Joe Bernier

The requirement to determine prices are fair and reasonable.

I think use of a qualifications based selection like the Brooks Act would be allowable using SAP. Because the Brooks Act is specifically for A-E, I wouldn't use that terminology in the solicitation to avoid confusion, but a similar process could be used. The RFO FAR part 15's highest technically rated with fair & reasonable pricing method is similar to QBS, but with the price proposal submitted the same time as technical. If use of that process is allowed under SAP, I can't think of anything that would prevent you from mimicking the Brooks Act's phased approach. SAP requires price to be evaluated, but it doesn't necessarily require price competition, so I don't think this would prevent a QBS like process from being used. The competition requirement could be met by evaluating technical quotes (qualifications) of multiple vendors and then evaluating price for only the highest rated.

For a FAR supplement example, DARS 5815.406-3 includes tables referencing various agency templates depending on the FAR part used.

This is a question better suited for your Contracting Officer. Your agency FAR supplement or local procedures should prescribe what form of price analysis documentation is required based on dollar thresholds and governing FAR part (e.g., Price Negotiation Memorandum (PNM) for part 15 vs. Price Fair and Reasonable (PFR) memo or other streamlined documentation for part 13). An abstract is only required by the FAR for part 14; however, the term abstract is commonly used to describe any basic record of quotes/offers received which could be combined with price analysis serving as your determination of a fair and reasonable price. Without knowing what FAR part governs and what your agency supplements/local procedures prescribe, this question can't be answered without additional info.

Just to add on to the AbilityOne recommendation, I did want to point out that service contracts are added to the Procurement List individually, so if you're searching the list you won't see your location listed for those services. You'll have to reach out to AbilityOne to see if they have any participating non-profits in that area that can perform the services: https://www.abilityone.gov/procurement_list/services_request.html The non-profits are more than capable and for anything they can't do in-house, they can subcontract to small businesses. I worked on a military base grounds maintenance contract that was around $2M a year and the same non-profit also had the custodial contract there of similar value so your scope doesn't sound too large for them based on the info shared. Being in a rural area may limit the availability of a participating non-profit to meet your requirements, but I wouldn't write them off based on capabilities alone.

Concur, that specific reference in FAR Part 15 would be applicable. But that'd be the same whether you were doing a RFQ or RFP under SAP.

If it's commercial, you could tailor FAR 52.212-1(l) to sync with FAR 13.106-3(d) replacing debriefings with the SAP Request for Information process if the award was based on factors other than just price. If non-commercial, you could just use similar language in your instructions to offerors. This blog post provides a tailored example of FAR 52.212-1 for SAP eliminating the debriefing portion and replacing with RFI. Would just need to switch quoters back to offerors if going the RFP route.

In addition to the references to soliciting offers in FAR Part 13, I think that the definition of solicitation clears up that SAP can use either: "Solicitation means any request to submit offers or quotations to the Government. Solicitations under sealed bid procedures are called "invitations for bids." Solicitations under negotiated procedures are called "requests for proposals." Solicitations under simplified acquisition procedures may require submission of either a quotation or an offer." Regarding how to set-up the solicitation, you could certainly borrow from FAR Part 15, but could also just use the streamlined processes outlined in FAR 13.106 which states it is for both quotes and offers. I think the example of soliciting from a single source in the thread you linked could be a situation where requesting an offer makes more sense than requesting a quote.

There are differences regarding when the contract becomes binding but requesting proposals (or other offers) can still be done under FAR Part 13. Of course, you could use some FAR Part 15 procedures in a SAP solicitation (FAR 13.106-2(b)(1)) if you wanted, but it wouldn't be required.

This provision isn't required when using FAR Part 12 in conjunction with Part 13, as FAR 12.301(c)(2) permits the use of a similar provision containing the evaluation factors as required by FAR 13.106. Also at FAR 12.602(a), it states that the provision can be tailored and relative importance of factors is not required when using SAP.

This sounds like a situation where use of an oral proposal could be appropriate.

The KO is correct. The applicability of FAR 15.506 can be found at FAR 15.502, which states that the subpart applies to competitive proposals as described in FAR 6.102(b). This reference points you to FAR 6.401(b) which states it is applicable to proposals solicited using FAR Part 15 procedures. At FAR 6.001(a), you'll find that the requirements of the part do not apply to acquisitions conducted using the simplified acquisition procedures of FAR Part 13, which includes subpart 13.5, except specific sole source requirements are not relevant to your question. Moving to FAR 13.106-3(d) that the KO referenced, this states that a brief explanation is to be provided and refers you to FAR 15.503(b) as a reference for what needs to be contained in that brief explanation, which is less than what would be required in a FAR Part 15 procurement if a debrief were applicable.