**INDUSTRY DAY, PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE, DEBRIEFINGS, POST AWARD
CONFERENCE TEAM FINDINGS**

The team was tasked with facilitating discussion between the Government
and Industry on the following topics:

-   Industry Day

-   Pre-proposal Conferences

-   Debriefings

-   Post Award Issues

The following pages provide a discussion on each topic. Each topic is
split into two sections. The first section is a draft attempt of how
each topic should be approached. The second section is a thorough list
of the comments presented by both industry and NASA. Each comment has
been referenced back to the first section in an attempt to show that the
comment has been addressed in the "how to" section.

The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), the NASA FAR Supplement, and
the JSC Procurement Instructions were not strictly consulted for
development of the "how to" sections for several reasons. First, some of
the topics are not clearly defined in these documents. Second, it was
believed that citing these documents would have restricted the outcome
of the exercise by inhibiting the Government's ability to openly accept
Industry's comments.

Greg LeStourgeon

Team Leader

**INDUSTRY DAY HOW TO**

1.  **[Purpose]{.underline}**

The purpose of industry day is to provide industry an opportunity to
have a better understanding of the forth coming procurement, give
industry an opportunity to build teaming arrangements, give the
Government an early opportunity to introduce key players and preliminary
aspects of the procurement to industry, and give the Government another
means to collect market research data.

**[2.0 When to Hold Industry Day]{.underline}**

Industry day should occur early in the procurement planning process. The
procurement objectives should be defined well enough so that industry is
capable of effectively planning proposal and teaming and partnering
strategies. Industry Day should be held in advance of the issuance of
the Draft RFP.

The appropriate opportunity to announce Industry Day is as part of the
initial synopsis requesting interest by industry in the forthcoming
procurement. At that time, the Government should have completed a
preliminary description of its objectives, determined the technical and
procurement leads, and developed an initial procurement schedule.

Industry Day serves as another opportunity to gather market research
data. Therefore Industry Day should be held early enough in the
procurement planning process to allow data gained to be fed into the
market research requirements.

**[3.0 Conditions Under Which Industry Day Would be Most
Advantageous]{.underline}**

Industry Day should not be limited to competitive procurements. Industry
day could be valuable to procurements that are both competitive and
noncompetitive given the circumstances illustrated below.

[Significant Subcontracting Opportunities]{.underline} \-- Large
technically complex procurements usually offer a wide variety of
subcontracting opportunities. Procurements that are not set aside for
small businesses require subcontracting plans for a significant portion
of the effort. Industry Day provides an excellent opportunity for major
players to meet small businesses interested in participating in the
procurement.

[Consolidated or Bundled Procurements]{.underline} \-- Procurements that
are consolidated or bundled usually contain a wide variety of tasks that
may exceed the capabilities of one company. Industry Day would serve as
an early opportunity for industry to examine partnering and
subcontracting opportunities.

[Procurement Set-asides]{.underline} -- While subcontracting plans are
not required, Industry Day provides the opportunity for small businesses
to gain an early understanding of the requirement and contemplate the
need for subcontracting or partnering.

[Procurements Conducted at Multiple Geographic Locations]{.underline} --
Procurements that are performed at multiple geographic locations add a
dimension of difficulty for industry. Potential prime contractors and
subcontractors may be unaware of opportunities to create teaming
arrangements because they may be unfamiliar with companies located at
the different geographic sites. Industry Day will provide an opportunity
for potential contractors to meet and begin teaming arrangements.

[New or Innovative Work to a Center]{.underline} -- When a new
requirement is developed, it would be advantageous to the Government
procurement team to hold an Industry Day so that it can gage industry's
interest in the procurement. The Government may be able to gain a better
understanding of industry's interests and capabilities.

**[4.0 Notification to Industry of an Industry Day]{.underline}**

Industry should be notified via either a Request for Information
synopsis or a Pre-solicitation synopsis. Updates for Industry Day should
be published to the procurement website.

**[5.0 Where Should Industry Day Occur]{.underline}**

Industry Day should be conducted at the facility requiring the effort.
If the effort to be provided is not located at the facility requiring
the effort, then Industry Day may be held at the worksite.

**[6.0 Who Should Attend]{.underline}**

The Government Technical and Procurement Leads should attend. The
Government Leads are responsible for presenting the content of Industry
Day.

Any contractors interested in the effort should attend.

