(iii) A prompt award will otherwise be advantageous to the Government.

If award is made under subdivisions (i), (ii), or (iii) of this subparagraph (3), the contracting officer shall document the file to explain the need for an immediate award, and shall give written notice of the decision to proceed with the award to the protester and, as appropriate, to others concerned.

(4) The determination required by paragraph (b) (3) of this section shall be referred to the Office of Procurement for approval prior to award if an unresolved protest against such award has been, or is expected to be, referred to NASA Headquarters in accordance with paragraph (a) (2) of this section, or if information on a protest is being prepared by the contracting office at the request of NASA Headquarters in accordance with paragraph (a) (4) of this section.

(c) Protests after award. The general instructions in paragraph (a) of this section are applicable to protests received after award.

§ 18-2.408 Information to bidders. § 18-2.408-1 Unclassified awards.

In the case of all unclassified formally advertised contracts, the procurement office shall as a minimum (subject to any restrictions in Subpart 18-1.6), (a) notify unsuccessful bidders promptly of the fact that their bids were not accepted, and (b) extend the appreciation of the procurement office for the interest the unsuccessful bidder has shown in submitting a bid. Notification to unsuccessful bidders may be either orally or in writing through the use of a form postal card or other appropriate means. Should additional information be requested, the procurement office shall provide the unsuccessful bidders with the name and address of the successful bidder, together with the contract price, and should also inform the inquirers as to the location where a copy of the abstract of bids is available for inspection. However, when multiple awards have been made and furnishing the names, addresses, and contract prices of the successful bidders would require so large an amount of work as to interfere with normal operations of the procurement office, only information concerning location of the abstract of bids need be given. In addition, when an inquiry is made by an unsuccessful bidder who is lower in price

than the successful bidder, sufficient information shall be furnished in the reply to the unsuccessful bidder to fully explain the basis for award. Where request is received concerning an unclassified invitation for bids from an inquirer who is neither a bidder nor a representative of a bidder, the procurement office should make every effort to furnish the names of successful bidders and, if requested. the prices at which awards were made. However, where such requests require so large amount of work as to interfere with the normal operations of the procurement office, the inquirer will be advised where a copy of the abstract of bids may be seen.

§ 18-2.408-2 Classified awards.

In the case of all classified formally advertised contracts, the procurement office shall (a) notify unsuccessful bidders promptly of the fact that their bids were not accepted, and (b) extend the appreciation of the procurement office for the interest the unsuccessful bidder has shown in submitting a bid. Information with respect to the name of the successful bidder and the contract price wi be furnished only to unsuccessful bidders or their properly cleared representatives and then only upon request. No information regarding a classified award may be furnished by telephone.

§ 18-2.409 Synopses of contract awards. See §18-1.1004.

Subpart 18-2.5-Two-Step
Formal Advertising

Two-step formal advertising is & method of procurement designed to expand the use and obtain the benefits of formal advertising where inadequate specifications preclude the use of conventional formal advertising. It is espe cially useful in procurements requiring technical proposals, especially those for complex items. It is conducted in two steps:

(a) Step one consists of the request for, and submission, evaluation, and necessary, discussion of a technical proposal, without pricing, to determine the acceptability of the supplies or services offered. As used in this context, the word "technical" has a broad connotation and includes engineering approach, specia! manufacturing processes, and special testing techniques. When it is necessary in order to clarify basic technical re

quirements, related requirements such as management approach, manufacturing plan, or facilities to be utilized may be clarified in this step. Conformity to the technical requirements is resolved in this step, but capacity and credit, as defined in § 18-1.705-6, are not.

E (b) Step two is a formally advertised procurement confined to those who subnitted acceptable technical proposals in step one. Bids submitted in step two are evaluated and the awards made in acordance with. Subparts 18-2.3 and 18-2.4. Two-step formal advertising requires hat the contracting officer work closely with technical personnel and that he tilize their specialized knowledge in letermining the technical requirements of the procurement, in determining the riteria to be used in evaluating techical proposals, and in making such evallation. An objective of this method is to >ermit the development of a sufficiently lescriptive and not unduly restrictive tatement of the Government's requirenent, including an adequate technical lata package, so the subsequent prourements may be made by conventional ormal advertising.

18-2.502 Conditions for use.

Two-step formal advertising shall be sed in preference to negotiation when Il of the following conditions are presnt, unless other factors require the use f negotiation;

(a) Available specifications or purhase descriptions are not sufficiently efinite or complete or may be too retrictive, and the listing of the salient haracteristics in a "brand name or qual" description would likewise be too estrictive, to permit full and free cometition without technical evaluation, nd any necessary discussion, of the echnical aspects of the requirement to isure mutual understanding between ach source and the Government;

(b) Definite criteria exist for evaluatng technical proposals, such as design, anufacturing, testing, and performnce requirements, and special requireients for operational suitability and ease f maintenance;

(c) More than one technically qualied source is expected to be available; (d) Sufficient time will be available or use of the two-step method; and

(e) A firm fixed-price contract or a xed-price contract with escalation will e used.

