oldord/4210/o42109a.html
ArcOld
DOE O 4210.9A
Unsolicited Proposals
Cancels DOE 4210.9 & Cancelled by DOE o542.2 10-28-1996
PR
01/06/1993
10/27/1996
oldord-9
4210.9
U.S. Department of Energy ORDER
Washington, D.C. DOE 4210.9A
1-6-93
SUBJECT: UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS
1. PURPOSE. This directive sets forth the policy, controls, and
procedures for processing unsolicited proposals and compiles the
regulations governing the receipt and review of unsolicited proposals
as may be submitted to the Department from time to time.
2. CANCELLATION. DOE 4210.9, SYSTEM FOR PROPOSAL INFORMATION NETWORK, of
9-18-87.
3. APPLICABILITY. The provisions of this Order apply to all written
submissions to the Department on the initiative of the submitter for
the purpose of obtaining a contract or financial assistance from the
Department; or submitted in response to a notice of program interest.
4. BACKGROUND. The Department follows the policy stated below with regard
to unsolicited proposals:
Present and future needs of the Nation demand the involvement of
all resources in exploring alternative energy sources and
technologies. To achieve this objective, it is DOE policy to
encourage external sources of unique innovative methods,
approaches, and ideas by stressing submission of unsolicited
proposals for Government support.
In support of this policy and to ensure the integrity of the
acquisition process, it is necessary for the DOE to establish controls
for the dissemination, processing, evaluation and protection of
unsolicited proposals submitted to the Department for consideration.
5. EXCLUSIONS. The provisions of this Order do not apply to:
a. Proposals or applications submitted in response to invitations for
bids, requests for proposals, requests for quotations, program
opportunity notices, program research and development
announcements, research opportunity announcements, program rules,
solicitations for cooperative agreement proposals, or
solicitations with a common cutoff date for submissions and under
which the submissions are evaluated concurrently.
b. Communications that may be entitled "proposal" but are in fact
clearly advertising material, commercial product offers,
contributions, technical correspondence, and suggestions.
c. Unsolicited proposals submitted to the Power Marketing
Administrations.
6. REFERENCES.
a. Title 48 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapter 1, Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR), subpart 15.5, which covers
unsolicited proposals.
b. Title 48 CFR, Chapter 9, Department of Energy Acquisition
Regulation (DEAR), subpart 915.5, which covers unsolicited
proposals, and section 915.504, which covers notices of program
interest.
c. Title 10 CFR, Part 600, Department of Energy (DOE) Financial
Assistance Rules, section 600.14, which covers unsolicited
applications, and section 600.15, which covers notices of program
interest.
d. Title 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 552, Freedom of Information
Act, which establishes procedures for access to records in the
possession of the Federal Government.
e. Title 5 U.S.C. 552a, Privacy Act, which governs Federal agencies
management of records pertaining to individuals.
f. DOE 1324.2A, RECORDS DISPOSITION, of 9-13-88, which assigns
responsibilities and authorities and prescribes policies,
procedures, standards, and guidelines for orderly disposition of
DOE and DOE contractor records.
g. DOE 1324.5A, RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, of 4-30-92, which
establishes policies, procedures and activities needed to manage
the recorded information of DOE.
h. DOE 4200.1C, COMPETITION IN CONTRACTING, of 1-9-87, which
establishes policies and procedures to assure that Departmental
competitive contracting procedures conform to the requirements of
the Competition in Contracting Act.
i. DOE 4600.1A, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROCEDURES MANUAL, of 4-1-87,
which establishes the various processing and procedural
requirements for financial assistance award and administration.
7. DEFINITION. The terms "unsolicited proposals," "proposals," and
"proposers," wherever they appear in this Order, except in the case of
the title "Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator," also shall mean
"unsolicited applications," "applications," and "applicants,"
respectively.
a. Unsolicited proposal is a written proposal or application that is
submitted to an agency on the initiative of the submitter for the
purpose of obtaining a contract with or financial assistance from
the Government and which is not in response to a formal or
informal request (other than an agency request constituting a
publicized general statement of needs).
b. A Notice of Public Interest (NOPI) is a communication device
issued by a program office which informs and helps potential
interested proposers to focus on broad areas where submission of
an unsolicited proposal may be mutually beneficial to both DOE and
the proposals. It is not a formal solicitation.
