3.5 Discussion Process

Competitive Range

If the competitive range is further reduced for purposes of efficiency, the basis for this reduction must be adequately documented. Considerations for further restricting competition may include expected dollar value of the award, complexity of the acquisition and solutions proposed, and extent of available resources (see FAR 15.306(c)).

NOTE: Predetermined cut-off ratings (e.g., setting a minimum rating or identifying a predetermined number of offerors to be included in the competitive range) must not be established. The government may not limit a competitive range for the purposes of efficiency on the basis of technical scores alone.

The PCO, with approval of the SSA, should continually reassess the competitive range as discussions and evaluations continue to ensure neither the government nor the offerors waste resources by keeping proposals in the competitive range that are no longer contenders for award (see DoD Source Selection Procedures 3.4 and 3.5.3).

Discussions

The government’s objectives, to include the competitive range decision narrative, shall be fully documented in the prenegotiation objective memorandum (POM) prior to entering into discussions (See FAR 15.406-1 and DFARS PGI 215.406-1).

Meaningful discussions do not include advising the individual offerors on how to revise their proposal nor does it include information on how their proposal compares to other offerors’ proposals.

Additionally, discussions must not be misleading. An agency’s framing of a discussion question may not inadvertently mislead an offeror to respond in a manner that does not address the agency’s concerns, or that misinforms the offeror concerning its proposal weaknesses or deficiencies or the government’s requirements.