**[7.0 Content of the Industry Day Presentation]{.underline}**

The presentation to industry should include:

a.  Introduction of Government Technical and Procurement Leads

b.  Provide background of the procurement

c.  Description of procurement and Government expectations

    a.  Discuss size and scope

    b.  Discuss complexity issues

    c.  Discuss procurement strategies and approach

    d.  Present questions or input desired from industry

    e.  Discuss any known subcontracting opportunities

    f.  Provide preliminary schedule of the procurement

    g.  Provide opportunity for attendees to submit names and addresses
        so that an interested parties list can be generated and
        published on the procurement website

    h.  Provide procurement website and url for industry to review the
        procurement requirements, schedule and technical library

**[8.0 Industry Requested One-on-One Sessions]{.underline}**

Parties interested in competing for a procurement are often looking for
a better understanding of the procurement. Many parties would like a
one-on-one discussion with the Government Technical and Procurement
Leads for the procurement. If one-on-one discussions are permitted, the
following rules should be followed:

a\. Discussions should be scheduled near Industry Day and before the
Draft RFP

> is released.
>
> b\. One-on-one discussions should be scheduled for a limited amount of
> time.
>
> c\. The Government needs to be careful during discussions that it does
> not
>
> inadvertently give a competitive edge to a company. The Government
> also
>
> needs to guard against inadvertently failing to provide information to
> a
>
> company that it had provided to other companies.
>
> d\. The Government needs to guard against recommending or appearing to
>
> recommend courses of action to a potential bidder with regards to the
> forth
>
> coming procurement.

e\. One-on-one discussions should be documented **[for internal use
only]{.underline}**.

**TEAM COMMENTS ON INDUSTRY DAY**

Comments provided by Industry and the Government on Industry Day and
where they can be found in the document above

1\. Purpose; early heads up for procurement\\ *(See Sec 1 and 2)*

a\. Synopsis (Sources Sought) (TF) *(See Sec 2)*

b\. Allows partnering opportunities for contractor community *(See Sec
1and 2)*

c\. Provide Government opportunity for early market analysis *(See Sec 1
and 2)*

d\. Opportunity to meet NASA responsible officials *(See Sec 6 and 7)*

e\. Allow one on one sessions between RFP leads, procurement leads, and

> bidders *(See Sec 8)*

f.  Nothing recorded/informal discussions *(See Sec 8)*

g.  Idea of size, scope, and competition *(See Sec 7)*

2\. Items of Importance

a\. Companies of interest list *(See Sec 7)*

b\. Companies clearly identified *(See Sec 7)*

c\. Threshold (Regulatory)

1\. function of complexity and value *(See Sec 7)*

2\. will require teaming or subcontracting *(See Sec 3)*

3\. contract service longer than a year

4\. new or innovative contract or programming *(See Sec 3)*

e\. work new to center (or extended to Glenn) *(See Sec 3)*

f\. multi center contracts *(See Sec 3)*

When *(See Sec 2)*

-   Early in the planning process for the Government

-   When the overall purpose of the contract has been defined

-   But before the draft RFP has been written

Notice to Industry *(See Sec 4)*

-   Initial synopsis that requests industry responses also announces
    Industry Day

-   Industry Day becomes part of Government's market analysis

What Content *(See Sec 7)*

-   Provides background

    -   Of the government procuring organization (their mission
        statement)

    -   Of the work (follow-on? New?)

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-   Identifies key government personnel (technical and contracting)
    leading the

procurement effort

-   Identifies major elements of the acquisition strategy/acquisition
    approaches

-   Provides the estimated schedule

    -   Helps industry plan even if the draft RFP won't be released for
        another 6 months

```{=html}
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```
-   Presentation of any questions/input the government wants industry to
    answer or provide

    -   (e. g. should an integrated Master Plan & Schedule be part of
        contract requirements?)

```{=html}
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```
-   Website url where Government plans to provide reference material

Recommended Other Items *(See Sec 8)*

-   Schedule one-on-one sessions between individual contractor companies
    and the Government personnel for time slots just after presentation
    (afternoon or next day)

-   These are requested by the contractor and the Government assigns a
    timeslot of either an hour or more for discussions

-   These discussions do not become part of the Q&As that are posted,
    but allow the contractors to share those elements that concern them
    most about the procurement

-   Allows the contractor time to answer the Government's questions
    posed to industry in a private setting

Value

-   This early sharing of information allows the government to refine
    their strategy and details of the acquisition even before going to
    draft RFP

**PREPROPOSAL CONFERENCE HOW TO**

**[1.0 Purpose]{.underline}**

The purpose of the pre-proposal conference is to provide industry a
better understanding of the subject procurement so that industry may
provide a more comprehensive proposal or bid addressing the Government
requirements.

