Overview
FAR 15.505 establishes the procedures for offerors excluded from a competition before contract award to receive feedback on their proposal's evaluation. It defines the timelines for requests, the required content of the session, and strict limitations on the disclosure of competitor information.
Key Rules
- Request Deadline: Offerors must submit a written request for a debriefing within 3 days of receiving a notice of exclusion from the competition.
- One-Debrief Limit: Offerors are entitled to only one debriefing per proposal; failing to request a timely preaward debriefing waives the right to any future debriefing for that solicitation.
- Postponement Options: An offeror may request to delay the debriefing until after the contract award, or the Contracting Officer (CO) may delay it for compelling reasons (provided the rationale is documented).
- Mandatory Disclosures: The debriefing must include the agency’s evaluation of the offeror's significant proposal elements, the rationale for their elimination, and responses to questions about whether selection procedures were followed.
- Prohibited Disclosures: To protect the integrity of the ongoing competition, the CO cannot disclose the number, identity, ranking, or evaluation of other offerors, nor the content of their proposals.
- Method and Documentation: Debriefings can be conducted orally, in writing, or via other methods at the CO's discretion, and an official summary must be included in the contract file.
Practical Implications
- The three-day request window is a strict "use it or lose it" deadline; missing this window forfeits the contractor's legal right to receive any feedback on their proposal, even after an award is made.
- Offerors must weigh the benefit of immediate feedback against the strategic disadvantage of a preaward debriefing, which provides less comparative data than a postaward debriefing and may complicate the timeline for filing a timely protest.