CONTRACTS UNLIMITED, INC.

Contracts Unlimited specializes in the preparation of proposals, and the formation and administration of commercial and government contracts for both large and small businesses. Our areas of expertise cover international software development work, software licenses, commercial sales contracts, employment agreements, GSA Schedules, Government cost-plus, T&M or firm fixed price contracts and subcontracts. We also have been very successful in negotiating contracts, preparing confidentiality agreements, and administering and interpreting such agreements for our clients. Want to know more? Click here.

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Because the issues are complex, Contracts Unlimited President Tom Petruska prepares or obtains articles on a monthly basis to explain the impact of GAO and court rulings on federal contracting and on other agreements. This month, he has written Proposal Preparation Instructions in Government Contracting.

Proposal Preparation Instructions

In accordance with the Uniform Contract Format, every Request for Proposal (“RFP”) includes, or should include, in Part IV Representations and Instructions, a section called Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors, also commonly referred to as the “solicitation provisions.” It is usually Section L of the RFP. Generally, this section of the RFP provides critical information to competitors who want to submit a proposal to the Government. These instructions explain the type of information the Government expects to see in the proposals it receives. This information will explain what technical, management, cost, past performance, and contractual information Offerors must furnish in their proposal in order to be considered for an award. The instructions in Section L provide Offerors guidance regarding the information that must be submitted in the proposal so the agency can adequately evaluate the factors and subfactors in Section M,

The GAO stated that “the question before is not what the agency could do, but rather what it was required to do.” The GAO decided that the Army here was not required to reformat, or permit the Protester to reformat, the proposal. The GAO continued by stating that “the solicitation requirements at issue are clear, and were not contested by the Protester.” The moral of the story here is clear. Answer the mail exactly as required by the solicitation. Avoid some type of clever “work around” of the instructions. Do not – under any circumstance – ignore the proposal instructions. Do not waste tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in bid and proposal (“B&P“) monies, and your valuable time, by ignoring the proposal instructions and then be eliminated from the competitive range. Don't be arrogant and assume the proposal instructions do not apply to you. They do!

Compliance Programs: Ineffective Programs Can Create “False Claims Act” Liability

Discussions After Final Proposals, the Case with Federal Contracting

Key Personnel Clauses in Federal Government RFP

Timely Submission of Proposals in Response to Federal RFPs

Options in Federal Contracts

There are more articles. You can see the full list of articles here.