8. POLICY. With regard to unsolicited proposals that may be submitted to
the Department, it is DOE policy to:
a. Acknowledge receipt of applicable proposals and applications
(submissions) promptly;
b. Promptly record submissions in a formal system for accountability
and proposal information;
c. Review and evaluate submissions in accordance with the guidelines
established in this Order, and applicable regulations; and
d. Notify the submitter of the disposition (e.g., funded or declined)
of the proposal or application within established time frames.
9. RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITIES.
a. Director of Procurement, Assistance and Program Managements
through the Director, Office of Clearance and Support, shall:
(1) Manage the System for Proposal Information Network, including
monitoring for compliance with this Order;
(2) Serve as the Department's focal point of contact on
unsolicited proposals;
(3) Receive, acknowledge, assign, and monitor progress of
unsolicited proposals forwarded to DOE for evaluation;
(4) Inform proposers which program office has been assigned the
responsibility for conducting the programmatic review of the
proposal;
(5) Provide monthly reports to affected Departmental Elements;
(6) Issue Departmental policy on unsolicited proposal procedures,
their submission; evaluation and disposition; and
(7) Provide training or other assistance to Departmental Elements
upon request.
b. Heads of Departmental Elements shall:
(1) Appoint an individual to provide unsolicited proposal liaison
with the responsible PR organization. The appointment and
changes thereto shall be communicated to the unsolicited
Proposals Coordinator, Office of Clearance & Support;
(2) Ensure timely and accurate reporting to Unsolicited Proposals
Coordinator, on status of proposals;
(3) Provide for the adequate and proper maintenance of records to
enable the cognizant element to answer inquiries on
submissions including those received after notification of
disposition has been provided to the submitter;
(4) Develop detailed procedures for the timely and fair handling
and review of unsolicited proposals assigned to their
organizations. These procedures shall provide for reasonable
program coordination with other Government agencies with
respect to funding of similar projects. The extent of
coordination shall be addressed in the justification for
acceptance of the unsolicited proposal; and
(5) Concur in and approve justifications for acceptance of
unsolicited proposals.
10. PROCEDURES.
a. Notice of Program Interest. Specific and short-term program
objectives and needs may preclude consideration of
unsolicited research proposals. Therefore, program staffs
are encouraged to develop, and publish at least annually,
statements of program interest in unsolved technical areas
and new directions which might be addressed by unsolicited
proposals from the external community. The use of the NOPI
described in DEAR 915.504 and 10 CFR Section 600.15 is
particularly encouraged. The NOPI is a means to inform and
help potentially interested proposers to focus on broad areas
where submission of unsolicited proposals may be mutually
beneficial to both DOE and the submitter.
b. Preliminary Discussions. Project officers are encouraged to be
available for technical discussions with prospective submitters.
Presubmission discussions shall be limited to conveying to the
prospective submitter an understanding of the DOE mission and
needs relative to the type of effort contemplated. Advance
discussions with potential proposers should not encourage or
otherwise authorize the proposer to perform any work at DOE
expense in anticipation of award.
c. General Procedures.
