I know of no "issues" (i.e., rules pro or con) with respect to establishing deadlines for submitting questions to the CO about a solicitation (RFO, RFP, or IFB). I know of no rule (i.e., statute, regulation, or caselaw) requiring the establishment of a deadline for questions. I know of no rule against establishing a deadline. I know of no rule requiring an agency to extend a deadline for questions or for proposal submission in order to answer a question received at the last minute. I know of no rule prohibiting an agency from extending the deadline for questions or for proposal submission so that it may answer a question received at the last minute, even if the deadline for questions or for proposal submission has passed. As a practical matter, an offeror may submit a question to the CO at any time, but has no right to an answer. If an offeror thinks that a solicitation is so incomplete, unclear, or ambiguous that it prevents full and open competition, the offeror may protest, but must do so before the deadline for the submission of proposals. If a CO receives a question, even at the last minute, that indicates the possibility of an incomplete or unclear solicitation or a latent ambiguity in a solicitation, then he or she would be wise to clear things up, even if it means extending the deadline for submission of proposals and even if the deadline has passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VA1102 Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 Looks like Vern and Don have already answered the question in a comprehensive manner. I'll just add that as a CO, I've always listed a Q&A contact, method of question submission, a date questions are due, and a date that answers will be posted/provided. I've never had a problem with it or been challenged by our legal counsel. I suspect your counsel is being overly conservative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSurfah Posted September 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2014 Great stuff! I especially appreciate the somewhat out of the box analysis from Vern. Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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