37.204 Guidelines for determining availability of personnel
Source: FAR 37.204 on acquisition.gov
Agencies must exhaust internal and interagency options for qualified proposal evaluators before outsourcing, ensuring evaluations are conducted by personnel with the necessary expertise.
Overview
FAR 37.204 establishes the process agencies must follow to determine whether qualified personnel are available to evaluate or analyze proposals for acquisitions. The regulation requires the head of an agency to first assess internal resources for the necessary expertise. If such personnel are not available, the agency must consider sourcing qualified personnel from other Federal agencies, taking into account administrative costs, procurement value, and other relevant factors. If another agency can provide the needed personnel, a formal agreement must be executed. If, after reasonable efforts, no qualified personnel can be found, the agency head may proceed with a determination under FAR 37.203. The regulation also allows for class determinations when the required expertise is so specialized that it is unreasonable to expect such personnel to be available for multiple proposals.
Key Rules
- Internal Personnel Assessment
- Agencies must first determine if they have sufficient, qualified personnel to evaluate or analyze proposals.
- Interagency Sourcing
- If internal personnel are unavailable, agencies must seek qualified personnel from other Federal agencies, considering costs and operational needs.
- Formal Agreements
- If another agency provides personnel, a formal agreement for their detail must be executed.
- Reasonable Efforts and Determination
- If no qualified personnel can be found after reasonable attempts, the agency head may make a determination under FAR 37.203.
- Class Determinations
- Agencies may make class determinations for proposals requiring highly specialized expertise unlikely to be available.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: Ensure the evaluation team has the required expertise and follow the outlined process if not.
- Contractors: No direct compliance, but should be aware of the process affecting proposal evaluation.
- Agencies: Must document efforts, consider interagency options, and execute agreements as needed.
Practical Implications
- Ensures proposal evaluations are conducted by qualified personnel, maintaining integrity and fairness.
- May impact procurement timelines if external personnel must be sourced.
- Agencies must balance administrative costs and mission needs when sourcing evaluators.
(a) The head of an agency shall determine, for each evaluation or analysis of proposals, if sufficient personnel with the requisite training and capabilities are available within the agency to perform the evaluation or analysis of proposals submitted for the acquisition.
(b) If, for a specific evaluation or analysis, such personnel are not available within the agency, the head of the agency shall-
(1) Determine which Federal agencies may have personnel with the required training and capabilities; and
(2) Consider the administrative cost and time associated with conducting the search, the dollar value of the procurement, other costs, such as travel costs involved in the use of such personnel, and the needs of the Federal agencies to make management decisions on the best use of available personnel in performing the agency’s mission.
(c) If the supporting agency agrees to make the required personnel available, the agencies shall execute an agreement for the detail of the supporting agency’s personnel to the requesting agency.
(d) If the requesting agency, after reasonable attempts to obtain personnel with the required training and capabilities, is unable to identify such personnel, the head of the agency may make the determination required by 37.203.
(e) An agency may make a determination regarding the availability of covered personnel for a class of proposals for which evaluation and analysis would require expertise so unique or specialized that it is not reasonable to expect such personnel to be available.