Overview
This section prescribes the qualification-based procedures for selecting architect-engineer (A-E) firms, emphasizing professional competence and specialized experience over price competition in accordance with the Brooks Act. It details the criteria for evaluation, the composition and duties of evaluation boards, and the formal process for selecting the most highly qualified firms.
Key Rules
- Mandatory Evaluation Criteria: Agencies must evaluate firms based on professional qualifications, specialized experience, technical competence (including sustainability and energy efficiency), capacity to meet schedules, past performance, and geographic location.
- Evaluation Boards: Acquisitions must be vetted by a board of professional employees (and occasionally private practitioners) with collective expertise in architecture, engineering, and construction.
- Conflict of Interest: A firm is ineligible for award if any of its principals or associates are serving on the agency's evaluation board.
- The "Rule of Three": Boards must hold discussions with at least three of the most highly qualified firms and subsequently recommend at least three firms, ranked in order of preference, to the selection authority.
- Selection Authority: The final decision is made by the agency head or a designee; if they select a firm other than the one ranked first by the board, they must provide a written justification for the contract file.
- Simplified Procedures: For contracts not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), agencies may use "short processes" that allow the board or the board chairperson to expedite the selection and authorization for negotiation.
Practical Implications
- Technical Merit Over Price: Because price is not an initial evaluation factor, firms must invest heavily in the quality of their Standard Form (SF) 330 submissions to demonstrate superior technical specialized experience and past performance.
- Geographic Advantage: The "location" criterion often gives an edge to local firms unless the project is of such a specialized nature that the agency must look outside the immediate area to find a sufficient number of qualified competitors.