Contracts

Finding a Contract Solicitation

All contract solicitations are posted on the Contract Opportunities page in Sam.gov. This site serves as the fed-wide portal that supports searching, monitoring, and retrieving contract opportunities for the federal government.

Types of Contracts

Fixed Price

• Firm price for delivery of a product or service
• May result from sealed bids or negotiations
• Most often for supplies and standard services

Cost Reimbursement

• Contract contains a negotiated estimate
• May or may not have a fixed fee
• Used when
  • Uncertainties involved in contract performance do not permit costs to be estimated with sufficient accuracy to use any type of fixed-price contract
  • Used when costs cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy to use any type of fixed-price contract
• Most Research and Development (R&D) contracts are cost-reimbursement

How Contracts Are Evaluated

• Contract awards from proposals are usually made on the basis of best value.
• Evaluation factors for award
  • Technical criteria
  • Cost
  • Past performance
  • Small disadvantaged business participation
• Best value considers all factors based on the relative importance
• Technical evaluation criteria are reviewed by independent peer review
  • Sample technical evaluation criteria
    • Technical approach
    • Personnel
    • Facilities
• Technical criteria are often weighted
• Reviewers determine technical acceptability

Submitting a Contract Proposal

Search for a contract opportunity on Contract Opportunities page in Sam.gov or NIH Request for Proposal Directory.

Read the solicitation carefully!  It should contain all the information needed to prepare a proposal.

• Registration requirements
• Statement of Work (SOW) or Statement of Objectives (SOO)
• Instructions to offerors
  • Type of contract
  • Set- aside restrictions
  • How and where to submit the proposal
• Evaluation factors for award

When Developing a Proposal

1. Convince reviewers of your technical abilities!
   • Demonstrate your understanding of the requirement
   • Demonstrate the soundness of your technical approach
   • Show the strengths of your technical team
   • Present facilities
   • See Technical Proposal Instructions
2. Ensure your proposal is cost competitive
   • See Business Cost Proposal Instructions

Review Criteria

The solicitation lists the criteria reviewers will use to evaluate your proposal.