The FAR Council has released its FAR Overhaul revisions to Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The changes are substantial. The structure of Part 15 has been reorganized to provide a more intuitive flow around the acquisition life cycle—i.e., presolicitation, solicitation, evaluation, award, and post-award. The Council also made significant changes in nomenclature. “Discussions” are now referred to as “negotiations.” The term “communications” has been removed. “Deficiency” has been redefined.
The Council has expanded the scope of Clarifications to include what was previously defined as “communications.” Moreover, the Council has added guidelines for the use of clarifications.
The revisions also redefine the “competitive range” as the group of proposals the contracting officer determines are best suited for further negotiation. Contracting officers must negotiate with each offeror in the competitive range. But further negotiations with one offeror do not obligate the CO to engage in further negotiations with other offerors.