**[2.0 When to Hold a Pre-proposal Conference]{.underline}**

Pre-proposal conferences are required for procurements in excess of \$10
million, but may be held at any level, at the discretion of the
evaluation team. Pre-proposal conferences should be held in instances
where the effort required is complex, the contract requires extensive
use of Government facilities, contract terms and conditions are complex,
or in any situation the Government determines that additional
clarification to industry would be useful.

Pre-proposal conferences should occur after the draft RFP/IFB has been
released and before the final RFP/IFB is released. This allows industry
an opportunity to become familiar with the SOW and requirements prior to
the pre-proposal conference. This would also permit industry to submit
comments or questions, prior to the pre-proposal conference that should
be discussed during the pre-proposal conference.

In the event a draft RFP is not issued, the conference should occur at a
time after release of the RFP/IFB allowing potential contractors to gain
an initial understanding of the RFP and prior to submittal of the
proposal allowing significant time for contractors to incorporate
conference data into their proposals/bids.

**[3.0 Planning a Pre-proposal Conference]{.underline}**

When a pre-proposal conference is planned, the Government should allow
adequate time to address any issues it considers relevant to the
procurement or any concerns industry has forwarded for discussion.
Contractors should be given ample opportunity to question the Government
on each topic on the agenda after each topic is concluded or at the end
of the conference on any topic desired.

**[4.0 Notification to Participants]{.underline}**

Notification of pre-proposal conferences should be provided far enough
in advance to permit travel for those individuals not located in an area
near the location of the conference. Notification of the conference and
a posting of the conference agenda should be provided through the
procurement website.

**[5.0 Use of a Procurement Specific Web Page]{.underline}**

If the required effort is a follow-on effort, the Government should
further aid contractors in the development of a proposal strategy and
help them prepare for the pre-proposal conference by placing the
existing contract, including SOW, on the procurement web page. The web
page should contain POCs such as the contracting officer and
[board/committee chairperson]{.mark}. Notification of events such as the
pre-proposal conference should be posted to the web page. The
pre-proposal conference agenda and presentation slides should be posted
to the web prior to the conference. The web page should also contain a
ROM schedule of the procurement timeline. The web page should be kept up
to date at all times.

**[6.0 Government Participants in the Pre-proposal
Conference]{.underline}**

Government participants should include the evaluation team (includes
technical, contracting officer, and price analyst), recorder, S&MA (if
not on the evaluation team), and committee members, as appropriate. If
property and resource management are issues, the JSC property specialist
and resource analyst should be included. Specialists from other
Government agencies such as SBA, DCMA, and DCAA should be invited to
participate, depending on the role they will play in the evaluation of
proposals and requirements content.

**[7.0 Contractor Participants in the Pre-proposal
Conference]{.underline}**

The contractor should be encouraged to bring personnel with expertise
covering technical, financial, quality, property, safety requirements,
or any other type of expertise required to understand specific issues
with the procurement. However, due to limitations on space, the
Government may impose a limit to the number of participants allowed per
contactor. The Government will take requirements and potential issues
into consideration when determining a limit per contractor.

**[8.0 Government Dry Run of the Pre-proposal Conference]{.underline}**

The contracting officer should convene the Government participants
having a role in the pre-proposal conference and conduct a dry run. The
purpose being to ensure that useful information will be given to the
contractors attending the conference. The Government needs to be as
forthcoming as possible with information that will enable contractors to
provide as responsive a proposal as possible.

**[9.0 Conference Agenda Topics]{.underline}**

The conference should have an agenda covering conference events. Events
should include, but are not limited to:

a.  Introductory comments -- Opening remarks welcoming contractors to
    the conference

b.  Introduce evaluation team and provide their expertise and roles
    (includes pricing support, S&MA, property, resource management, and
    committee members, if relevant)

c.  Introduce support team members such as SBA, ACO, DCMA, NCAS, or DCAA
    and explain extent of support

d.  Discuss planned procurement schedule and explain evaluation process
    and define milestones.

e.  Provide discussion of procurement SOW, DRDs, delivery expectations,
    and any special terms and conditions

    a.  During the discussion, the evaluation team should discuss the
        overall intent of the SOW and delivery requirements, including
        hardware, services, reports, and DRDs. Quality and S&MA
        requirements should be discussed with regard to their impact on
        the procurement products and delivery schedules.

    b.  If evaluation team members are responsible for specific sections
        of the SOW, they should explain their sections thoroughly and
        provide in-depth discussion of the importance of their piece of
        the SOW.

    c.  If appropriate, the evaluation team should identify the most
        critical pieces of the requirements allowing the contractor the
        overall effort from the most critical tasks to the least
        critical tasks.

