(a) FAR 36.602-1 requires that agencies include “location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of locality of the project” as one of several selection criteria.

(1)  Do not use this evaluation factor as a minimum qualification requirement for determining whether a firm is eligible to compete for a proposed project.

(2)  This factor must not exceed 5 percent of the total weight of all evaluation criteria. In order to receive the maximum score for this factor, the architect-engineer firm(s) must demonstrate that at least 35 percent of the architect-engineer contract services (based on the total contract price) will be accomplished within the geographical boundaries established for the project.

(3) FAR Deviation. Under an approved class deviation from FAR 36.602-1(a)(5), this factor does not apply to projects that the Chief Architect of GSA determines have national significance.

(4) For procurements that are not project specific, such as indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contracts, evaluate based on the geographical area(s) covered by the contract.

(b)  The public announcement for a proposed project should identify the general geographical area of the project such as:

(1)  A radius in miles or other appropriate unit of measure, or

(2)  The Metropolitan Statistical Area, county(ies), or state(s) surrounding the project.

(c)  For more information on the Architect Engineer selection process, see the GSA Design Excellence Policies and Procedures at http://gsa.gov/designexcellence.

(a)  Architect-engineer evaluation board members must be experts in the fields of architecture, engineering or related design professions, such as landscape architecture, urban design and interior design, except as provided in paragraph (b)(3). Board members must also collectively have expertise in construction, government, and related acquisition matters.

(b)  The majority of the board members must be GSA employees. Evaluation boards must not exceed five (5) voting members. If fewer, the board must have an odd number of voting members. The voting members of the evaluation board shall include:

(1)  One (1) highly qualified architect or a related design professional employed by GSA.

(2)  One (1) highly qualified engineer employed by GSA.

(3)  One (1) representative of the Chief Architect of GSA or another GSA design professional.

(4)  Consistent with FAR 36.602-2(a), private practitioners (e.g., GSA National Register of Peer Professionals, regional architecture professionals, community representatives).

(c)  A maximum of one (1) representative of the client organization(s), at the client’s option[, if applicable, may participate as a voting member in the activities of the evaluation board. Although not mandatory, GSA strongly recommends that this voting member be a highly qualified design professional.

(d)  A maximum of two (2) non-voting advisors may participate in all activities of the evaluation board except voting. The client organization(s) may have only one (1) non-voting advisor to the board. The GSA may also have one non-voting advisor.

(e) Contracting officers should attend all board meetings and all external communications shall route through the contracting officer.

(f)  Other than the individuals appointed under paragraphs (b) through (e), there must be no other advisors, or participants in the official activities of the board.

(g)  The selection authority officially appoints the evaluation board members.

(h)  Each board member, including advisors, must sign a “Conflict of Interest Acknowledgement and Nondisclosure Agreement” ( 515.305-71 Actions before releasing proposals.) before the activities of the board commence. No person may serve as a board member if that person or any member of that person’s family has any direct financial or employment interest in any of the firms being evaluated. The board member is responsible for identifying any possible conflict of interest once the competing architect-engineer firms have been identified. If a conflict of interest is identified, the contracting officer shall determine whether to disqualify the member from the board.

(a) The evaluation board performs the functions described in FAR 36.602-3.

(b)  Proposals shall be protected in accordance with FAR 3.104.

(c)  Evaluation boards recommend, in order of preference, the most highly qualified architect-engineer firms for the specific project to the selection authority.

(1)  Each board member is responsible individually for evaluating and rating the qualifications of each firm being considered following the established evaluation criteria.

(2)  The Chairperson of the board must maintain the integrity of the evaluation process and ensure that the final selection report is prepared and submitted to the selection authority.

(a) The Chief Architect of GSA is delegated as the selection authority for architect-engineer procurements. This authority may be re-delegated in accordance with service-level policy to appropriate officials.

(b) The selection authority reviews the recommendations from the evaluation board which lists in order of preference the most highly qualified architect-engineer firms. If the selection authority does not concur with the recommendation from the evaluation board, the selection authority must provide to the contracting officer a written explanation of the reason.

The Architect-Engineer topic page on the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal contains specific job aids, which must be used to ensure consistent application of the 6 percent fee limitation in accordance with FAR Part 15.404-4(c)(4)(i)(B), for architect-engineer services for public works or utilities for production and delivery of designs, plans, drawings, and specifications.