SAO CENTRAL FBO ANNOUNCEMENTFAR Part 5.2

SAOC Training – February 2015

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WELCOME!

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SAOC QA/TRAINING PRESENTERS

This will be a joint training presentation by the SAO Central Training Officer and the SAO Central Quality Assurance Staff.

Annette Gaessler, SAO Central Training Officer

Robert “Jake” Jacobson, SAO Central QA-Compliance Analyst

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT TRAINING AGENDA

Training Outline Learning Objectives of this training module Purpose of FBO – Why should we publicize? Publicizing FBO Requirements Additional Methods for dissemination of information Commonly Used Exceptions to Publicizing The Synopsis Releasing the Solicitation, Amendments, and Cancellation Negative Trends/What QA is Looking for? Wrap-up/Summary

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FBO TRAINING OBJECTIVESTraining Objectives FOR us to obtain a better understanding of the importance to

publicize To Obtain a better appreciation of why encouraging full and open

competition is key to obtaining “Best Value” & lower prices to meet the government’s requirements

To Understand the importance of ensuring the synopsis provides an adequate description of government’s requirements

Share negative trends and findings from our Desk Top audits and be aware of what QA is looking for.

Share Best Practices of publicizing our requirements through the government point of entry GPE/FBO

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT Purpose – Why should we publicize?

Purpose of FBO Announcement Broaden Industry participation in meeting

government requirements Responsible to promote and increase as much competition to

obtain best pricing. Assist SB concerns to participate if possible to meet our social

economic goals Goal is to have as many new ideas whatever the means

through innovation, and industry best practices to accomplish the government’s requirement while obtaining lower costs!

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENTPublicizing FBO Requirements

Publicizing FBO Requirements FAR 5.003 requires the CO to transmit the notices through

the GPE for any requirement. FAR 5.101 requires all procurement notices expected to

exceed $25K must be posted on FBO to ensure transparency. FAR 5.101 Procurements over 15K and <25K alternative

method posted in a public place. Below 15K, no obligation for to solicit via FBO or post notice CO is allowed to go directly to # of sources W/O using the formal GPE advertising.

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENTAdditional Methods of Dissemination

of Information FAR 5.101Additional Methods for Dissemination of Information

Preparing periodical handouts, listing and displaying proposed contracts.

Assist trade associations increase their membership submitting a brief announcement publicizing the government’s requirement without any cost to the government

Purchase an add in local newspaper

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT Some exceptions to publicizing requirements

When The proposed contract action is deemed Urgent and Compelling, See FAR 6.302-2 for definition of Urgent and Compelling. Also, CO must have proper justification and obtain approval.

When The proposed contract action is expressly authorized by statute. See FAR: 6.302-5 - Full & open competition need not be provided when statute

expressly authorizes acquisition be made through another agency or from specified source, I.e. NIB/NISH/Federal Prisons Industries (UNICOR)

When The proposed contract action is made under the terms of an existing contract that was previously synopsized in sufficient detail to comply with requirements of 5.207 I.e. TO placed against a indefinite delivery contract to a pool of contractors which has already been competed using GPE/FBO. See FAR 16.505 – Ordering for additional guidance.

There are a total of14 exceptions to publicizing requirements . See FAR 5.202, for additional guidance if any of these scenarios apply to your procurement.

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT The Synopsis – FAR 5.207

Pre-Solicitation Notice – Synopsis Shall provide a General statement consisting of description of

goods or services to be procured Provide a Method of contracting used, describing end-item

statement of objectives with emphasis date and location to perform the work.

Provide Specific information to help the potential contractor to decide whether or not to submit a competitive offer.

The Main intent of a good synopsis, it to allow prospective contractors who have the capacity to actually meet the requirements to submit an offer and weed out others who are not competitive.

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT The Synopsis – FAR 5.207

The Synopsis Continued FAR 5.203 stipulates that a synopsis for proposed contract actions expected to

exceed $25K must be posted at least 15 days prior to the release of the solicitation

The 15 day requirement does not apply to commercial purchases, but rather the CO can establish a shorter period for issuance of the synopsis prior to release of the solicitation.

