Price Proposal Needed?

[Vern Edwards]

An agency is conducting a tradeoff source selection under FAR Part 15 for a two-year, multi-million dollar, firm-fixed-price acquisition of professional services.

The acquisition will be set-aside for small businesses.

Since there is expected to be ample competition, the agency will not request certified cost or pricing data.

Non-price and price factors will be equally important.

Nonprice factors are experience and past performance. Price will be evaluated for reasonableness, but not for realism. Professional employee compensation will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. 

The agency will require submission of a professional employee compensation plan in accordance with FAR 22.1103 and 52.222-46.

 

 

[joel hoffman]

Since price is the most important individual factor, there “might be” a reason for asking for some higher level of price breakdown and/or other than certified cost or pricing data, if the prices vary significantly or all seem to be higher than expected, etc. 

 Because price is the most important factor (of equal importance with the two non price factors), it would seem to me to be a bit inconsistent to evaluate professional employee compensation on pass/fail basis without knowing what constitutes “passing”.

If professional employee compensation is to be identified in the proposal, any questions might relate to labor burdens and benefits, etc.

I have reserved the right in the solicitation to ask for some price breakdown info or other than certified cost or pricing data after initial proposal evaluation, if necessary. 

[Vel]

By price breakdown, I assume you mean the breakdown of the individual units prices (i.e. direct labor, overhead, G&A, and Profit) vice the break-out of unit pricing by position.  I also assume that this is a severable service, so an option year would be included.  I believe that you can fulfill the requirements of FAR 22.1103 and 15.404-1(g) without a price breakdown. Since the compensation plan is required by the provision FAR 52.222-46, I don't consider that to be "other than cost or pricing data."

[joel hoffman]

If the information I mentioned is already part of the proposal, then I don’t see a need  to ask for anything else after submission of proposals.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-46

[Vern Edwards]

4 hours ago, Vel said:

By price breakdown, I assume you mean the breakdown of the individual units prices (i.e. direct labor, overhead, G&A, and Profit) vice the break-out of unit pricing by position. 

Correct.

[Constricting Officer]

Competition is the best tool to determine fair and reasonable. With no price realism determination, I can't think of a reason for a price breakdown outside of the factors already being evaluated. 

[common_fate]

You mentioned in your question that it is a two year award...

Now if that means it was a multi-year award for professional services and it happens that the services are severable AND you plan to incrementally fund the fixed price award.... It's possible that you may require a breakdown to ensure that when crossing fiscal years you have adequate information for your funding profile.

See 41 USC §3904. Contract authority for severable services contracts and multiyear contracts for descriptions of all the different types of services that could fall into this category.