[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 6]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR2052.215-79]

[Page 398-399]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                CHAPTER 20--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
Sec. 2052.215-79  Contract award and evaluation of proposals.

    As prescribed in 2015.209(a)(1), the contracting officer shall 
insert the following provision in solicitations when technical merit is 
more important than cost:

          Contract Award and Evaluation of Proposals (OCT 1999)

    (a) By use of narrative and numerical (as appropriate) scoring 
techniques, proposals are evaluated against the evaluation factors 
specified in paragraph * below. These factors are listed in their 
relative order of importance.
    (b) The Government intends to award a contract or contracts 
resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose 
proposal(s) represents the best value, as defined in FAR 2.101, after 
evaluation in accordance with the factors and subfactors in the 
solicitation.
    (c) The Government may:
    (1) Reject any or all proposals if the action is in the Government's 
interest.
    (2) Waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals 
received.

[[Page 399]]

    (d) The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a 
contract without discussions with offerors. The Government reserves the 
right to seek proposal clarifications (e.g., capability issues as 
described in FAR 15.306(a) or minor or clerical errors as described in 
FAR 14.407); and hold communications as described in FAR 15.306(b)). 
Therefore, the offeror's initial proposal should contain the offeror's 
best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. The Government 
reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer 
later determines them to be necessary. If the Contracting Officer 
determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the 
competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition 
can be conducted, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of 
proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will 
permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.
    (e) The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item 
for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit cost or 
prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the proposal.
    (f) The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards if, 
after considering the additional administrative costs, it is in the 
Government's best interest to do so.
    (g) Exchanges with offerors after receipt of a proposal do not 
constitute a rejection or counteroffer by the Government.
    (h) The Government may determine that a proposal is unacceptable if 
the prices proposed are materially unbalanced between line items or 
subline items. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable 
total evaluated price, the price of one or more contract line items is 
significantly overstated or understated as indicated by the application 
of cost or price analysis techniques. A proposal may be rejected if the 
Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an 
unacceptable risk to the Government.
    (i) If a cost realism analysis is performed, cost realism may be 
considered by the source selection authority in evaluating performance 
or schedule risk.
    (j) A written award or acceptance of proposal mailed or otherwise 
furnished to the successful offeror within the time specified in the 
proposal shall result in a binding contract without further action by 
either party.
    (k) A separate cost analysis is performed on each cost proposal. To 
provide a common base for evaluation of cost proposals, the level of 
effort data must be expressed in staff hours. Where a Contractor 
Spending Plan (CSP) is required by other provisions of this 
solicitation, consideration is given to the Plan for completeness, 
reasonableness, and as a measure of effective management of the effort.
    * To be incorporated into the solicitation.

                           (End of provision)

    Alternate 1 (OCT 1999). As prescribed at 2015.209-70(e)(2), 
Alternate 1 may be used when proposals are to be evaluated on a lowest 
price, technically acceptable basis. Substitute the following paragraph 
for paragraph (b) in the clause at 2052.215-79:

    (b) Although technical merit in the evaluation criteria set forth 
below is a factor in the evaluation of proposals, award will be made on 
the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or 
exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors,

    Alternate 2 (OCT 1999). As prescribed at 2015.209-70(e)(2), 
Alternate 2 may be used when cost and technical merit are of equal 
significance. Substitute the following paragraph for paragraph (b) in 
the clause at 2052.215-79:

    (b) In the selection of a contractor, technical merit in the 
evaluation criteria set forth below and cost bear equal significance. To 
be selected for an award, the proposed cost must be realistic and 
reasonable.