5.2.1  Sources of Information

The primary sources of past performance information will be that provided by offerors in the form of specific past and present efforts cited in their proposals.  Asking the offeror to submit no more than 1 ten 2 of their most recent and relevant efforts generally provides an adequate sample size 3.  However, the government is not limited to these ten efforts when evaluating past performance.  In addition to government sources of information, such as the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) 4 and other DoD data bases, etc., information can be accessed from private sources such as Dun and Bradstreet as well as commercial sources.

Note 1:  We advise against using the words "at least" in setting the number of efforts required.

Note 2:  The contracting officer must use discretion in selecting the number of efforts appropriate for their acquisition situation.

Note 3:  If critical subcontractors are anticipated, consider asking for five from the prime and five from each critical subcontractor.  Rather than request references, another option is to place the questionnaire and cover letter (see Attachment 4) in the solicitation and require the offeror to send the questionnaire to his references and in turn submit the completed questionnaire to the government.

Note 4:  See web site in paragraph 8.0 of this guide.