Competition Requirements

When planning a competitive acquisition, agency acquisition personnel must design a process for getting information about the alternatives, assessing each alternative, and comparing the alternatives in order to determine which is best. In developing their process, they must take into account their objectives for process quality, schedule, and costs.

The FAR has never prescribed a step-by-step process for conducting a source selection; instead, it has prescribed rules governing the design of source selection processes. Review the FAR § 15.303 (source selection); §§ 15.203, 15.204, 15.205, 15.206, 15.209, and 15.304 (preparing and issuing requests for proposals and amendments thereto); and §§ 15.207 and 15.208 (submitting, receiving, handling, modifying, and revising proposals).

Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:
1.Explicate when competition is and is not required in federal contracting.
2.Explain at least three (3) major problems or issues related to full and open competition in federal contracting.
3.Explain and elaborate on the requirements that must be met in order to solicit under anything other than full and open competition.
4.Give your opinion as to whether the FAR ought to include a step-by-step process for conducting source selection. Explain your answer in detail.
5.Use at least three (3) high-quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.