§ 253m. Design-build selection procedures
(a)
Authorization
Unless the traditional acquisition approach of design-bid-build established under sections
1101 to
1104 of title
40 is used or another acquisition procedure authorized by law is used, the head of an executive agency shall use the two-phase selection procedures authorized in this section for entering into a contract for the design and construction of a public building, facility, or work when a determination is made under subsection (b) of this section that the procedures are appropriate for use.
(b)
Criteria for use
A contracting officer shall make a determination whether two-phase selection procedures are appropriate for use for entering into a contract for the design and construction of a public building, facility, or work when the contracting officer anticipates that three or more offers will be received for such contract, design work must be performed before an offeror can develop a price or cost proposal for such contract, the offeror will incur a substantial amount of expense in preparing the offer, and the contracting officer has considered information such as the following:
(c)
Procedures described
Two-phase selection procedures consist of the following:
(1)
The agency develops, either in-house or by contract, a scope of work statement for inclusion in the solicitation that defines the project and provides prospective offerors with sufficient information regarding the Government’s requirements (which may include criteria and preliminary design, budget parameters, and schedule or delivery requirements) to enable the offerors to submit proposals which meet the Government’s needs. If the agency contracts for development of the scope of work statement, the agency shall contract for architectural and engineering services as defined by and in accordance with sections
1101 to
1104 of title
40.
(2)
The contracting officer solicits phase-one proposals that—
(3)
The evaluation factors to be used in evaluating phase-one proposals are stated in the solicitation and include specialized experience and technical competence, capability to perform, past performance of the offeror’s team (including the architect-engineer and construction members of the team) and other appropriate factors, except that cost-related or price-related evaluation factors are not permitted. Each solicitation establishes the relative importance assigned to the evaluation factors and subfactors that must be considered in the evaluation of phase-one proposals. The agency evaluates phase-one proposals on the basis of the phase-one evaluation factors set forth in the solicitation.
(4)
The contracting officer selects as the most highly qualified the number of offerors specified in the solicitation to provide the property or services under the contract and requests the selected offerors to submit phase-two competitive proposals that include technical proposals and cost or price information. Each solicitation establishes with respect to phase two—
(A)
the technical submission for the proposal, including design concepts or proposed solutions to requirements addressed within the scope of work (or both), and
(B)
the evaluation factors and subfactors, including cost or price, that must be considered in the evaluations of proposals in accordance with subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section
253a of this title.
The contracting officer separately evaluates the submissions described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(d)
Solicitation to state number of offerors to be selected for phase-two requests for competitive proposals
A solicitation issued pursuant to the procedures described in subsection (c) of this section shall state the maximum number of offerors that are to be selected to submit competitive proposals pursuant to subsection (c)(4) of this section. The maximum number specified in the solicitation shall not exceed 5 unless the agency determines with respect to an individual solicitation that a specified number greater than 5 is in the Government’s interest and is consistent with the purposes and objectives of the two-phase selection process.
(e)
Requirement for guidance and regulations
The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall include guidance—