    d.  The contracting officer should discuss special issues such as
        contract type and format. If the contract is award fee, explain
        the process and the evaluation criteria or areas of emphasis, if
        known. Explain clauses relating to EVM and property reporting,
        if applicable. Explain options, if applicable. Explain all
        special clauses that may have significant impact to the effort.

f.  Discuss the evaluation criteria and how they relate to the
    Government requirements. If possible, provide examples of effort
    that would warrant high versus low evaluation scores.

g.  Discuss the Government's pricing methodology.

    a.  Provide an insight into how the Government will price proposals.
        Discuss cost realism and should cost evaluation processes.

    b.  Discuss expected manpower distribution, which should be part of
        Section L of the draft RFP. If possible, provide insight into
        what organizations will be supported, if the effort includes
        support services. Discuss skill expectations. Use IGE estimates
        to determine what would be acceptable skill ranges to
        successfully meet requirements.

h.  Discuss PQA requirements as they relate to the technical
    requirements of the procurement. Where possible encourage
    specialists to address their function and how it relates to the
    requirement.

i.  If used, the pre-award survey should be discussed.

j.  Provide tours of facilities or work environments, whether onsite or
    offsite, that are needed to meet the procurement requirements and
    that will be supported by contractors.

    a.  As a minimum, tour guides should provide in-depth information
        regarding:

        i.  How the facilities relate to the procurement requirements

        ii. Operations of the facilities

        iii. Facilities maintenance

        iv. Safety requirements or potential safety issues

        v.  Badging requirements if the areas are restricted

        vi. Sharing arrangements if the facilities are shared with the
            Government or other contractors

**TEAM COMMENTS ON PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE**

Comments provided by Industry and the Government on Pre-proposal
Conference Meeting Held 6/21/05 and where they can be found in the
document above

1.  Clarification of SOW

    a.  SOW clarification *(see Section 9.e, paragraphs a through d)*

    b.  Discussion RFP/IFB *(see Section 9.e paragraphs a through d)*

    c.  Clarification of SOW that says what NASA thinks it says versus
        what I think it says *(see Section 9.e paragraphs a through d)*

    d.  SOW definition clarification *(see Section 9.e paragraphs a
        through d)*

2.  PQA Pre-award Survey, include special functions or offices

    a.  Quality company reps at pre-proposal conference *(see Section
        7)*

    b.  SBA specialist if SBA is applicable *(see Section 6 and 9.c)*

    c.  PQA Pre-award survey included in RFP/RFQ *(seeSection9.h and
        9.i)*

    d.  Functional specialist address technical requirements *(see
        Section 9.h)*

    e.  Include special functions or offices such as SBA, PQA, DCMA as
        appropriate *(see Section 6 and 9.c)*

3.  Adequate Q&A discussion time *(see Section 3)*

4.  NASA listing of POCs for RFP/IFB *(see Section 5)*

5.  Schedule of Process/Decision Timeline *(see Section 9.d)*

6.  Rating criteria *(see Section 9.f)*

7.  Special issues or concerns in RFP/IFB *(see Section 9.e, paragraphs
    a through d)*

8.  Explanation of roles of evaluators *(see Section 9.b)*

9.  Provide copies of current SOW on re-compete versus a FOIA *(see
    Section 5)*

10. Extended opportunity to meet with technical or program management
    team

11. Provide presentation slides prior to conference *(see Section 5)*

12. Be willing to answer questions not just read slides *(see Section
    3)*

13. Create standard for facility visit *(see Section 5)*

    a.  Facilities onsite and offsite *(see Section 9.j)*

    b.  Create a template or a minimum standard for facility information
        *(see Section 9.j)*

14. Thorough clarification of QMS and S&MA requirements

    a.  Clarification of expectations i.e. QMS schedule deliverables
        *(see Section 9.e.a)*

    b.  Thorough S&MA requirements in solicitation *(see Section 9.e.a)*

15. Pricing requirements

    a.  Overview of pricing requirements *(see Section 9.g)*

    b.  Organization chart and deployment *(see Section 9.g)*

    c.  Skills sizing *(see Section 9.g)*

16. Deliverables clarification *(see Section 9.e)*

17. Timely website and NASA Biz ops updates *(see Section 5)*

**DEBRIEFINGS HOW TO**

**[1.0 Purpose]{.underline}**

The purpose of a debriefing is to help the contractor understand their
weaknesses or deficiencies. The expectation is that this process will
enable a contractor to improve his proposal responses for future
acquisitions. This in turn would create a more competitive market
ensuring the Government would have stronger competitors from which to
choose.

