Defense Contracting: Enhanced Training Could Strengthen DOD's Best Value Tradeoff Decisions

The Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR Part 15 allows the use of several best value competitive source selection techniques to meet agency needs. Within the best value continuum, DOD may choose an approach that it considers the most advantageous to the government, including the lowest price technically acceptable LPTA process and the tradeoff process. DOD may elect to use the LPTA process in acquisitions where the requirement is clearly definable and the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal. In such cases, DOD may determine that cost or price should play a dominant role in source selection. When using the LPTA process, DOD specifies its minimal technical requirements in the solicitation. Once DOD determines that the contractors meet or exceed the technical requirements, no tradeoffs between cost or price and noncost factors are permitted and the award is made based on the lowest price offered to the government. By contrast, DOD may elect to use a tradeoff process in acquisitions where the requirement is less definitive, more development work is required, or the acquisition has greater performance risk. In these instances, non-cost evaluation factors, such as technical capabilities or past performance, may play a dominant role in the source selection and tradeoffs among price and non-cost factors allow DOD to accept other than the lowest priced proposal. This report focuses on DODs use of the tradeoff process, and specifically, in which non-cost factors, when combined, were considered more important than cost or price.