Overview
FAR 15.603 defines the purpose of unsolicited proposals as a mechanism for the government to obtain innovative ideas developed outside the public sector and establishes the specific criteria a submission must meet to be classified as a valid unsolicited proposal.
Key Rules
- Definition of Validity: To be valid, a proposal must be innovative, unique, independently developed by the offeror, and created without government supervision or direction.
- Exclusions: Advertising material, commercial product/service offers, contributions, and routine technical correspondence do not qualify as unsolicited proposals.
- Non-Competitive Constraint: An unsolicited proposal cannot be used to circumvent competition; it must not address a previously published requirement or a known agency need that can be acquired through competitive methods.
- Content Requirements: The proposal must contain sufficient technical and cost detail to allow the agency to determine if the effort would benefit their mission or research and development goals.
- Independent Origination: Proposals submitted in response to a general statement of agency needs are still considered independently originated.
- Specific Procedures: Unsolicited proposals for energy savings performance contracts must follow the distinct evaluation procedures found in 10 CFR 436.33(b).
Practical Implications
- Contractors cannot use unsolicited proposals as a "backdoor" to win work that the government is already planning to put out for bid; if the requirement is already known or published, the proposal will be rejected.
- Because these proposals require a substantial investment of time and must be "unique," firms should ensure their concept is truly novel rather than a standard commercial offering before committing resources to the submission process.