FCC Contract Negotiation & Award Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under FAR Subpart 14.4, in sealed bidding, when must the government open bids?
- At the time and place designated in the Invitation for Bids (Correct answer)
- Within 10 business days of the bid submission deadline
- Only after all bids have been evaluated for technical acceptability
- Whenever the contracting officer deems appropriate
Correct answer: At the time and place designated in the Invitation for Bids
FAR 14.402-1 requires public opening of bids at the exact time and place stated in the IFB to ensure transparency and fairness.
Question 2: What is a 'best value continuum' in federal contracting source selection?
- A pricing strategy that always awards to the lowest bidder
- A range of acquisition approaches from lowest price technically acceptable to tradeoff (Correct answer)
- A mandatory checklist of evaluation criteria required by FAR
- A scoring system that ranks offerors numerically on a 100-point scale
Correct answer: A range of acquisition approaches from lowest price technically acceptable to tradeoff
The best value continuum (FAR 15.101) describes a spectrum of source selection approaches, with LPTA at one end and tradeoff processes at the other.
Question 3: Under the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection process, what happens if the lowest-priced offeror is technically unacceptable?
- The government negotiates with that offeror to bring them into compliance
- The government awards to the next lowest-priced technically acceptable offeror (Correct answer)
- The government reopens competition with new requirements
- The government applies a price premium to the next offeror
Correct answer: The government awards to the next lowest-priced technically acceptable offeror
Under LPTA, award goes to the lowest-priced offeror whose proposal meets all technical requirements — the next compliant offeror wins if the lowest is unacceptable.
Question 4: Which FAR provision governs the requirement to conduct a cost or price analysis before awarding a contract?
- FAR 15.404 (Correct answer)
- FAR 12.201
- FAR 16.103
- FAR 19.502
Correct answer: FAR 15.404
FAR 15.404 establishes the requirement for contracting officers to perform price or cost analysis to determine fair and reasonable pricing.
Question 5: What is a 'deficiency' in a proposal as defined under FAR 15.001?
- Any item that raises the price above the government estimate
- A material failure to meet a government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses that increases performance risk (Correct answer)
- A minor omission that can be corrected without revising the proposal
- A proposal that fails to include a signed representations and certifications form
Correct answer: A material failure to meet a government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses that increases performance risk
FAR 15.001 defines a deficiency as a material failure to meet a government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses that increases the risk of unsuccessful performance.
Question 6: When is award without discussions permitted under FAR 15.306(a)?
- Only when fewer than three offerors submit proposals
- When the solicitation states that award may be made without discussions and the initial proposals are acceptable (Correct answer)
- When all offerors submit identical technical approaches
- Never — discussions are always required in negotiated procurements
Correct answer: When the solicitation states that award may be made without discussions and the initial proposals are acceptable
FAR 15.306(a)(2) allows award on initial proposals when the solicitation notified offerors that discussions might not be held and the proposals are acceptable as submitted.
Question 7: What is the primary legal basis for requiring offerors to certify the accuracy of cost or pricing data?
- Competition in Contracting Act (CICA)
- Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) / 10 U.S.C. 3702 (Correct answer)
- Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA)
- Prompt Payment Act
Correct answer: Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) / 10 U.S.C. 3702
TINA (codified at 10 U.S.C. 3702 and 41 U.S.C. 3502) requires contractors to certify that cost or pricing data submitted to the government is accurate, complete, and current.
FCC Contract Negotiation & Award Procedures 3
Under FAR Subpart 14.4, in sealed bidding, when must the government open bids?