carrasco proposal writing 101 (2)

8/10/2019 CARRASCO Proposal Writing 101 (2)

1/31

US Army Corps of Engineers

BUILDING STRONG

DANIEL CARRASCOChief, Contracting Division

Los Angeles District

October 2014


2/31

BUILDING STRONG

Solicitation Type

Award based on

Lowest Price

Invitation for Bid

( I F B )

Sealed Bid

Request for Proposals

( R F P )

Negotiated

Award based on

Best Value


3/31

BUILDING STRONG

Contracting Strategy

Trend is primarily RFP

IFB equals lowest price, not necessarily besttechnical approach

RFP allows for factors other than price to beconsidered

Past performance/schedule

Experience/qualifications

Capability/understanding of the work

IFB RFPVS


4/31

BUILDING STRONG

Invitation for Bid (IFB)

FAR Part 14 - Sealed bidding is amethod of contracting that employscompetitive bids, public opening of

bids, and awards


5/31

BUILDING STRONG

Invitation for Bid (IFB) Invitations must describe the requirements of the

Government clearly, accurately, and completely.

The invitation will include and provide alldocuments (whether attached or incorporated by

reference) to prospective bidders for the purpose

of bidding.

Pre-Solicitation issued 15 days prior to Solicitation.

Bids due typically 30 days after issuance.


6/31

BUILDING STRONG

USACE Contract Format

Per USACE Acquisition Instruction (UAI)

14.201-1 Preparation for Bids - ConstructionContracts, the Corps of Engineers utilizes the

Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)

format.


7/31

BUILDING STRONG

USACE Format (IFB)

000000 Contracting Requirements

000110 Table of Contents

001000 Solicitation, schedule

002113 Instructions to Bidders 004300 Bid Bond Form

004500 Representations and Certifications

010000 General Requirements 020000 Technical Provisions


8/31

BUILDING STRONG

Helpful Tips

In preparing IFBs it is imperative that the bid

submitted meet the general requirements

requested in the solicitation

Common errors made in bid submission may

cause the bid to be non-responsive andtherefore making the bid ineligible for a contract

award.


9/31

BUILDING STRONG

Common Errors

Incomplete bid schedule

Omission of the bid bond

Missing/Incomplete Representation andCertifications (Reps/Certs)

Not providing Duns and Cage Code information

Not acknowledging or partially acknowledgingamendments

No signature or unauthorized signature on bid

Omitting phone/fax numbers on SF 1442


10/31


11/31

BUILDING STRONG

Request for Proposal

(RFP)

FAR 15.203 Requests for Proposals

Requests for proposals (RFPs) are used innegotiated acquisitions to communicateGovernment requirements to prospectivecontractors and to solicit proposals

The Best Value Process is the most commonlyused procedure for competitive RFPs


12/31

BUILDING STRONG

Request for Proposal (RFP)Every negotiated Source Selection (RFP) must

evaluate two things:

Price or Cost

Quality of Product

Pre-Solicitation issued 15 days prior to Solicitation.Proposals typically due 30-45 days after issuance.


13/31

BUILDING STRONG

USACE Format (RFP) 000000 Contracting Requirements

000110 Table of Contents

001000 Solicitation, schedule

002116 Instructions to Proposals 002216 Supplementary Instructions

004300 Bid Bond Form

004500 Representations and Certifications 010000 General Requirements

020000 Technical Provisions


14/31

BUILDING STRONG

Contracting Strategy

Lowest Price

Technically

Acceptable

COMPLEXITY

RFP Best Value Continuum

Tradeoff

Process


15/31

BUILDING STRONG

Evaluation Methods Best

ValueLOWEST PRICE

TECHNICALLY

ACCEPTABLE (LPTA) Technical proposals

evaluated on a GO-NO GO

basis.

Proposals evaluated against

solicitation requirements, noteach other.

Award made to lowest price,

acceptable offer.

TRADE OFF

More complex method.

Evaluated against solicitationrequirements.