**[2.0 Circumstances for Debriefing]{.underline}**

There are several opportunities within the competitive process for
contractors to request debriefings. These opportunities occur at the
point in which contractors are notified they are no longer in the
running to win the award. The points are after the initial proposal
review for responsiveness, after competitive range selection and after
notice of award.

Debriefings are divided into two categories, pre-award debriefings or
postaward debriefings. The major difference in these two debriefings is
in the data that can be given at the time the debriefing is requested
and the rules involving a post debriefing protest. See paragraphs 4.0
and 5.0 for descriptions of the data that can be given in each type of
debriefing.

Another opportunity for an "informal debriefing" can occur after a NAIS
code decision is made.

**[3.0 Who May Request a Debriefing]{.underline}**

Companies affected by the decisions described in Section 2.0 may request
debriefings. Additionally, contract award winners may request
debriefings. Although unlikely, a contractor selected for a
noncompetitive award could request a debriefing. Only one debriefing
will be given per proposal.

**[4.0 Pre-award Debriefings\*]{.underline}**

Offerors excluded from the competition before award may request a
debriefing before award in accordance with (10 U.S.C. 2305(b)(6)(A) and
41 U.S.C. 253b(f) - (h)). The offeror may request a pre-award debriefing
by submitting a written request for debriefing to the contracting
officer within 3 days after receipt of the notice of exclusion from the
competition.

The offer may elect to have the debriefing deferred until after award.
If the debriefing is delayed until after award, it shall include all
information normally provided in a postaward debriefing. Debriefings
delayed until after award could affect the timeliness of any protest
filed subsequent to the debriefing.

If the offeror does not submit a timely written request for a
debriefing, the Government is not obligated to provide either a
pre-award or a postaward debriefing. Although the Government is not
obligated to hold debriefings after the opportunity period has run out,
it could be determined to be in the Government's best interest to hold
the debriefing in order to help the contractor provide more responsive
proposals in the future.

The contracting officer shall make every effort to debrief the
unsuccessful offeror as soon as practicable, but may refuse the request
for a debriefing if, for compelling reasons, it is not in the best
interests of the Government to conduct a debriefing at that time. The
rationale for delaying the debriefing shall be documented in the
contract file. If the contracting officer delays the debriefing, it
shall be provided no later than the time postaward debriefings are
provided. In that event, the contracting officer shall include the
information required in FAR 15.506(d) in the debriefing.

Debriefings may be conducted orally, in writing, or by any other method
acceptable to the contracting officer. Debriefing material (whether an
outline for an oral debriefing or the content of a written debriefing)
shall be reviewed by the JSC Legal Office prior to debriefings.

The contracting officer should normally chair any debriefing session
held. Individuals who conducted the evaluations shall provide support.

At a minimum, preaward debriefings shall include:

1.  The agency's evaluation of significant elements in the offeror's
    proposal;

2.  A summary of the rationale for eliminating the offeror from the
    competition;

3.  Reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source
    selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable
    regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed in the
    process of eliminating the offeror from the competition.

Pre-award debriefings shall not disclose:

1.  The number of offerors;

2.  The identity of other offerors;

3.  The content of other offerors' proposals;

4.  The ranking of other offerors;

5.  The evaluation of other offerors; or

6.  Any of the information prohibited in 15.506(e).

An official summary of the debriefing shall be included in the contract
file.

**[5.0 Postaward Debriefings\*\*]{.underline}**

The offeror must request a postaward debriefing within 3 days of
notified that award has been made. The request must be made in writing.

In accordance with a properly executed request, the Government shall
provide a debriefing and furnish the basis for the selection decision
and contract award. To the maximum extent practicable, the debriefing
should occur within 5 days after receipt of the written request.
Offerors that requested a postaward debriefing in lieu of a preaward
debriefing, or whose debriefing was delayed for compelling reasons
beyond contract award, also should be debriefed within this time period.

An offeror that was notified of exclusion from the competition
(preaward), but failed to submit a timely request for debriefing, is not
entitled to a debriefing. However, untimely debriefing requests may be
accommodated, if the government believes it is in its best interest.

Government accommodation of a request for delayed debriefing as a result
of a preaward notification that the offeror is no longer in the
competition for award, or any untimely debriefing request, does not
automatically extend the deadlines for filing protests. Debriefings
delayed pursuant to FAR 15.505(a)(2) could affect the timeliness of any
protest filed subsequent to the debriefing.

Debriefings of successful and unsuccessful offerors may be done orally,
in writing, or by any other method acceptable to the contracting
officer. Debriefing material (whether an outline for an oral debriefing
or the content of a written debriefing) shall be reviewed by the JSC
Legal Office prior to debriefings.

