2.4.3.2.1  Mission Capability Subfactors (Sub-paragraph not in Template)

The Mission Capability subfactors are the key discriminators from among the mission requirements.  The subfactors that apply to an acquisition and their relative importance are within the broad discretion of the source selection team.  However, they must:

-  Represent the key areas of importance and emphasis to be considered in the source selection decision.

-  Support meaningful comparison and discrimination between and among competing proposals.

-  Include a Systems Engineering subfactor in all ACAT source selections and in all other source selections where Systems Engineering effort is required.  If the ACAT acquisition has no Systems Engineering effort, the SSA, with Program Executive Office approval, shall document the contract file accordingly; and a Systems Engineering subfactor is not required.  Specific guidance on how to tailor the evaluation criteria on Systems Engineering can be found at the Air Force Center for Systems Engineering, in their "Reference Library" under "DoD Policies and Guidance."  Look for the Guide for Integrating Systems Engineering into DoD Acquisitions and Contracts.

-  Address small business and bundling requirements, as applicable, usually as a subfactor or part of a subfactor.  See FAR 15.304(c)(4)and (5), 19.1202-2, and  DFARS 215.304(c)(i).  DoD issues subcontracting goals for each fiscal year, and they are posted at http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/statistics/goals.htm.  Although not every acquisition has the same opportunities for subcontracting, the contracting officer should consider asking the offerors to use these goals as guidelines and to propose the maximum extent of subcontracting possible.  Offerors should also provide justification on areas where they do not meet the guidelines.  It is not a good idea to use the DoD goals as minimum standards since that could lead to a situation where an offeror (or possibly all offerors) must be rated "Red" if they cannot meet those standards.  The key purpose is for contracting officers to challenge contractors to aggressively pursue subcontracting opportunities with small businesses and the best time to do this is at the beginning of the acquisition process.  It may be appropriate to evaluate this subfactor on a pass/fail basis. Contracting officers should consult their local small business specialists for recommendations on how to best encourage small business subcontracting opportunities for their specific acquisition.

-  In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2436 and DFARS 215.304(c)(ii), consider the purchase and use of capital assets (including machine tools) manufactured in the United States, in source selections for all major defense acquisition programs, as defined in 10 U.S.C. 2430, when it is pertinent to the best value determination.  If included in the RFP, consideration for use of capital assets manufactured in the United States should be in the SOO or other requirements document, and should be included in the appropriate Mission Capability sub-factor (e.g., Systems Engineering, program management, manufacturing etc.).  The SOO clearly states the requirement for U.S. made capital assets, and the evaluation criteria in Section M state how the offeror's proposal will be evaluated to meet this requirement.  This will assure the requirement is properly evaluated for requirements (color) and risk.