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This SOP has internal roles only.
Standard Operating Procedure Table of Contents
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Purpose
To enable offerors to
revise proposals in both competitive and sole
source acquisitions.
Procedure
In a competitive acquisition, negotiations take
place after a contracting officer establishes the competitive
range. Negotiations may apply to price, schedule, technical requirements,
type of contract, or other contract terms. The primary objective is to
enable the government to obtain the best value based on the requirement
and evaluation factors in the solicitation.
Office of Acquisitions (OA) and program staff work together closely
during negotiations. Negotiations are conducted with all offerors in
the competitive range to allow them to clarify, correct, or support their
proposals. Contracting officers determine the scope and extent of negotiations
and make sure offerors have enough time to revise proposals and provide
cost and pricing information. After negotiations, offerors remaining
in the competition submit a written final
proposal revision.
During negotiations, staff may not provide offerors any information
that could give them a competitive advantage, including stating whether
other offerors are undergoing negotiations.
Scientific Review Officers
Project Officers
- Translate weaknesses, deficiencies, and ambiguities identified in
TERs into technical questions provided to offerors during negotiations.
- Review each business proposal in the competitive range and analyze
the following items to determine whether they are necessary and reasonable:
- Number of labor hours proposed for various labor categories.
- Mix of labor hours and categories of labor relative to technical
requirements.
- Kinds and quantities of material, equipment, and supplies.
- Types, numbers and time of proposed consultants.
- Basis for proposed subcontracts.
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Realism of proposed costs.
- Proposed travel, including number of trips, locations, purpose,
and travelers.
- Types and quantities of information technology.
- Use this information to complete a Project
Officer's Technical Questionnaire (POTQ), Form NIH-2497, for
each offeror in the competitive range and their proposed subcontractors; sign
and date the forms.
Contracting Officers
- Meet with project officers to discuss POTQs, sign and date them,
and place them in a contract file.
- Ensure a cost
analysis of each proposal is performed by either OA or the NIH Division
of Financial Advisory Services.
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Using information from the POTQ and the cost analysis, perform a cost realism analysis to determine what the government should
realistically expect to pay for a proposed effort and the offeror's
understanding of and ability to perform the work.
- When fees are proposed, prepare a structured approach for determining
a level for negotiations. Because profit and fee are related to other
parts of a contract, contracting officers need agreement on cost and
type of contract.
- Prepare cost and administrative questions for negotiations using
information from POTQs and cost analyses.
- Open negotiations by providing offerors written technical, cost,
and administrative questions.
- Lead negotiation discussions and controls exchanges with offerors. Ensure meaningful, complete discussions.
- Close negotiations by stating that negotiations are concluded and
requesting a final proposal revision by a due date and time.
- Prepare negotiation memorandums, which document negotiations and
include a rationale to determine that a negotiated price or cost is
fair and reasonable and in accordance with FAR
Part 15 and HHSAR 315.372. A negotiation memorandum is a complete record of all actions
leading to award of a contract and is included in the contract file.
Contacts
See the Office of Acquisitions staff listing for the appropriate contract specialist.
See the Scientific
Review Program staff listing for the appropriate scientific review officer.
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Links
FAR
15.101, Best Value Continuum
HHSAR 315,
Contracting by Negotiation
HHSAR 315.372,
Preparation of Negotiation Memorandum
HHSAR 315.404-4,
Profit (includes the structured fee approach)
NIH
Manual Issuance 6015-1, Financial Analysis of Contract Proposals and
Modifications
Structured
Approach, Profit-Fee Objective Spreadsheet
Contract Specialists Request for Audit Assistance by DFAS
Competitive
Range SOP
Contracting
Officer SOP
Finalization of Details with a Selected Source SOP
Project
Officer SOP
Request
for Proposals SOP |
