In this lesson you will learn some important aspects of the competitive source selection process. This process, when properly executed, enables us to obtain best-value contracts for the Government. We will cover the types of information exchanges allowed between the offerors and the Government, and how information exchanges help us understand the offerors' proposals which in turn helps the government make a best value selection. In addition, we will discuss how to prepare for and conduct negotiations with an offeror. We will also review and evaluate a prospective contractor's financial health and determine whether adequate financial resources exist to perform the contract. Our evaluation will enable the contracting officer to make a determination on whether or not the offeror is 'responsible' in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). The Source Selection Authority (SSA) determines the offeror whose proposal is the best value for the government. Source Selection Role of Contracting Officer:  Focal point for answering RFP questions from offerors  Control ALL exchanges with offerors After the RFP is formally released the FAR requires me to be the focal point when answering questions from potential offerors. This means you can no longer discuss any aspect of this procurement with anyone outside of the SSEB and you must refer all inquiries to me. In other words, I am responsible for controlling all exchanges with potential or actual offerors Source Selection Rule #1: Do NOT disclose procurement sensitive information to unauthorized personnel. The first rule of source selection is to be careful not to disclose procurement sensitive information to unauthorized personnel. This pertains to fact finding and information exchanges as well as all other aspects of source selection. The trend in information exchange is to be as open as possible, but avoid any exchanges that would give an advantage to any one offeror. During your evaluation of each proposal, you will more than likely have some questions particular to that offeror's proposal. You will need to put your questions in writing and submit them to me. Developing questions to be answered by the offeror is commonly referred to as "fact finding". I will then send your fact finding questions to the offeror and the offeror will provide an answer. Source Selection Fact Finding:  Develop questions to be answered by offeror  Put in writing and submitted to Contracting Officer Depending on where we are in the source selection process and the nature of the question, the FAR defines these information exchanges with the contractor as clarifications, communications and negotiations, which includes bargaining and discussions. Source Selection Information Exchanges as defined by the FAR:  Clarifications  Communications  Negotiations o Bargaining o Discussions Information Exchange Diagram Fact-finding is that portion of the source selection process where the Government seeks to gain a complete understanding of the proposal and identify specific areas of concern. There are several types of information exchanges that support fact-finding activities. This graphic depicts the general information exchange process. The chart below shows the types of exchanges that are allowed during source selection and provides some details on each