FAR 5.203 publicizing a response for streamlined solicitation for commercial Item IAW FAR 12.603 allows for combined synopsis

Caveat: The CO must establish a solicitation response time that will afford all potential offerors a reasonable opportunity to respond to each proposed contract action.

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT Negative Trends

Negative Trends & Common Errors Missing evidence of FBO Pre-Solicitation Notice, or combined synopsis or

documentation of exception in S03 folder and C01 Post Award Notice. Only 43% success rate in ECMS as a result of the National VHA Audits FY14. Our Central Region faired better at 68%. Good Job!

The Description of key government requirements in synopsis are missing or are too vague or too restrictive

Missing Set-Aside Code for SB type The Solicitation response date does not match the original RFP Missing or Incorrect Classification Code being used POC not the same as listed in the RFP (Solicitation) Missing Place of performance information Missing multiple data elements in preparation transmittal of synopses.

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT What QA is looking for?

What QA is Looking for? We are looking for Evidence of FBO Notice was completed and uploaded in

ECMS Pre-Solicitation and Post Award S03/C01 folders – Respectively. The FBO type announcement is complete, accurate, and consistent with the

solicitation requirements The Synopsis should provide concise description to include key requirements

that the prospective contractor(s) will be able to fulfill. Allowing adequate time allowed for vendor(s) to respond to the notice Ensure proper NAICS and Classification Code for procurement is used Properly use and code announcement type Finally ensure all (18) data values are addressed in preparation of transmittal of synopses. See 5.207 Preparation and transmittal of Synopses

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FBO ANNOUNCEMENT Summary

Summary/Wrap-up Key reasons why you should publicize your requirements: 1) Increase

competition, 2) Broaden industry competition, 3) To assist SB concerns Publicizing government’s requirements is a critical step in the

procurement process. The FBO synopsis should be a concise description of the goods and/or

services to be procured. Publicizing using FBO as the GPE is the usual method utilized to

communicate government’s requirements and contributes to the transparency in the way the government conducts its business.

Remember! If you have a change in your requirement, you will need to amend the FBO notification of that change.

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FBO AnnouncementRegulations and Policy References

Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR Part 2.101 Definitions, (GPE) FAR Part 5, Publicizing Contract Actions, (Only 17 pages) Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e))and Office of Federal

Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416)

Veteran Affairs Acquisition Regulations VAAR 805.2 Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions IL 049-04-05 Contract Bundling and Contract Bundling Reviews

including a revised listing of exempted items from bundling reviews and forecast submission

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FBO Announcement Additional Resources

FedBizOpps Home page: http://www.fedbizopps.gov/ - Great tool to find samples of various notices and obtain best practice information.

FBO Frequently Asked Questions FAQs, Ref: FBO home page Guide for Contracting Officers “How to Use ECMS to Send Procurement Notices

and Documents to Federal Business Opportunities, Ref: CARE – Training Resources – ECMS User guides. See Table of Contents

Posting Requirements for J and As for OTFOC, Ref: VHA PM Chapter 6, OTFOC Para 3.17 Click on link to get to Table of Posting Requirements

Additional Requirements for Bundling and Posting to GPE SOP AP Para 2.4 FBO home page Vendor Notification Service Sample Combined Synopsis Document – FBO User Guide and FAR 13 Open Mkt

Training provided by Kandi Woodrum has sample available. ALO Course 0073 Publicizing Requirements – FBO, Excellent Course SAOC Newsletter, December 2014, Article on Proper Use of FBO for your review.

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FBO Announcement

Training

Publicizing the government’s requirement is a critical step in the procurement process. Creating a more complete FBO announcement will not only provide greater transparency in the way the VA conducts its’ business, but, will increase the probability of obtaining both adequate competition, and receive offers of high quality to better satisfy our customers requirements.

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FBO Announcements

Training

THANK YOU!

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TMS Item # xxxxxxxxxYour NCO TO will record attendance in TMS, please notify them of your attendance.

Questions

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