(1) Point of Receipt for Submission. The Unsolicited Proposals
Coordinator in the Office of Clearance and Support is the
focal point of contact for those who wish to present
unsolicited proposals to the DOE program and staff offices
and also is responsible for acting as the control point for
all such submissions, except those fossil energy-related
proposals, which are received and controlled by the
Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center. Proposals,
applications, and other submissions covered by this Order
might, however, be received in any Departmental Element. All
submissions received elsewhere in the Department shall be
forwarded to the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator who will
maintain centralized control to assure review by appropriate
program offices and tracking and reporting. Classified
(i.e., Secret) unsolicited proposals received in the Office
of Intelligence (IN) shall not be forwarded to the
Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator. IN shall provide to the
Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator an unclassified summary of
the proposal, which will be entered into the System for
Proposals Information Network (SPIN). Upon completion of
reviews and disposition of the classified proposal in
accordance with the provisions of this Order, IN shall notify
the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator of the final action
taken. A submission addressed to a contractor is not
considered to be a submission to the Department and shall not
be entered into SPIN. Field offices are required to promptly
submit all unsolicited proposals to Headquarters for
processing. Absent any specific delegation, only designated
Headquarters organizations are authorized to concur in and
approve justifications for acceptance of unsolicited
proposals. Each program office will provide the Unsolicited
Proposals Coordinator with the following to assure proper
assignment and tracking:
(a) A current statement of its program mission and
objectives.
(b) The name of an individual to act as the proposal
contact, who shall be responsible for the receipt of
proposals and the furnishing of data on the actions
taken on unsolicited proposals.
(c) The name of a representative who can speak for the
programmatic interests of the office.
(2) System for Accountability and Control. Unsolicited
submissions received by the DOE shall be acknowledged and
entered by the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator, into SPIN,
then forwarded to the responsible program office for review,
evaluation, and disposition.
(3) Deadlines. Submissions shall be entered into SPIN or an
alternate system and forwarded to the responsible program
office by the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator, PR-13,
within 5 working days after receipt. Entry of the
disposition decision into SPIN or an alternate system shall
be within 5 working days after receipt by the Unsolicited
Proposals Coordinator of the notice to the submitter.
(4) Detailed Procedures. More indepth procedures for receipt and
control of unsolicited proposals are contained in Attachment
1.
d. Review of Unsolicited Proposals. Each office shall establish a
review process to handle unsolicited proposals forwarded to its
organization. The procedures shall provide that:
(1) Proposals are given a preliminary review to determine if
there are any immediately identifiable impediments that would
prevent the proposal from being funded, such as lack of
programmatic interest, failure to demonstrate a unique or
innovative method, approach or idea, lack of funds for
support, or substantial duplication of known research or
recent, current or planned solicitation or program
opportunity notice. Submitters shall be notified of the
results of the preliminary review within 30 days after
receipt of the submission;
(2) Proposals are evaluated in accordance with the requirements
of 48 CFR Chapter 1, subpart 15.5 and 48 CFR Part 9, subpart
915.5 for contracts and 10 CFR Part 600 for grants and
assistance agreement, and the guidelines set forth in
Attachment 2;
(3) A proposer shall be notified of the DOE's decision within 6
months after receipt of the proposal, specifying the final
decision to accept or not to accept; and
(4) Adequate documentation of the evaluation is prepared as
provided in subparagraph e below.
e. Disposition of Proposals.
(1) The reviewing program office shall prepare an adequate
written record to justify the decision to fund or not to fund
a specific proposal. This record shall summarize the results
of the preliminary and final reviews of the proposal and
shall include copies, or a summary thereof, of each
evaluation. If the proposal is accepted, a justification for
acceptance of an unsolicited proposal shall be prepared by
the reviewing program office in accordance with applicable
DOE procedures, the DEAR, and the FAR. The approved
justification specified in applicable regulations shall be
appended to the procurement request.
(2) A written notice of "proposal declination" shall be forwarded
to the responsible program official by the reviewing program
officer. If the proposal does not offer sufficient technical
merit or program value; is not relevant to the accomplishment
of a purpose authorized by DOE program legislation; or if
funds are not available, the reviewing program office shall
prepare a declination letter to the proposer, for signature
of the responsible program official or designee, which sets
forth the basis for rejection.
(3) When a proposal otherwise qualifies as an unsolicited
proposal, but in substance closely resembles that of an
intended formal competitive solicitation or program
opportunity notice, all copies of the proposal will be
returned promptly, advising the proposer: (a) of the
potential solicitation; (b) that the proposer will be added
to the source list; and (c) that the proposal may be
resubmitted in accordance with the requirements of the
competitive announcement.