The contracting officer should normally chair any debriefing session
held. Individuals who conducted the evaluations shall provide support.

At a minimum, the debriefing information shall include:

1.  The Government's evaluation of the significant weaknesses or
    deficiencies in the offeror's proposal, if applicable;

2.  \(2\) The overall evaluated cost or price (including unit prices)
    and technical rating, if applicable, of the successful offeror and
    the debriefed offeror, and past performance information on the
    debriefed offeror;

3.  The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed
    by the agency during the source selection;

4.  A summary of the rationale for award;

5.  For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item
    to be delivered by the successful offeror; and

6.  Reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source
    selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable
    regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed.

The debriefing shall not include point-by-point comparisons of the
debriefed offeror's proposal with those of other offerors. Moreover, the
debriefing shall not reveal any information prohibited from disclosure
by FAR 24.202 or exempt from release under the Freedom of Information
Act (5 U.S.C. 552) including---

1.  Trade secrets;

2.  Privileged or confidential manufacturing processes and techniques;

3.  Commercial and financial information that is privileged or
    confidential, including cost breakdowns, profit, indirect cost
    rates, and similar information; and

4.  The names of individuals providing reference information about an
    offeror's past performance.

An official summary of the debriefing shall be included in the contract
file.

**[6.0 Debriefing of Offerors for Major systems Acquisitions or When
Multiple]{.underline}**

**[Awards are Made]{.underline}**

When an acquisition is conducted in accordance with the Major System
acquisition procedures in [Part
1834](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/1834.htm) and
multiple offerors are selected, the debriefing will be limited in such a
manner that it does not prematurely disclose innovative concepts,
designs, and approaches of the successful offerors that would result in
a transfusion of ideas.

When Phase B awards are made for alternative system design concepts, the
source selection statements shall not be released to competing offerors
or the general public until the release of the source selection
statement for Phase C/D without the approval of the Assistant
Administrator for Procurement (Code HS).

**[7.0 Who Attends the Debriefing]{.underline}**

The Government will be represented by the CO, the evaluation
chairperson, technical support as required, and a member of the JSC
Legal Office. The attendees should be kept to a minimum. The CO and the
evaluation chairperson will ultimately decide who may attend.

The Contractor should bring the technical proposal leader, the Program
Manager for the effort, the Senior Contract Administrator responsible
for the proposal, and anyone else they deem appropriate for the
debriefing. However, the attendees should be kept to a minimum.

**[8.0 Suggestions for Additional Information]{.underline}**

Contractors may submit questions as part of the debriefing request. This
would give the Government an opportunity to prepare specific information
answering specific contractor concerns for the debriefing. However, the
Government will not provide unallowable information as stipulated in
Sections 4 and 5 above.

\* Taken form FAR 15.505

\*\* Taken from FAR 15.506

**TEAM COMMENTS ON DEBRIEFINGS**

Comments provided by Industry and the government on Debriefings and
where they can be found in the document above.

1.  Give debriefing to winner *(See Sec 3)*

2.  Provide honest, straight-forward feedback with less legalese and
    scripting *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

3.  Include discussion on NASA's expectations in each section of the
    proposal *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

4.  NASA should provide go-bys or examples that provide data for
    contractors to improve weaknesses *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

5.  Provide copies of the proposal's strengths and weaknesses for their
    specific proposal and explain *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

6.  Explain what made awardees stand out *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

7.  Provide competitive range discriminators *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

8.  Provide evaluation data regarding S&MA requirements *(See Sec 4 and
    5)*

9.  Provide an opportunity for contractors to submit questions to NASA
    prior to the debriefing *(See Sec 8)*

10. Provide an evaluation that compares contractor's proposal to
    criteria/FAR *(See Sec 4 and 5)*

**POSTAWARD CONFERENCES HOW TO**

**[1.0 Purpose]{.underline}**

-   Achieve a clear and mutual understanding of all contract
    requirements

-   Identify and resolve potential problems

-   Maximum benefit realized when conducted [promptly]{.underline} after
    award

-   Changing the contract is not the purpose FAR 42.503-2

**[2.0 Considerations on Whether to Hold or Not]{.underline}**

-   Type, value, and complexity of procurement

-   Complexity/acquisition history of product or service

-   Contractor's status (e.g. small, SDB, woman-owned, etc.)

-   Safety issues (hazardous materials, etc.)

