Table of Contents
If you’re soliciting for government contracts, you may have come across a Sources Sought notice. If you’re new to procurement, you may be wondering what it is. There’s a lot of confusing terminologies involved with solicitations. Navigating your way around can be a challenge. Luckily for you, we’re here to help.
We’ll be answering a few of your FAQs surrounding Sources Sought.
A Sources Sought notice is essentially a solicitation of interest. It is not an actual proposal or bid solicitation. You can think of it as similar to market research that’s being carried out by a government agency. During the Sources Sought, they are looking to see what the interest and capabilities of the marketplace are. Sources Sought can also be referred to as an RFI (Request for Information).
They help the contracting authority gauge whether there is potential for any set-asides. As a small business, responding to a Sources Sought is a great opportunity. You can raise your voice and show that there could be potential for a set-aside.
Remember: You must only reply if you are capable of providing the service/product described in the notice.
The benefit of this would be that small businesses would have a higher chance of winning the contract. This is because there is a certain number of contracts that are set aside for small businesses. These are known as Small Business Set Asides (SBSAs).
The federal government has a target of setting aside 23% of all government solicitations for smaller businesses. They work in association with the Small Business Association (SBA). The government has their own targets to award contracts to smaller vendors. In fact, their small business contracting goals have been surpassing for seven years consecutively (2020).
There are different set-aside goals that each office has to meet. And, within the general term ‘set-aside’, there are various sub-sections. These include:
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) can help with the clarification. They state that RFI may be used when the government doesn’t intend to award a contract presently. An RFI is a technique for conducting market research. They want to obtain:
Sources Sought are notices to improve small business access to acquisition information. It can enhance competition by identifying contracting and subcontracting opportunities. The contracting officer will review the Sources Sought to see if they can be set aside for small businesses. This gives consideration to the recommendations of agency personnel.
The CO shall perform market research. They will document the reasons why an SBSA is inappropriate when an acquisition is not set aside for small businesses. They are seeking possible sources for a project. It is not a solicitation, nor a request for proposal (RFP). It is market research without pricing or technical recommendations.
That would be completely up to you. If it’s one that is of interest, it may be worth doing. By responding to a Sources Sought you can distinguish yourself from your competitors. It’s known that there isn’t often a great number of responses to a Sources Sought. If you respond, you may be able to leave a positive lasting impression with the contracting office (CO). Although you can’t win a contract at this stage, the impression of your company is likely to carry over. This may lead to a follow up or eventual contract with the buyer. Remember that not only are you answering the questions but convincing them of your competency.
Sources Sought often has specific instructions to respond. You should always follow these, now is not the time for a creative interpretation. Give the contracting agency exactly what it asks for. The amount of detail within a Sources Sought can vary. Many provide a statement of work (SOW) and a request to provide their capability. Some have page limitations for a response, and some don’t.
Below are some tips on how to respond to a Sources Sought notice:
There’s no point doing half a job. If you’re going to respond to a Sources Sought notice, address every aspect of the question in detail. Give examples to demonstrate what you mean, showing off your knowledge and skills on the matter. If the question is asking more than one thing – break it down. Ensure you’re answering every element.
Do you have general or detailed knowledge of the area they’re enquiring about? How long have you been working in that field? Obviously, the more experienced the better for some contracts. Additionally, if it is for an SBSA your size shouldn’t matter as much. You can be greatly experienced yet still a fairly small vendor. This is how a Sources Sought can help the government get a better idea.
If this is applicable, you should include information if you were a subcontractor. What was your function/core function? How much of the contract did you handle? This is an important aspect for them to understand how achievable the SOW is. Sharing how realistic it would be with or without a subcontractor may be of high importance.
Do you have any intentions to subcontract or team up with another business? How much work can you do in your own right and what percentage are you reliant on subcontracting?
Read the SOW carefully. Show an understanding of the scope of the contract through examples. What are the issues that could arise? Explain how you’ve handled these challenges in the past or how you will going forward – should they arise.
Have you done work in the past with this contracting agency? If you haven’t, you should think about how long it will take you to learn their way of doing things. This includes the different regulations needed. Do any of your team have experience working with this branch of the government, be it local, state, or federal? Are you familiar with this situation having encountered it before?
Have you done work with other agencies, commercially or not? Do any of your key personnel have the knowledge and experience? If they do, you should detail how the work for them relates to this agency? Obviously, only include those past contract experiences that are similar and relevant in scope, style, and complexity.
Identifying previous contract examples is a good thing to do in your response. Identify the contract number, agency, scope, and value of the contract. You should also consider the length and functions you did under the contract and the role your business played. Detailing this can help emphasize your experience, credibility, and capability.
A Sources Sought notice may require you to identify any specific certifications, specialist equipment, or regulations. Are there any necessary to the function of the contract at hand? If there are, you will need to give the details.
What key personnel will be involved with this? Identify who they are and what experience is essential for them to have. What background do they need to have and are there any particular qualifications and certifications they must obtain?
Do you and your co-workers have security clearance? If not, are you able to obtain cleared personnel to work on this? As you would expect, depending on the contract, this would be of fairly high importance to the government.
Would you need to hire more team members to work on this contract? If you do, where and how quickly can you hire them? Would this be a big growth opportunity for your company? If it would be, how would you handle this and how would it impact your management? Do you have a growth plan in place already to support this?
If you have been mostly subcontracting, do you have the management skill to be prime? They will be questioning if you not only have the skills but the management ability to handle it.
Do you have the financial capabilities to fund this project? If not, where would you get it from? As mentioned above, you won’t need to come up with any pricing like you would for an RFI. However, your financial capabilities are important, and you will likely be expected to detail more information.
Sources Sought notices may require you to have a plan to transition this contract from a previous vendor. You should indicate if you have a plan in place and how long it will take. Often, you won’t have to provide the minute details of the plan at this time, but it’s worth thinking about. Draw and give examples of previous transition times on other contracts.
Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what to expect from a Sources Sought notice. It’s worth responding if you’re interested in responding to an RFP should they release one later on.
Our RFP Writing service is the perfect solution to ensure that you submit a high-quality bid, even when you’re busy. Our writers will break down the solicitation documents, allowing you to see what the bid and the contract involves. This will help to ensure that you have all the specified evidence and meet the requirements of the contracting authority. Our RFP Writers will then craft persuasive, high-quality responses, attach supporting evidence and even submit the bid on your behalf. Upload the solicitation documents for a free quote.
Have you already written a bid but need a second pair of eyes to review your work? Our RFP Mentor service will do just that. Simply send over your bid responses and the solicitation documents. Our writers will then assess your work, ensuring that your responses are in line with the specification. They will also check for any spelling or grammar errors. You can then submit your bid with confidence. Upload your work for a free quote.
Do you need help with preparing a bid proposal? Proposal Ready can help businesses that are new to bidding or those in need of rejuvenating their content. Our Bid Consultants will create:
All information and data on this blog site are for informational purposes only. Hudson Outsourcing LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity, of any information. Hudson Outsourcing LLC will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided AS IS with no warranties and confers no rights.
Hudson Outsourcing LLC will not be responsible for any material that is found at the end of the links that may be posted on this blog site.
Because the information on this blog is based on Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s own opinion and experience, it should not be considered professional financial investment advice. The ideas and bidding strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s thoughts and opinions will also change from time to time as the market changes and as Hudson Outsourcing LLC develops.
