1.4  What is in This Guide and Template?

This practical "how-to" instructional reference tool is designed in a modular format, so you can concentrate on specific areas of key interest while skipping those that are familiar.  A description and overview of Section L is presented in Section 1.0 of the guide to provide a general sense of its layout and contents.  Section 2.0 provides more specific guidance for the Information to Offerors/Instructions for Proposal Preparation template that follows.  

For most acquisition integrated product teams (IPTs), the most difficult part of writing Section L is ensuring you have requested all the information necessary to evaluate the resulting proposals against the criteria described in Section M and have not requested information that will not be evaluated.  This is by far the most substantive and critical portion of the section.  Along with the hidden text in the template, Section 2.0 offers help in this endeavor.

Another real challenge is making sure Section L tracks to and is consistent with other parts of the solicitation, especially Section M.  Because of the interrelationship between Sections L and M, the two sections should be written together, using this guide and template and its accompanying Section M Guide and Template.

In addition to this guide and template and your source selection experts, your counterparts in industry can and will help you formulate strategies, define requirements, and draft documents. Requirements definition and acquisition strategy benefit from involving industry early in the process and providing access to documents related to the source selection to ensure there is as much communication as possible regarding the Government's needs.