§ 873.106 - Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals.

873.106 Presolicitation exchanges Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals.

(a) This section shall be used in lieu of FAR part 10, except as provided in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. In conducting market research, exchange of information by Exchange of information among all interested parties involved in an acquisition described in 873.104(b), from the earliest identification of a requirement through release of the solicitation, is encouraged. Interested parties include potential offerors, end users, Government acquisition and support personnel, and others involved in the conduct or outcome of the acquisition. Any exchange of information must be consistent with procurement integrity requirements in FAR 3.104. The nature and extent of presolicitation exchanges between the Government and industry shall be a matter of the contracting officer's discretion (for acquisitions not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold) or the acquisition team's discretion, as coordinated by the contracting officer. (38 U.S.C. 8153)

(b) Techniques to promote early exchange of information include -

(1) Industry or small business conferences;

(2) Public hearings;

(3) Market research in accordance with FAR 10.002(b), which shall be followed to the extent that the provisions therein would provide relevant information;

(4) One-on-one meetings with potential offerors;

(5) Presolicitation notices;

(6) Draft requests for proposals (RFPs);

(7) Requests for information (RFIs);

(8) Presolicitation or preproposal conferences;

(9) Site visits;

(10) Electronic notices (e.g., Internetinternet); and

(11) Use of the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). (System for Award Management (SAM) (see http://www.bpnsam.gov/ccrinq/scripts/search.asp) and the “Advanced Search” feature on VetBiz ; and

(12) Researching VA's Vendor Information Pages (

http

VIP) database at https://www.vip.vetbiz.va.gov/

general_user/search/default

.

asp) to search for vendors. (38 U.S.C. 8153).