Government*Horizons Inc. Training Workshop™

Best Value Source Selection Workshop

November 19-21, 2008
Arlington, VA

Registration is now closed for this event. If you would still like to register to attend you must bring this form with you the day of the event to register at the door.

This workshop is recommended for 24 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) toward DAWIA, FAC-C and FAC-COTR requirements. A Government*Horizons Certificate of Completion will be provided to all attendees upon conclusion of the workshop. For information on fulfilling core, elective and continuous learning requirements, click here.

“Very interesting instructor, kept the class interested in the topic and made training fun.” - David Mork, Contract Specialist, Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Registration: 8:00 AM
Program Starts: 8:30 AM
Wrap-Up: 4:00 PM

Course materials, continental breakfast (coffee and pastries) and refreshments included.

About This Course:

Efficiently planning and conducting a best value source selection is critical to acquiring the goods and services needed by agencies to meet their mission objectives. Successfully managing the FAR Part 15 process requires in-depth knowledge of the statutes, regulations and best practices to ensure the source selection is fair, credible and that the best value contractor is ultimately selected. From establishing the right evaluation factors to debriefing the unsuccessful offerors, it is essential that an acquisition team possess the skills and knowledge necessary to actively contribute at each step in the process. For industry, understanding the government’s source selection process will help promote more focused, customer-friendly proposals that better display the key benefits and value of the proposed solution.

In Planning and Conducting a Successful Best Value Source Selection, attendees will learn the techniques for selecting and composing meaningful evaluation factors and proposal submission instructions to ensure a streamlined and highly-efficient source selection. The information provided will allow an understanding of the specific roles and responsibilities of each evaluation team – technical, management, business and past performance. Attendees will learn the requirements and various techniques in conducting cost-technical tradeoff analysis that will assist in making a final decision. This practical course is built around a multitude of hands-on exercises and case studies that will teach skills that can be immediately applied on the job and utilize a course manual that contains useful references, examples and templates that can be used long after the completion of the class.

A new government report recommends contract training to achieve better federal contracting results. Click here to download the Managing the Government’s Technical Experts to Achieve Positive Contract Outcomes report by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board dated December 2005.

Who Should Attend:

• Acquisition Officers
• Technical personnel and subject matter experts
• Procurement managers and administrators
• Government and commercial project leaders and managers
• Contracting officers and specialists
• Business developers and proposal managers
• General Counsel
• Bid managers
• Audit Supervisors
• Advisory and assistance contractors

Past Attendees Include:

AFCAA
AWG, Facilities Manager
AWG, XO
BAE Systems, Subcontracts Administration Specialist
Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Contract Specialist
Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Production Specialist
Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Program Analyst
CACI, Inc., Acquisition Specialist
Defense Information Systems Agency, Procurement Analyst
Defense Supply Ctr, Columbus, Asst Counsel, Contracts
Dept. of Navy (NAVSEA), Purchasing Agent
Department of Transportation, Contract Specialist
EMC² Corporation, Technical Solutions Program Manager
IEM, Bids and Proposals Manager
National Institutes of Health, Administrator for Strategic Planning & Resource Management
Naval Sea Systems Command, Acquisition Manager
OASA (FM&C), Army Pentagon, Deputy Director of Investments
ODASA-CE, Chief, DASA-CEA-R
PEO-LMW (PMS 403), Lead Financial Mgr.
U.S. Air Force, Director of Operations, 781 Test Squadron
U.S. Army, Contract Documents Specialist
U.S. Army, Contract Specialist
U.S. Army, Facilities Operations Specialist
U.S. Army, Supervisory Contract Specialist
U.S. Army Audit Agency, Audit Supervisor
U.S. Army, Picatinny Center for Contracting and Commerce
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Support Command, DST Government Team Leader
U.S. Department of Labor, Contracting Officer
U.S. Navy, Counsel, SPAWAR Systems Ctr, New Orleans

Course Outline:

Best Value Source Selection: Concept, Obligations and Responsibilities

• The concept and definition of best value
• Obligations and responsibilities in using the best value source selection process
• The source selection organizational structure
• Standards of conduct and procurement integrity
• Organizational conflicts of interest

Developing Meaningful Evaluation Factors and Proposal Submission Instructions

• The characteristics of high quality evaluation criteria
• Using risk assessment and value analysis to select effective factors/subfactors
• Techniques for composing meaningful criteria
• The importance of proposal submission instructions to ensure a streamlined process
• Useful methods for requesting and receiving proposal information

Technical Team’s Evaluation of Proposals

• Steps in the technical evaluation process
• Maintaining consistency with RFP factors and subfactors
• Definitions of strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies
• Evaluation criteria weighting and relative orders of importance
• Selecting and using factor rating scales and definitions
• Techniques for improving evaluator comments and narratives

 Reaching Team Consensus

• The four stages in team building
• The characteristics and habits of high performance teams
• Best practices in reaching team consensus
• The requirements and importance of team consensus documentation

Evaluating Past Performance

• FAR 15 requirements in conducting the evaluation of offeror past performance
• Steps in the past performance evaluation process
• Past performance rating scales and definitions

Evaluating the Cost Proposal

• Responsibilities of the cost/price evaluation team
• Key objectives of cost/price proposal evaluation
• Definitions of reasonableness, completeness and realism

Exchanges/Negotiations with Offerors

• Definitions of clarifications, communications and discussions.
• Information the government should consider before awarding without discussions
• Considerations and requirements in establishing the competitive range
• The definition of and ensuring “meaningful” discussions
• Requesting proposal revisions and the Call for Final Proposal Revisions
• Government limits on exchanges

Making the Best Value Award Decision

• Integrating the final proposal evaluation results
• Comparative assessment of offerors
• Key considerations in the cost-technical tradeoff process
• Documentation requirements for the source selection decision document

Conducting the Debriefings

• FAR 15 requirements in providing debriefings to unsuccessful offerors
• Agenda for an effective debriefing

About Your Instructor:

Bob Watts has over 26 years of federal acquisition experience in the disciplines of contracting, project management and financial management. He is the President of LodeStar Acquisition Services, a small business, acquisition training and consulting firm headquartered in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Previous to founding LodeStar Acquisition Services, Mr. Watts was Vice President of Acquisition Services at ManTech Integrated Data Systems from 1998 – 2004. The organizations he has led have helped over 500 government teams efficiently select and manage mission critical contractor products and services.

Mr. Watts is a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and a former member of the Defense Acquisition Corp. Prior to his retirement from the USAF, he was the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO’s) Acquisition Center of Excellence (ACE), a unique organization of over 60 personnel dedicated to providing the NRO workforce a dedicated acquisition support capability and infrastructure. As ACE Director, Mr. Watts was the architect of the NRO’s process for competitive procurement of over $15B in space-related hardware and software.

Mr. Watts is also a senior instructor, researcher, writer and consultant for The George Washington University’s (GWU’s) Educational Services Institute International. He received his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

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