[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 48, Volume 1] [Revised as of October 1, 2002] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 48CFR15.303] [Page 253-254] TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION PART 15--CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION--Table of Contents Subpart 15.3--Source Selection Sec. 15.303 Responsibilities. (a) Agency heads are responsible for source selection. The contracting officer is designated as the source selection authority, unless the agency head [[Page 254]] appoints another individual for a particular acquisition or group of acquisitions. (b) The source selection authority shall-- (1) Establish an evaluation team, tailored for the particular acquisition, that includes appropriate contracting, legal, logistics, technical, and other expertise to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of offers; (2) Approve the source selection strategy or acquisition plan, if applicable, before solicitation release; (3) Ensure consistency among the solicitation requirements, notices to offerors, proposal preparation instructions, evaluation factors and subfactors, solicitation provisions or contract clauses, and data requirements; (4) Ensure that proposals are evaluated based solely on the factors and subfactors contained in the solicitation (10 U.S.C. 2305(b)(1) and 41 U.S.C. 253b(d)(3)); (5) Consider the recommendations of advisory boards or panels (if any); and (6) Select the source or sources whose proposal is the best value to the Government (10 U.S.C. 2305(b)(4)(B) and 41 U.S.C. 253b(d)(3)). (c) The contracting officer shall-- (1) After release of a solicitation, serve as the focal point for inquiries from actual or prospective offerors; (2) After receipt of proposals, control exchanges with offerors in accordance with 15.306; and (3) Award the contract(s).