(4) Proposals selected for support should be forwarded by the
responsible program official with appropriate supporting
documentation to the appropriate procurement office for
award.
f. Timeframes.
(1) A preliminary determination that the submission qualifies or
does not qualify as an unsolicited proposal and notification
to the submitter shall take place within 30 days after
receipt of the unsolicited proposal.
(2) Final action on unsolicited proposals shall take place within
6 months of receipt. For a proposal to be held longer than 6
months, the written approval of the Director, Office of
Clearance and Support, shall be obtained.
g. Records. The responsible program official or designee will
maintain adequate records to respond to subsequent inquiries
regarding the basis for the decision to support or not support the
proposal. The responsible program official will ensure that the
retention of these records is authorized by an approved records
disposition schedule, as required by DOE 1324.2A.
h. Reports.
(1) The responsible program official or designee shall ensure
that a copy of the procurement request, if the proposal is
funded, and/or all correspondence to proposers regarding the
disposition (preliminary review, acceptance, declination) or
status of their proposal is provided to the Unsolicited
Proposals Coordinator, PR-13, for entering into SPIN.
(2) The responsible program official or designee shall ensure
that monthly SPIN reports, forwarded for updating to the
program office, are updated to reflect status of unsolicited
proposals.
11. NONDISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION: DOE personnel shall not disclose
restrictively marked information included in any unsolicited proposal.
The disclosure of such information concerning trade secrets, processes,
operations, style of work, apparatus, and other matters, except as
authorized, may result in criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1905.
BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY:
DOLORES L. ROZZI
Director of Administration
and Management
PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS
SUBMITTED TO DOE
1. All unsolicited proposals submitted to DOE will be received and
acknowledged by the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator, except those
submitted to the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center.
2. If a proposal is handcarried or mailed directly to a responsible
program official or designee, the office receiving the proposal will
forward a copy of the proposal with the letter of transmittal promptly,
via that office's proposal contact, to the Unsolicited Proposals
Coordinator for entry into the System for Proposal Information Network
(SPIN).
3. If a proposal is handcarried or mailed directly to a field office or
energy technology center for Headquarters evaluation, the proposal
should be transmitted promptly to the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator
for system entry.
4. The Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator will conduct the initial analysis
of the proposal and, according to the research and programmatic
objectives proposed, will assign it to the appropriate program or staff
office for review. The Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator will
acknowledge receipt within 5 working days after receipt of the
submission and inform the proposer which program office has been
assigned the responsibility for conducting the programmatic review of
the proposal. The Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator will assign a
proposal number, enter the proposal into the DOE SPIN and distribute
copies of the proposal to the appropriate program office(s). In order
that proposals may be handled in confidence consistent with DEAR, FAR,
and 10 CFR Part 600, the notice contained on page 5 of this attachment
shall be affixed to each proposal upon receipt by DOE and to any
reproduction or abstract thereof. The notice contained on page 6 of
this attachment shall be affixed to all unsolicited proposals in DOE
custody which contain data that has been designated with a restrictive
legend identifying it as proprietary information. Within 5 working
days after receipt of the proposal, the Unsolicited Proposals
Coordinator will forward proposals to the proposal contact designated
by each office. The proposal contact designated by each program office
shall forward the proposal to the assigned reviewer within 2 days of
receipt in the program office. The reviewer will perform a preliminary
review to determine if there are any immediately identifiable
impediments that would prevent the proposal from being funded, such as
lack of programmatic interest, failure to demonstrate a unique or
innovative method, approach or idea, lack of funds, or substantial
duplication of known research, or a recent, current or planned
solicitation pr program opportunity notice. The reviewer will notify
the submitter within 30 days if the submission qualifies as an
unsolicited proposal, with a copy of the notification provided to the
program proposal contact who will forward the information to the
Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator.
5. When the evaluation is completed and it is determined that the proposal
will be supported or not supported, or other action is contemplated,
the responsible program official or designee will promptly provide the
Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator with notification of intended
disposition. If the proposal is to be declined, the responsible
program official shall prepare a letter informing the proposer, with a
copy to the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator through the program
proposal contact, of the reason for declination. If the determination
is made that the proposal will be supported, a copy of the approved
procurement request, with the unsolicited proposal number annotated,
shall be provided to the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator through the
program proposal contact.
