COR Source Selection & Evaluation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is an Evaluation Factor in source selection?
- A financial penalty applied to late proposals
- A criterion used to assess and compare offerors' proposals (Correct answer)
- The minimum price the government will accept
- A mandatory disclosure required in all proposals
Correct answer: A criterion used to assess and compare offerors' proposals
An evaluation factor is a criterion established in the solicitation that is used to assess and compare offerors' proposals during source selection.
Question 2: Which of the following is NOT a common adjectival rating used in technical evaluations?
- Outstanding
- Good
- Marginal
- Compliant (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Compliant
Common adjectival ratings include Outstanding, Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Unacceptable; 'Compliant' is not a standard adjectival rating in the DoD/FAR rating system.
Question 3: A Competitive Range in FAR Part 15 acquisitions is established to:
- Set the price range within which all offers must fall
- Include only the most highly-rated proposals for further negotiation (Correct answer)
- Identify offerors with experience in the local area
- Limit the number of proposals to exactly three
Correct answer: Include only the most highly-rated proposals for further negotiation
A competitive range is established by the contracting officer to include only the most highly-rated proposals for communications (discussions) before best and final offers.
Question 4: When evaluating proposals, a COR technical evaluator must:
- Share their scores with other evaluators before completing independent review
- Evaluate proposals independently before group consensus discussions (Correct answer)
- Contact offerors directly to clarify proposal details
- Apply different standards based on offeror size
Correct answer: Evaluate proposals independently before group consensus discussions
Technical evaluators must complete their independent evaluations before participating in group discussions to prevent anchoring bias and ensure objective individual assessments.
Question 5: What is the purpose of Exchanges with Offerors (Discussions) after competitive range determination?
- To allow offerors to increase their proposed prices
- To give offerors the opportunity to address weaknesses and deficiencies (Correct answer)
- To inform eliminated offerors of the selection decision
- To negotiate final performance incentives
Correct answer: To give offerors the opportunity to address weaknesses and deficiencies
Discussions allow offerors in the competitive range to address identified weaknesses, deficiencies, and other aspects of their proposals to improve their chances of award.
Question 6: Which term describes an aspect of a proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance?
- Strength
- Deficiency
- Weakness (Correct answer)
- Risk Factor
Correct answer: Weakness
A weakness is a flaw in the proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance; a deficiency is a more severe flaw that fails to meet requirements.
Question 7: A 'significant weakness' in FAR Part 15 terminology means:
- Any minor deviation from the Statement of Work
- A flaw that appreciably increases risk of unsuccessful contract performance (Correct answer)
- An administrative error in pricing
- A missing signature on the proposal cover page
Correct answer: A flaw that appreciably increases risk of unsuccessful contract performance
A significant weakness is defined as a flaw in the proposal that appreciably increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance, warranting discussion.
COR Source Selection & Evaluation 3
What is an Evaluation Factor in source selection?