GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ACQUISITION MANUAL (GSAM)

537.106  Funding and term of service contracts.

517.101 identifies GSA-specific statutory authority for multiyear contracts for certain services.

537.201  Definitions.

“Evaluation or analysis of a proposal” means proposal evaluation as described in FAR 15.305. It includes:

(a) Cost or price evaluation using cost or price analysis, as defined in FAR 15.801, to determine if the cost or price is reasonable and the offeror’s understanding of the work and ability to perform the contract.

(b) Past performance evaluation, to assess the offeror’s ability to perform the contract.

(c) Technical evaluation, to ensure that the proposal meets the minimum requirements in the solicitation and to analyze and assess the technical acceptability of the proposal and the offeror’s ability to accomplish the technical requirements of the solicitation.

The extraction of factual information from a proposal or arranging such information in a list, matrix, or other format, without making any related determinations, assessments, rankings or analyses, does not constitute evaluation or analysis of a proposal within the meaning of section 6002 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA).

“Proposal” means a proposal submitted for an initial contract award. (See FAR 37.203(d)). It does not include proposals submitted after contract award, such as value engineering proposals, proposals related to contract modifications, claims, or other contract administration actions.

“Readily available” means that employees with the requisite training and capability are employed by the agency, capable of handling additional work considering other duties assigned by management, and the travel and other cost associated with using covered personnel does not exceed the projected cost of a contract for evaluation and analysis services.

“Requisite training and capability” means training and capability necessary to successfully perform the task or contract at issue in the time and in the manner required. It may include relevant experience, recent performance of work of similar size and scope, specific training and other factors the contracting officer determines are necessary to the successful performance of the task or contract at issue.

537.204  Guidelines for determining availability of personnel.

(a) Authority. You are authorized to make the determinations required by FAR 37.204 unless the HCA designates another agency official.

(b) Policy. You, or the HCA’s designee, must make the determination whether GSA personnel with the requisite training and capabilities are readily available to perform the evaluation or analysis before issuing a solicitation which includes evaluation and analysis services (see FAR 37.205).

(c) Identifying qualified personnel. You, or the HCA’s designee, must base the determination on information received in response to a survey conducted as follows:

(1) If the estimated cost of evaluation and analysis services to be obtained under a contract or order is less than $2,500, the administrative cost and time associated with conducting the search and other costs, such as travel, will likely exceed the cost of providing the services under the contract or order. In this case, the survey need only include the appropriate Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Regional Administrator, or designee within the contracting organization (e.g., FSS, FTS, PBS) at the location (e.g., Region, Central Office) where the services are needed.

(2) If the estimated cost of the evaluation and analysis services to be obtained under a contract or order is expected to exceed $2,500, the survey must include all the following:

(i) The appropriate Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Regional Administrator, or designee at the location where the services are needed, and managers within other GSA Regions and Central Office of the contracting organization (e.g., FSS, FTS, PBS).

(ii) Other Federal agencies that are reasonably expected to have covered personnel with the requisite training and capability at the location where the services are needed.

(d) Decisions on availability of personnel. In responding to a survey to determine the availability of covered personnel, agency officials may make management decisions on the best use of available personnel as provided in FAR 37.204(b)(2). Generally, you, or the HCA’s designee, should request that decisions on availability be made by a management official at a level higher than the employee’s immediate supervisor.

(e) Documentation. The determination required by FAR 37.204 may be incorporated in the acquisition plan or made a part of another document prepared in the normal course of a procurement action. The file should, at a minimum, describe:

(1) Who was surveyed and a summary of the responses received.

(2) The circumstances requiring the use of outside evaluators.

(3) Actions GSA will take to avoid organizational or other conflicts of interest under FAR 9.5.

(4) The competitive relationship between prospective offerors, including proposed subcontractors, and the prospective evaluator(s).

(f) Indefinite delivery contracts for evaluation and analysis services. You may issue an indefinite delivery contract for evaluation and analysis services if there is a reasonable expectation that there will be occasions when personnel with the requisite training and capabilities will not be readily available to perform the evaluation and analysis services covered by the contract.

(1) Before issuing a solicitation for an indefinite delivery contract, the appropriate agency official should consider manpower and workload projections over the proposed contract period. This should help avoid unnecessarily incurring the cost of soliciting offers and awarding a contract. Document the acquisition file accordingly.

(2) The appropriate agency official should establish procedures for making determinations regarding particular evaluations before orders are placed under the contract.