6. When a proposal is sent to more than one office by the Unsolicited
Proposals Coordinator, the first program office listed on the DOE cover
sheet shall be designated the principal reviewer having the
responsibility for responding to the proposer, and providing status to
the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator. The subsequently listed
reviewers are designated as coreviewers. Any response a coreviewer
desires to make to the proposer should be coordinated with the
principal reviewer. The coreviewers have the responsibility for
notifying the principal reviewer, within 21 days after receipt of a
proposal, of any potential interest or action on their part with
respect to such proposal. After 21 days, the principal reviewer may
take independent action on the proposal if notice has not been received
from coreviewers of potential interest or action on their part. Where
such notice of potential interest has been received, the principal
reviewer's action; i.e., acceptance or decline action, should be
coordinated with the interested coreviewers. When considered
advisable, the designated principal reviewer responsibility may be
transferred to a coreviewer as described in paragraph 7 below.
7. To transfer a proposal and its review responsibility from the assigned
reviewing office to another office, the individual to whom the proposal
was originally assigned shall prepare a memorandum to the individual to
whom the proposal is being transferred, indicating the Unsolicited
Proposal Number, submitter, the reason the proposal is being
transferred, and other pertinent information. A copy of such
memorandum shall be provided to the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator
through the program proposal contact. In the event that a proposal
must be reassigned to ensure proper review, it is essential that such
transfer be effected immediately, since the period for completion of
review, 6 months, begins with receipt of the proposal in the
Department, and does not restart upon transfer.
8. Unsolicited proposals forwarded to DOE by a member of Congress will be
processed as stated in previous paragraphs with the following
exceptions:
a. The letter of acknowledgement from DOE to the proposer will be
sent via the Congressman, by the Director, Office of Procurement,
Assistance and Program Management. The letter will be transmitted
through the Office of Executive Secretariat for Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs (CP) concurrence and mailing.
b. The responsible program official will forward the response from
DOE indicating possible support or nonsupport, or other action
contemplated, to CP for concurrence and mailing to the member of
Congress.
9. The information entered into SPIN, as provided by the reviewing
offices, is used to generate the monthly reports on unsolicited
proposals provided by the Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator. As the
accuracy of the information in these reports is dependent upon status
data received from the reviewing offices, it is essential that such
input be both timely and correct. Information received by the
Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator not later than the last working day
of each month will be included in the next month's report.
10. The Unsolicited Proposals Coordinator will not respond directly to
inquiries regarding the status of unsolicited proposals. Inquiries on
proposals received by DOE will be referred for response to the office
assigned the review function.
UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL
USE OF DATA LIMITED
All Government and non-Government personnel must exercise extreme care to
ensure that the information in this proposal is not disclosed to an
individual who has not been authorized access to such data in accordance
with Federal Acquisition Regulation 3.104, and is not duplicated, used or
disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than evaluation of the
proposal, without the written permission of the offeror. If a contract is
awarded on the basis of this proposal, the terms of the contract shall
control disclosure and use.
This notice does not limit the Government's right to use information
contained in the proposal if it is obtainable from another source without
restriction.
This is a Government notice, and shall not by itself be construed to impose
any liability upon the Government or Government personnel for disclosure or
use of data contained in this proposal.
NONDISCLOSURE OF DATA
DOE personnel shall not disclose restrictively marked information included
in any unsolicited proposal. The disclosure of such information concerning
trade secrets, processes, operations, style of work, apparatus, and other
matters, except as authorized by law, may result in criminal penalties under
18 U.S.C. 1905.
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS
SUBMITTED TO DOE
1. ACQUISITION AND ASSISTANCE CRITERIA.
a. The evaluation criteria used in reviewing unsolicited proposals
are contingent upon whether the program for which the proposal is
to be considered is principally one of acquisition or assistance.
