FORMAT AND CONTENT OF THE SOLICITATION AND CONTRACT

Solicitations and contracts are written using the uniform contract format established by the FAR. This format organizes the solicitation and contract into four parts and makes it possible to use the same document as both a solicitation and a contract.

Parts I–III of the RFP make up the contractual document. In Part I, Section A is a standard form; Section B itemizes the required supplies or services; Section C contains the SOW; and Sections D through H contain specific clauses related to the topic of each section. As part of the contractual document, the SOW describes only those actions that take place after contract award. Information related to the solicitation process should not be included in the SOW. Part II contains the standard contract clauses related to the type of contract and what is being procured. Part III contains a list of those documents or exhibits that are attached to the RFP. It is not unusual for a lengthy SOW to be referenced in Section C and included in Section J as an attachment.

Part IV of the RFP is the solicitation portion. It contains information related solely to the solicitation process. Section K describes the information that the contractor must provide to establish its eligibility for award of a government contract. Section L contains solicitation provisions related to the terms and conditions of the solicitation and the proposal preparation instructions. Section M contains the evaluation factors and information about how the proposals will be evaluated.

The entire document (Parts I–IV) is used during the solicitation process by the prospective contractor to develop its proposal and pricing, and by the government to evaluate the contractor’s proposal. When the contract is awarded, the solicitation portion (Part IV) is deleted. Section K is incorporated into the contract by reference and retained in the official contract file. Sections L and M can be discarded because they do not apply to contract performance. (In practice, however, a copy of Sections L and M is usually retained for reference purposes.)

The developer of the SOW is primarily interested in the development of Section C, the SOW, and Sections L (proposal preparation instructions) and M (evaluation factors). The contracting officer is responsible for developing the remaining coverage in the solicitation and contract; ultimately, the contracting officer becomes responsible for the entire solicitation and contract.