-   Complex financial arrangements (advanced or progress payments)

-   Whether the contractor has done business with the Government before

-   Government should hold a Post Award Conference if the contractor
    requests it

-   Government should hold a Post Award Conference if it has any reason
    to believe such a conference would be beneficial to both parties

**[3.0 Circumstances Requiring Mandatory Post Award
Conferences]{.underline}**

-   Contracts expected to exceed \$10M

-   Performance required at or near NASA installation or NASA controlled
    launch site

-   Excessive demand on contract resources such as DCMA

-   Complex contract administration problems expected

**[3.0 Who Should Attend]{.underline}**

-   Government key players

    -   Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist

    -   COTR, Alternate COTR, and TMRs

    -   Budget Analyst

    -   Property Administrator, if property involved

    -   Safety and Mission Assurance, if safety or quality issues exist

    -   DCMA or NCAS if significant insight/oversight required

    -   DCAA, if systems issues exist

-   Contractor key players

    -   Program and Deputy Program Manager

    -   Project Engineer or Project Manager

    -   Key Personnel, if identified in the contract

    -   Managers responsible for different levels of the WBS

    -   Contract Administrator

    -   Financial Analyst

    -   Safety/Quality Engineer

**[4.0 COs Responsibilities]{.underline}**

-   Establish time and place of conference

-   Prepare the agenda

-   Notifying both Government and Contractor attendees

    -   When notifying contractor, ask if they have any issues to cover
        that are not covered by the Government. If so, make time and
        personnel available to cover the issues during the conference.

-   Designating or acting as chairperson

-   Conduct preliminary meeting with Government attendees

-   Prepare summary report of conference (minutes of conference)

**[5.0 Conference Agenda]{.underline}**

-   A written conference agenda should be provided in advance to the
    Government participants and the contractor

    -   Provide a list of Government personnel supporting the
        procurement to the contractor as part of agenda package

        -   List should contain name, manner in which individual
            supports the contract, organization, physical address, phone
            number, and email address

-   Conference events should proceed as follows:

    -   Introduction of Government Participants

        -   Discuss each participant's role in the procurement

    -   Introduction of Contractor participants

        -   Discuss each participant's role in the procurement

        -   Contractor should provide written list of personnel
            supporting the contract to the Government

            -   List should contain name, manner in which individual
                supports the contract, organization, physical address,
                phone number, and email address

-   List of Subject/Items for discussion

    -   Each Subject/Item should have an associative contract reference

    -   Brief description of discussion points

    -   Lay out significant conclusion

    -   Identify plan to accomplish further action if necessary

-   Question and answer period

-   Contractor's opportunity to identify issues not identified by the
    Government

**[6.0 Summary Report Layout]{.underline}**

-   General information

    -   Contract number and value

    -   Type of contract

    -   Date of conference

    -   Name and address of contractor

-   List of Government and contractor attendees

    -   Attendance list should contain name, manner in which individual
        supports the contract, organization, physical address, phone
        number, and email address

-   List of Subject/Items that were discussed

    -   Each Subject/Item should have an associative contract reference

    -   Identify discussion points

    -   Identify significant conclusions

    -   Identify plan to accomplish further action if necessary

**[7.0 Conference Program Topics May include]{.underline}**

-   Conference topics may include any concern that either party has
    regarding accomplishment of the contractual requirements

-   Phase-in plan progress, if phase-in plan needed

-   Badging issues

-   WBS points that may need clarification or special attention

    -   Baseline and resource support of WBS

-   Risk if requirements not met

-   Contract reporting (DRLs and DRDs)

-   Delivery Schedules

    -   Expectations on high priority deliverables

    -   Expectation on performance related deliverables

-   Roles of major subcontractors and expected deliverables

    -   SB and SDB goal issues

-   Discuss 533 and EVM requirements

    -   How the data should be submitted

    -   How the data is evaluated

-   Contract Modifications processing

-   Property issues

-   Safety and quality issues

-   Funding issues

-   Invoice processing

-   Special contract provisions

    -   Award fee features

    -   IDIQ features

    -   Special incentives

**TEAM COMMENTS ON POST AWARD CONFERENCES**

Comments provided by Industry and the Government on Post Award
Conferences and where they can be found in the document above.