(1) If the program is principally one of acquisition, the award
instrument will be a contract. The evaluation criteria for
contracts are set forth in FAR 15.506-2. Proposals for
demonstration projects will be evaluated in accordance with
the DOE policy on cost participation in DEAR 917.70, the
Federal support criteria in DEAR 917.7201-3 and the
evaluation criteria for proposals submitted in response to
program opportunity notices in DEAR 917.7203(c)(1)-(8).
(2) If the program is principally one of assistance, the award
instrument will be an assistance agreement, i.e., either a
grant, or a cooperative agreement. The evaluation criteria
for assistance agreements are set forth in the DOE Financial
Assistance Rules, 10 CFR Sections 600.14 and 600.15.
b. The determination of whether a specific proposal is to be
principally one of acquisition or assistance will be made by the
cognizant program manager. Heads of Departmental Elements will
ensure that this determination is reviewed at the program policy
level.
c. A contract shall be used as the award instrument whenever (1) the
principal purpose is the acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter
of property, or services for the direct benefit or use of the
Federal Government; or (2) whenever DOE determines, in a specific
instance, that the use of a contract is appropriate.
d. An assistance agreement will be used as the award instrument
whenever the principal purpose is to accomplish a public purpose
of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute.
(1) A grant type of assistance agreement will be used whenever no
substantial involvement is anticipated between DOE and the
recipient during performance of the activity.
(2) A cooperative agreement will be used whenever substantial
involvement is anticipated between DOE and the recipient
during performance of the activity. Each cooperative
agreement shall include an explicit statement of the nature,
character, and extent of anticipated DOE involvement.
2. REVIEWERS.
a. If the proposal is determined to be for an acquisition action, the
responsible program official or designee shall designate generally
at least three qualified individuals (in addition to the official
responsible for selection) to perform an objective merit review
and evaluation of the proposal. The individuals may be any
mixture of Federal or non-Federal experts, including individuals
from within the assigned reviewing program office.
b. If the proposal is determined to be for an assistance action, the
responsible program official or designee shall designate generally
at least three qualified individuals (in addition to the official
responsible for selection) to perform an objective merit review
and evaluation of the proposal. The individuals may be any
mixture of Federal or non-Federal experts, including individuals
from within the assigned reviewing program office, except that
anyone (and their respective superiors) performing, on behalf of
the Federal Government, the following duties is ineligible:
(1) Providing substantive technical assistance to the applicant;
(2) Approving/disapproving or having any decisionmaking role
regarding the application;
(3) Serving as the project officer or otherwise monitoring or
evaluating the applicants's programmatic performance;
(4) Serving as the Contracting Officer or performing business
management functions for the project;
(5) Auditing the applicant or the project; or
(6) Former employees of the cognizant program office who have
left that office within the past year.
c. All reviewers, whether Federal or non-Federal employees, shall
execute an appropriate conflict of interest statement. Further,
for acquisition actions, each evaluator shall complete the
certification contained on page 6 of this attachment. The
reviewing program office shall maintain a listing of all personnel
authorized access by the reviewing program office to proprietary
information, and shall attach the list to the unsolicited
proposal.
3. DETERMINATIONS. A favorable comprehensive evaluation of an unsolicited
proposal is not, in itself, sufficient justification for negotiating on
a noncompetitive basis with the offeror. When a document qualifies as
an unsolicited proposal, but the substance (a) is available to the
Government without restriction from another source, or (b) closely
resembles that of a recent, current or planned competitive solicitation
or program opportunity notice, or (c) is otherwise not sufficiently
unique to justify acceptance, the unsolicited proposal shall not be
accepted.
