1.2  Why Use This Guide and Template?

This guide and template were written to help you write Air Force solicitations that better define and communicate to potential offerors how to develop and submit their proposals for  formal best value source selections--those conducted in accordance with Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS) 5315.3 Source Selection2.  "Best value" encompasses a range of selection techniques that allow the Government to make an award decision based on those criteria deemed most important to assure the successful and affordable satisfaction of the mission requirement(s).  Through this continuum, the relative importance of cost or price and other factors varies (See FAR 15.101). This guide and template will help you to ensure your solicitation clearly directs offerors to supply the information your source selection team will need, in the format they need, to conduct their evaluation and award contracts to successful offerors.  It will also help you to make sure you don't ask for information you don't need.  This is critical, as extraneous information wastes both the offerors' and evaluators' time and resources.

Note:  For acquisition requirements unique to the A-76 program, refer to Air Force Instruction (AFI) 38-203, Commercial Activities Program.

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2  This guide and template should be modified as appropriate for use in acquisitions using the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) or Performance Price Tradeoff (PPT) process.