1.  Government and contractor provide adequate technical representation
    plus provide contact list for all contract critical needs (including
    major subs) *(See Sec 3 and 7)*

    a.  The ones who write the proposal are not the ones who implement
        it

        i.  Responsibility Assignment Matrix *(See Sec 5)*

            1.  NASA/Contractor Rep *(See Sec 5)*

            2.  POC Identification by SOW/CLIN *(See Sec 5)*

    b.  Develop a checklist to include name, phone number, and email
        address for the following:

        i.  POC Budget Analyst -- responsibility for finalizing 533
            format *(See Sec 5)*

        ii. POC responsible for analyzing CPR format, if EVM *(See Sec
            5)*

        iii. POC Property Administrator *(See Sec 5)*

        iv. Contractor presents any conflicts or apparent conflicts
            between new contract (including DRDs and attachments) noted
            in proposal to NASA for cleanup during Mod 1 *(See Sec 4 and
            5)*

        v.  If GSA vehicles assigned to new contract provide NASA POC so
            vehicles can be transferred *(See Sec 5)*

> c\. Technical participation in conference *(See Sec 3)*
>
> d\. Introduction of CO, Tech Rep, financial staff, and administrators
> from
>
> both NASA and contractor *(See Sec 5)*
>
> e\. Consideration possible scope of subcontracting efforts, include
> PQA
>
> language *(See Sec 5 and 7)*

f.  Identify Key Personnel for contractor (i.e. work horse) *(See Sec
    5)*

2\. Discuss and agree on content and requirements of DRDs *(See Sec 5
and 7)*

3\. Clearly define roles and responsibilities of key government and
contractor

> players (CO, COTR, TMR, contract manager etc.) *(See Sec 5 and 6)*

a.  Roles and responsibilities of CO, COTR, TMR *(See Sec 5 and 6)*

b.  CO responsibility to assign someone to take minutes of the
    conference *(See Sec 4)*

c.  If there is an LOD to DCMA or NCAS, have them attend the Post Award
    Conference *(See Sec 3)*

d.  Government meeting if DCAA, DCMA is on LOD *(See Sec 3)*

4\. Clear understanding of 533 and earned value reporting required by
contract

a.  Consider has contractor done business with NASA before *(See Sec 2)*

b.  Program Management Baseline *(See Sec 5 and 7)*

    i.  Baseline program content, schedule, and resources by WBS *(See
        Sec 5 and 7)*

c\. Overview of 533 reporting (EACs, next month\'s estimates, etc.)
*(See Sec 5*

> *and 7)*
>
> d\. IBR Integrated Baseline Review EVM Earned Value Management *(See*
>
> *Sec 5 and 7)*
>
> e\. Funding issues *(See Sec 5 and 7)*
>
> f\. Cover invoicing methodology cost/fee *(See Sec 5 and 7)*
>
> 5\. Should always have a Post Award Conference on all contracts
> regardless of
>
> size should be standard part of procurement process *(See Sec 2)*

6.  Government should clearly identify expectations related to priority,

> performance, and risk. Contractor should have adequate time to
> question and discuss these items. *(See Sec 5 and 7)*
>
> a\. Discuss risk from the customer's eyes *(See Sec 5 and 7)*

b\. Clearly identify expectations on high priority items *(See Sec 5 and
7)*

c\. Customer expectations for performance related submittals

d\. Allow contractor time to discuss questions or issues *(See Sec 5)*

7\. Government and contractor should clearly agree on "phase-in" plan
including

> status meetings and content

a.  have contractor discuss "phase-in" plan and discuss adjustments as
    needed *(See Sec 5 and 7)*

b.  Discuss whether or not to have weekly status meetings during
    "phase-in" *(See Sec 5 and 7)*

c.  Discuss employee badging requirements *(See Sec 5 and 7)*

> 8\. Achieving small business goals for both the government and
> contractor *(See*
>
> *Sec 5 and 7)*
>
> a\. Some candidates are unavailable after award. How does an SDB know
> if there are openings after ward? *(See below)*
>
> b\. What happens if the percent of SDB drops after an award? Do the
> primes
>
> have to get more SDBs on board? *(See below)*
>
> c\. Speed up handicapped spots availability to SDB candidates who are
>
> disabled *(See below)*

Questions under Item 8 were not determined to be pertinent to a Post
Award Conference. However an attempt has been made to answer the
questions.

8a. If a prime contractor loses, at any time during the period of
performance, a subcontractor that counts toward the SB goals, it would
be up to the prime contractor to seek out a replacement subcontractor.
The contractor would advertise the need and then fill the need to meet
the open requirement. The Government has no role in helping a prime
contractor advertise for and then select a subcontractor.

8b. It would be to the contractor's and Government's advantage if the
replacement subcontractor met the SB goals. Large contractors are
required to have a subcontracting plan that sets goals that the prime
contractor must met. The government plays no part in helping the
contractor fill his needs.

8c. This question is not understood as written. It appears that this
question would relate to SBA policies and procedures and should be taken
up with the SBA by the questioner. .