Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Market research must be conducted thoroughly to ensure the right strategies, industry participants, and process are established to conduct an efficient, robust competition. Prior to issuance of the solicitation, government officials - including the program manager, users, or contracting officer - should meet with potential offerors to exchange general information and conduct market research related to an acquisition.

Release of the selection decision document following contract award. This occurs after proprietary and procurement sensitive information are redacted from the document. Release could also be made of the tradeoff analysis alone or of the consensus evaluation reports only. Release of the information can be made directly to the offerors involved in the procurement or more broadly on the agency’s public website. This practice can occur as part of the debriefing process or following closure of the protest period.

Confidence ratings are another form of adjectival rating that allow evaluators to assign ratings more holistically. May be used in acquisitions under FAR subparts 8.4 (orders/BPAs under schedules), 15.3 (source selections), and 16.505 (orders under multiple-award IDIQ contracts); as well as Part13 (Simplified Acquisitions). Only source selections under Subpart 15.3 require documentation of relative strengths, deficiencies, significant weaknesses, and risks; other acquisitions may use different approaches.