Post-award debriefing of unsuccessful offerors - installation level

Abstract

When a contractor expends a great deal of time and expense to prepare a proposal in response to a high-dollar Government Request for Proposals and award of the resultant contract is made to another contractor, the unsuccessful offeror will often protest since the post-award debriefing does not satisfy his concerns as to why his was not the best offer. This thesis reviews the current written guidance pertaining to post-award debriefings, looks at the current installation level debriefing process and recommends ways to improve debriefings. Results of a questionnaire sent to installation contracting officers and offerors who contract with them indicate: the current debriefing process is not working as well as it should; the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) should help improve the debrief; and further improvements are possible. Some of the thesis' recommendations are: make the post-award debrief an integral part of the process for key technical personnel; give weaknesses, in writing, to the unsuccessful offerors with notification of award; if requested, release all information that the contractor would receive under protest discovery procedures; provide analytical training for contracting officers; use videos and other types of training on "how not to" and "how to" conduct a post-award debriefing.