Sec. 21.05.13.04. Evaluation of Proposals for Awarding Master Contractor Agreements and Debriefings

A. The designated procurement unit shall establish a procedure for the consideration and approval of proposals for qualification of multiple offerors in each category of services, supplies, or commodities in the master contract.

B. Upon completion of all discussions, the procurement officer shall make a determination recommending award of the master contractor agreement to the responsible offerors whose proposals are determined to be qualified for a particular master contract considering price and evaluation factors set forth in the solicitation. After obtaining the approval of this recommendation by the agency head or designee, all other approvals required by this title, and certification by the appropriate fiscal authority as to the availability of funds, the designated procurement unit may award the master contractor agreements.

C. Notice of Award. After a master contractor agreement is entered into, the designated procurement unit shall publish notice of its award in eMaryland Marketplace not more than 30 days after the execution and approval of the master contractor agreement.

D. Debriefing of Unsuccessful Offerors.

(1) When a master contractor agreement is to be awarded on some basis other than price alone, unsuccessful offerors may submit a written request for a debriefing to the procurement officer within a reasonable time. Debriefing shall be provided at the earliest feasible time after the procurement officer receives a request for a debriefing and before the master contractor agreement award is presented to the agency head or designee or the Board for approval. The debriefing shall be conducted by a procurement official familiar with the rationale for the selection decision and master contractor agreement award.

(2) Debriefing shall:

(a) Be limited to discussion of the unsuccessful offeror’s proposal and may not include specific discussion of a competing offeror’s proposal;

(b) Be factual and consistent with the evaluation of the unsuccessful offeror’s proposal; and

(c) Provide information on areas in which the unsuccessful offeror’s technical proposal was deemed weak or deficient.

(3) Debriefing may not include discussion or dissemination of the thoughts, notes, or rankings of individual members of an evaluation committee, but may include a summary of the procurement officer’s rationale for the selection decision and recommended master contractor agreement award.

(4) A summary of the debriefing shall be made a part of the master contractor agreement file.