HUBZone price preference and partial setaside multiple-award contracts

[TyroneSlothrop]

For a multiple-award ID/IQ acquisition where a portion of the awards will be set aside for SBs under different socioeconomic categories, but where the awards to offerors that are other than small businesses is strictly numerically limited, must the HUBZone price preference apply, and is it necessary to include FAR 52.219-4 in the solicitation? The competition is already structured so that a certain number of awards will be made to HUBZone or WOSB offerors. All offers will be made against a single solicitation, but after a certain number of awards are made without consideration of socioeconomic status, a number of additional awards may be made in different socioeconomic categories to ensure that small businesses of different socioeconomic categories are well represented in the final pool of awardees.

Under these conditions, does the FAR require that the HUBZone price preference still apply to the HUBZone offerors when they are being evaluated against large businesses in the overall acquisition?

[Fred]

The answer should be "yes". Sometimes contracting staff need to be reminded. This is still an unrestricted acquistion.