Albert B. Krachman
Although firms that offer coronavirus COVID-19 solutions can use many routes to access the federal marketplace, very few of these routes can lead to a sole source contract. One such vehicle is the unsolicited proposal. An unsolicited proposal can result in a sole source contract if the firm’s proposed solution is unique enough to support a Contracting Officer’s sole source Justification and Approval. Recent case law has established that the government has a legal obligation to fairly evaluate unsolicited proposals, so in effect, submission of an unsolicited proposal creates an implied contract with the government that obligates the government to evaluate the firm’s proposal fairly (but not necessarily to award a contract to the firm). Scott v. U.S., No. 17-471C, 2017 WL 4785353 (Fed. Cl. Oct. 24, 2017).
Companies with innovative solutions that have not been the subject of procurement contracts or grants can use this vehicle to offer their goods or services to the federal government on this exclusive basis. Continue reading “Using Unsolicited Federal Contract Proposals for Sole Source COVID-19 Related Contract Awards”