Compare advantages/

disadvantages/ risk analysis.

Award to most advantageous

proposal (Not necessarily lowestprice).


16/31

BUILDING STRONG

Lowest Price Technically

Acceptable

Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA)

The lowest price technically acceptable source

selection process is appropriate when the bestvalue is expected to result from selection of the

technically acceptable proposal with the lowest

evaluated price

Easily defined projects will normally use Lowest

PriceTechnically Acceptable approach


17/31

BUILDING STRONG

Lowest Price Technically

Acceptable

No Tradeoff analysis allowed.

Offeror must meet minimum technical

requirements explicitly stated in the solicitation.

This is a Pass or Fail processpay attention!


18/31

BUILDING STRONG

Tradeoff Process This process is appropriate when it may be in

the best interest of the Government to consider

award to other than the lowest priced offeror orother than the highest technically rated offeror.

Less definitive projects require greater emphasison Past Performance and other technical

aspects, will normally use a Tradeoff process.


19/31

BUILDING STRONG

Tradeoff Process

Permits the Government to tradeoff against price

and non-price factors to get the best value.

Allows the Government to accept a price which

is not the lowest price.

Solicitation must state the relative importance of

price vs. non-price factors.


20/31

BUILDING STRONG

Tradeoff ProcessA Best Value RFP must state the relativeimportance of each evaluation factor andsubfactor.

Examples:Most Important criteriaSignificantly more important thanMore important thanOf Equal importance


21/31

BUILDING STRONG

Tradeoff Process

Evaluation Factors

Experience

Key Personnel

Past Performance

Management Approach

Small Business Participation Plan


22/31

BUILDING STRONG

Tradeoff ProcessAdjectival Ratings

Outstanding

Above Average (or Good)Acceptable (or Satisfactory)

Marginal

Unacceptable


23/31

BUILDING STRONG

Submitting Successful

Proposals

Pay attention to the solicitation requirements.

Read and Understand the Solicitation Documents. Pay special attention to Sections 002116, and

002216, and to any other sections indicated to

define evaluation factors or criteria.

Follow proposal preparation instructions, e.g.,indexing, tabbing, order of presentation, number and

size of pages, size of print, etc.


24/31

BUILDING STRONG

Selecting your Projects

Read the Project Description and EvaluationCriteriaselect projects based on similarattributes

For IDIQ contracts, demonstrate a variety of

experience Projects that demonstrate teaming relationships

with your proposal team

Overall dollar value of the contract

If Small Business Set-Aside, Prime needs toshow strengths to accomplish the work (25% -Construction, 50% - Service and 15% - Specialtytrade)


25/31

BUILDING STRONG

Project Experience

Identify Key employees who worked on the

projectAre they still with you?

Dont overstate your involvement in the project

Provide information in concise bullet statements

Provide all information requiredexcessive

information beyond the requirements does not

add value


26/31

BUILDING STRONG

Relevancy of Experience

Relevant does not mean same or identical

Similar to the instant acquisition to provideindicators of performance

Consider:Project scope or service similarity

Complexity

Contract Type

Contract Dollar Value

Major or Critical Subcontractors


27/31

BUILDING STRONG

Past Experience

Use bold, highlighting, etc to focus the readerseyes

ReadabilityUse of white space

Break lines into shorter segments

Watch color combinations and font size


28/31

BUILDING STRONG

Resumes

Would you hire this personbased on this resume?

Address requirements insolicitation

Datesare accurate Document required level of

experience with dates to meetrequirements

Cross reference to pastexperience sheets


29/31

BUILDING STRONG

Past Performance vs.

Past Experience

Past ExperienceWhat you did

Past PerformanceHow well you did it


30/31


31/31

BUILDING STRONG

QUESTIONS?

This presentation was prepared by Daniel Carrasco, Chief, Contracting Division, Los Angeles District for USACE.

Any views expressed are those of Daniel Carrasco exclusively and do not necessarily reflect the positions of

USACE.