65232 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 211 / Tuesday, October 31, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Federal Acquisition Regulation;

Reverse Auctioning

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency

Acquisition Council and the Defense

Acquisition Regulations Council (the

Councils) are considering whether there

is a need at this time for guidance on the

use of reverse auction techniques and, if

so, how it can be most effectively

communicated (e.g., through the Federal

Acquisition Regulation, best practice

guides, agency instructions, or training).

The Councils request that interested

parties provide comments.

DATES: Interested parties should submit

comments to the FAR Secretariat at the

address shown below on or before

January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to: General Services Administration,

FAR Secretariat (MVR), 1800 F Street,

NW., Room 4035, Attn: Ms. Laurie

Duarte, Washington, DC 20405.

Submit electronic comments via the

Internet to: Auction@gsa.gov.

Please submit comments only and cite

‘‘reverse auction notice’’ in all

correspondence related to this case.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS

Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202)

501–4755, for information pertaining to

status or publication schedules. For

clarification of content, contact Mr.

Ralph DeStefano, Procurement Analyst,

at (202) 501–1758. Please cite ‘‘reverse

auction notice’’.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recently,

several agencies have taken advantage of

technological advances in various

commodity procurements by conducting

pricing competitions on-line where

competing vendors lowered their prices

to obtain the contract. Use of this socalled ‘‘reverse auction technique’’

appears to be gaining interest in certain

segments of the commercial

marketplace. Additional agencies are

now considering potential applications

for this technique. A variety of

considerations will likely shape these

decisions and guidance may be

beneficial.

The Councils understand that

interested parties have varied opinions

on the need for guidance on the

Government’s use of reverse auction

techniques. The opinions include:

• There is insufficient agency

experience upon which to develop

meaningful guidance at this time.

• Explicit coverage in the FAR is not

needed because FAR 1.102(d) permits

any technique that is not expressly

prohibited.

• Reverse auction policy should be

included in the FAR.

• Other guidance is needed, such as

best practices guides, agency

instructions, or training.

Therefore, the Councils are seeking

input that will help them determine the

best approach to help inform thinking

regarding the use of reverse auction

techniques.

1. Need for guidance. The Councils

ask that respondents discuss whether

guidance related to the use of reverse

auction techniques is needed at this

time. Respondents are encouraged to

discuss potential advantages and

disadvantages.

2. Form of guidance. To the extent

guidance is desired, the Councils ask

respondents to identify the form(s) of

guidance that would be most beneficial

(e.g., a FAR rule, best practice guides,

agency instructions, training, other).

3. Topics for coverage. The Councils

are interested in hearing respondents’

ideas regarding topics that should be

addressed if guidance is developed.

Examples of topics might include the

following—

• The goal(s) of using an online

auction;

• The ‘‘ground rules’’ of the auction;

• Factors that must be considered in

determining whether a requirement is

suitable for use of reverse auction

techniques;

• Ways to tailor the technique to

reflect various contracting strategies and

source selection approaches (including

best value cost-technical ‘‘tradeoffs’’);

• Strategies for small business

participation;

• Handling of preferences;

• Barriers to conducting auctions;

• Expected results from the auction;

• Potential advantages and

disadvantages of reverse auction

techniques for industry participants;

and

• Potential advantages and

disadvantages of reverse auction

techniques for Federal agencies.

4. Content of coverage. Respondents

are invited to share their ideas regarding

possible content on the areas identified

above, or other areas they have

identified in their response to item 3. In

doing so, respondents are encouraged to

provide lessons learned from their

experiences with online reverse auction

techniques.

Dated: October 26, 2000.

Al Matera,

Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy

Division.

[FR Doc. 00–27963 Filed 10–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–M