430 - Advisory Multi-Step Process
Government and industry are “encouraged to communicate” in the FAR…that’s nice…but how do they do that? How can the government and industry teams actually execute that “encouragement”? What exactly do the regulations say that government can DO to communicate? In this episode, we give two specific examples of HOW to communicate based on specific direction and language in the FAR.
For starters, we cover an important and recent update to FAR 1.102-4(a)(4). Words matter…and these words matter a lot.
The language changed from the government having to provide a “fair competitive environment" to now the government is to avoid giving an "unfair competitive advantage to a particular firm”. We outline why that means, and why it’s a big deal.
Then, we take this FAR language one step further, and apply it to one of the concepts in the FAR that specifically allows government folks to engage with industry. Namely, the Multi-Step advisory process. This is a formal, documented communication process that is specifically designed to happen during the MARKET RESEARCH ZONE….before the government releases the solicitation.
The Multi-Step Advisory process, in FAR 15.202, allows government to provide direct and meaningful advice on how likely an offeror is to win a particular contract…BEFORE they bid.
Now THAT is open communication.
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