4. EXTERNAL REVIEW.
a. In some instances, particularly in basic research, the responsible
program official may find it advantageous to submit the proposal
to peer review by scientific and technical personnel external to
the Federal Government (i.e., non-Federal employees). Use of such
external reviewers is particularly appropriate for the review and
evaluation of the merit of the proposal, the competence of the
proposer and the adequacy of support facilities. (Internal
program staff may choose to concentrate on program relevance and
funding priorities.)
b. If an unsolicited proposal is received without any restrictive
legend and it is necessary or appropriate to obtain an evaluation
of the proposal from personnel external to the Government, a cover
sheet with the legend on page 5, Attachment 1, shall be placed on
the proposal. Prior written permission shall be obtained from the
proposer prior to release of the proposal for evaluation by
reviewers external to the Government.
c. If the proposal under consideration expressly indicates that only
Government evaluation is authorized and evaluation by personnel
external to the Government is nevertheless desired, the proposer
should be advised that DOE may be unable to give full
consideration to the proposal unless the proposer consents in
writing to having the proposal evaluated outside the Government.
Final decision on disposition of proposals submitted to DOE must
be made only by DOE employees.
5. SELECTION OF EXTERNAL REVIEWERS.
a. The selection of external reviewers is an important responsibility
of the program office assigned to review the unsolicited proposal.
Reviewers must be chosen carefully relative to their scientific
and technical knowledge in the area of the proposed effort under
consideration. The program office must ensure that the proposed
reviewer has no real or apparent interests that are contrary to or
in conflict with the proposer or proposing organization submitting
the request for funding. When this is not possible, for example,
where required expertise is extremely limited, mechanisms shall be
established to mitigate the effects of such circumstances. When
mitigating steps are determined to be necessary, the evaluation
report should contain a description of such mitigating steps and
an explanation which adequately demonstrates how such mitigating
steps will be effective.
b. Reviewers should be balanced, as warranted, among various
institutional and demographic factors, such as geographic
location, type of institution, and special interest groups. The
DOE program office also should be conscious, in the selection of
reviewers, of the need to avoid potential scientific/technical or
personal biases of reviewers to assure that the proposal is
accorded fair, equitable, and impartial review on its merits and
relevance to program objectives.
6. AGREEMENT WITH EXTERNAL REVIEWERS. When it is determined to evaluate a
proposal outside the Government, such as by consultants, grantees, and
contractors, including those who operate or manage Government-owned
facilities, the agreement on page 7 of this attachment, or an
equivalent arrangement for the treatment of the proposal, shall be
obtained from the outside evaluator before DOE furnishes a copy of the
proposal. (In addition, the handling notice required on page 5,
Attachment 1, should be affixed to the proposal before it is disclosed
to the evaluator.)
PROCUREMENT INTEGRITY CERTIFICATION
FOR PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS
As a condition of serving as a procurement official, I ____________________
hereby certify that I am familiar with the provisions of subsections 27(b),
(c), and (e) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423)
as amended by section 814 of Public Law 101-189. I further certify that I
will not engage in any conduct prohibited by such subsections and will
report immediately to the contracting officer any information concerning a
violation or possible violation of subsections 27(a), (b), (d), or (f) of
the Act and applicable implementing regulations. A written explanation of
subsections 27(a) through (f) has been made available to me. I understand
that, should I leave the Government during the conduct of a procurement for
which I have served as a procurement official, I have a continuing
obligation under section 27 not to disclose proprietary or source selection
information relating to that procurement and a requirement to so certify.
___________________________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE OF PROCUREMENT OFFICIAL DATE
___________________________________________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY OFFICE TELEPHONE NUMBER
___________________________________________________________________________
OPTIONAL FORM 333
CONDITIONS FOR EVALUATING PROPOSALS
Whenever DOE furnishes a proposal for evaluation, I the recipient, agree to
use the information contained in the proposal only for DOE evaluation
purposes and to treat the information obtained in confidence. This
requirement does not apply to information obtained from any source,
including the proposer, without restriction. Any notice or restriction
placed on the proposal shall be conspicuously affixed to any reproduction or
abstract thereof and its provisions strictly complied with. Upon completion
of the evaluation, I shall return all copies of the proposal and abstracts,
if any, to the DOE office which initially furnished the proposal for
evaluation. Unless authorized by the DOE initiating office, I shall not
contact the originator of the proposal concerning any aspect of its
contents.
__________________________________
Recipient
__________________________________
Date
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