(a) A request for technical proposals shall be distributed to qualified sources in accordance with § 18-1.302-2. In addition, the request shall be synopsized in accordance with Subpart 18-1.10 of this chapter and publicly posted in accordance with § 18-2.203-2. The request may be in the form of a letter and shall contain, as a minimum, the following information:

(1) The best practicable description of the supplies or services required;

(2) Notification of the intent to conduct the procurement in two steps and the actions involved;

(3) The requirements of the technical proposal, i.e., the necessary details such as drawings, data, presentations, etc., to be submitted;

(4) The criteria for evaluating the technical proposal (§ 18–2.502(b));

(5) A statement that the technical proposals shall not include prices or pricing information;

(6) The date by which the proposal must be received and a statement substantially as follows:

LATE TECHNICAL PROPOSALS. (JANUARY 1964)

The Government reserves the right to consider technical proposals or modifications thereof received after the date specified for receipt.

(7) A statement that the Government may discuss the technical aspects of the proposal with the concern submitting the proposal;

(8) A statement that in the second step of the procurement only bids based upon technical proposals determined to be acceptable, either initially or as a result of discussions, will be considered for award. and that each bid in the second step must be based on the bidder's own technical proposal;

(9) A statement that sources submitting unacceptable technical proposals will be so notified upon completion of the technical evaluation; and

(10) A statement either that only one technical proposal may be submitted by each offeror or that multiple technical proposals may be submitted. When compliance with specifications permits utilization of essentially different technical approaches, it is generally in the interest of the Government to authorize the submission of multiple proposals. If multiple proposals are authorized the

request shall include a statement substantially as follows:

MULTIPLE TECHNICAL PROPOSALS

(JANUARY 1964)

In the first step of this two-step procurement, offerors are authorized and encouraged to submit multiple technical proposals presenting different basic approaches. Each technical proposal submitted will be separately evaluated and the offeror will be notified as to its acceptability.

(b) Upon receipt of technical proposals:

(1) Every precaution shall be taken to safeguard technical proposals against disclosure to unauthorized persons;

(2) Technical proposals submitting data marked in accordance with § 183.109 of this chapter will be accepted and handled in accordance with that section; and

(3) Any references to price or cost will be removed;

(c) Technical evaluation of the proposals shall be based upon the criteria contained in the request for technical proposals and such evaluation shall not include consideration of capacity or credit (see § 18-1.705-6). Upon completion of the technical evaluation, each proposal shall be categorized as acceptable or unacceptable. Proposals shall not be categorized as unacceptable when a reasonable effort on the part of the Government to obtain clarification or additional information could bring the proposals to an acceptable status and thus increase competition. The contracting officer shall arrange for any necessary discussions with sources submitting technical proposals. When, after discussion, clarification, and submission of necessary documentation for incorporation in the proposal, technical proposals are determined to be acceptable, they shall be so categorized. If, however, it is determined at any time that, a technical proposal is not reasonably susceptible to being made acceptable, it should be classified as unacceptable and further discussion of it is unnecessary.

(d) Upon final determination that a technical proposal is unacceptable, the contracting officer shall promptly notify the source submitting the proposal of that fact. The notice shall state that revision of his proposal will not be considered, and shall indicate, in general terms, the basis for the determination for example, that rejection was based on failure to furnish sufficient information or

on

an unacceptable engineering approach.

(e) If, as a result of the evaluation of technical proposals, it appears necessary i to discontinue two-step formal advertising, a statement setting forth the full facts and circumstances shall be made si part of the contract file. Each source will be notified in writing of the discontinuance and the reason therefor. When step one results in no acceptable technical proposal or only one acceptable technical proposal, the procurement may be continued by negotiation under the authority of § 18-3.210-2(c). (But see § 18ૐ 3.210-3.)

§ 18-2.503-2 Step two.

Upon completion of step one, a formally advertised procurement in accordance with Subparts 18-2.2, 18-2.3, and 18-2.4 will be conducted, except that invitations for bids:

(a) Will be issued only to and considered only from those sources whose technical proposals have been evaluated and determined to be acceptable under step one;

(b) Will include the following statement

This invitation for bids is issued pursuant to two-step formal advertising set forth in Subpart 18-2.5, of this chapter.

Bids will be considered only from those firms who have submitted acceptable tech-; nical proposals pursuant to the first step of such procedures, as initiated by (identify the request for technical proposals). Any bidder who has submitted multiple technical proposals in the first step of this two-step procurement may submit a separate bid covering each technical proposal which has been determined acceptable by the Government (January 1964)

(c) Will prominently state that the supplies or services to be procured wit be in accordance with the specifications and the bidder's technical proposal, as finally accepted, under the request for technical proposals. This may be accomplished in the Schedule item description by a provision substantially in the form of the following example: