tion. Such proposals are considered to be a means whereby sources outside the Government may propose pertinent and creative activities to the Department.

(b) Policy. It is the policy of the Department to accept the submission of unsolicited proposals.

(c) Submission. All unsolicited proposals for research shall be submitted in an original and five (5) copies to the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Office of Program Planning and Administration, 451-7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20410. Unsolicited proposals for other than research shall be submitted in an original and five (5) copies to the Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts, 451-7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20410. Each proposal should contain a cover page with a one paragraph abstract and a statement as to where else in HUD or any other Federal Government agency the proposal has been sent. If the proposal contains technical data which the offeror wishes to restrict for evaluation purposes only, he shall mark the title page of the proposal with a legend stating substantially the following:

"Technical data contained in pages of this proposal shall not be used or disclosed, except for evaluation purposes, provided that if a contract or grant is awarded to this offeror as a result of or in connection with the submission of this proposal, the Government shall have the right to use or disclose this technical data to the extent provided in the contract or grant. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use or disclose any data obtained from another source without restrictions."

The unsolicited proposal must include the following minimum information:

(1) A statement of the problem the proposal addresses including the need for the research.

(2) A brief outline of the work to be done in carrying out the project including a statement of objectives.

(3) An explanation of why, in terms of the proposed products, it is both important and urgent that the problem be addressed.

(4) A description of the approach selected and rationale for selection over other possible approaches.

(5) A brief itemization of relevant work known to have been undertaken

in this area; either in process or completed, including references to any existing experience and data that could be used.

(6) A description of how the program results are anticipated to be translated into practice in terms of (i) the organization(s) involved and/or responsible and (ii) the steps remaining between program completion and implementation.

(7) The proposed starting and completion date and significant milestone dates.

(8) A proposed budget, including separate cost estimates for labor, materials, overhead, travel, subcontracts and other direct or indirect costs as appropriate.

(9) A commitment to provide costsharing and a statement as to the share to be borne by the contractor.

(10) Background descriptions of the persons expected to assume professional and administrative responsibility respectively for the project throughout its duration. Identification, to the extent possible, of the principal persons who would supervise and perform the project work; and explanation of how their experience and competence are related to the proposed activities.

(11) Current financial statement (certified through independent audit).

(12) Signature of a responsible official authorized to obligate the organization; and the time limit of the offer. (d) Evaluation. The appropriate office designated in § 24-3.101-51(c) shall acknowledge receipt of the proposal and forward all but one (1) Copy to the appropriate program office for evaluation. If the offeror did not mark the proposal with the legend specified in paragraph (b) of this section, the appropriate receiving office shall place a cover sheet on the proposal and mark it as shown below, unless the offeror gives a clear written indication that he does not wish to impose any restrictions on the disclosure or use of the data contained in the proposal.

All Government personnel handling this proposal shall exercise extreme care to insure that the information contained herein is not disclosed outside the Government and is not duplicated, used or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose

40-113 0-79--8

other than to evaluate the proposal, without the written permission of the offeror. However, if a contract is awarded on the basis of this proposal, the terms of the contract shall control disclosure and use.

The appropriate program office shall conduct a thorough evaluation of the unsolicited proposal and furnish its comments and recommendations to the appropriate office designated in paragraph (c) of this section.

(e) Procurement procedure. The modes of procurement are identified as follows:

(1) Competitive procurement. A favorable technical evaluation of an unsolicited proposal is not, in itself, sufficient justification for negotiations on a noncompetitive basis with the offeror. If the substance of the proposal is available without restriction from another source, or its substance closely resembles that of a pending competitive solicitation or otherwise is not sufficiently unique to justify acceptance, HUD's policy of obtaining competition applies. When procurement is intended and competition is feasible, the unsolicited proposal shall be rejected by a letter from the appropriate office specified in § 24-3.101-51(c). A copy of such letter and associated unsolicited proposal shall be retained in the files of the appropriate receiving office. All other copies of the proposal shall be returned to the contractor.

(2) Noncompetitive procurement. When an unsolicited proposal has received a favorable technical evaluation and it is determined that the substance thereof is not available to HUD without restriction from another source, contains an original concept or idea, or competition is otherwise preIcluded, the subject matter of such unsolicited proposal may be procured from the offeror on a noncompetitive basis. The program office sponsoring the procurement shall support its recommendation with a summary of the circumstances warranting procurement on a noncompetitive basis. If, in the judgment of the Office of Procurement and Contracts, acceptance of the unsolicited proposal is adequately supported, the appropriate Contracting Officer shall prepare a document entitled: "Justification for Acceptance of an Unsolicited Proposal." The "Justifi

cation" shall include the findings set forth in paragraphs (e)(2) (i) or (ii) of this section.

(i) The procurement is for basic scientific or engineering research; and the unsolicited proposal was selected on the basis of its overall merit, cost and contribution to HUD's program objective, after a thorough evaluation and comparison with other proposals, solicited or unsolicited, in the same or related fields; or

(ii) The procurement is for services other than basic research (e.g., development, feasibility studies, etc.); the unsolicited proposal contains technical data or offers unique capabilities that are not available from another source or contains an original concept or idea; and it is not feasible or practical to define the Government's requirement in such a way as to avoid the necessity of using the technical data contained in the unsolicited proposal.

In addition, the "Justification" shall include the facts and circumstances that support the recommendation and operate to preclude competitive procurement. The "Justification" shall be signed by the Contracting Officer and inserted in the procurement file.

(f) An unsolicited proposal shall be returned to the offeror if, for any reason, the Government decides not to enter into a contract based on such proposal with the offeror. Return of the proposal shall be done in the same manner provided for return set forth in paragraph (e) of this section.

(g) Program offices receiving unsolicited proposals directly from offerors shall forward them to the appropriate office designated in paragraph (c) of this section for initial processing.

Subpart 24-3.103-Dissemination of Procurement Information

§ 24-3.103-1 Publicizing procurement actions.

The Department shall continually search for and develop information on sources (including minority and small business concerns) competent to provide supplies or services. Advance publicity, including use of the Commerce Business Daily to the fullest extent practicable, shall be given for this pur

poses. The search should include (a) a review of relevant data or brochures furnished by sources seeking to do business with the Department and (b) a cooperative effort by program personnel, small business specialists, and contracting officers to obtain information and recommendations with respect to potential sources and to consider the desirability of seeking other sources by publication of proposed procurements, in addition to the synopsis requirement. It is the responsibility of each procuring activity to use to the maximum extent practical its bidders' mailing list for soliciting competition. Applications for inclusion on the bidders mailing list may be obtained from the appropriate procurement activity identified in HUDPR 241.451.

during the solicitation phase.

No information shall be released during the solicitation phase of a procurement unless through the following methods:

(a) Each solicitation for a negotiated procurement shall specify an individual within the procuring activity who shall be responsible for responding to inquiries concerning the solicitation and evaluation of proposals resulting from the solicitation. All questions concerning the solicitation, whether of a procedural or substantive nature, shall be directed to the above individual. All other personnel will avoid exchange of comments with all offerors or potential offerors. Answers to questions requiring clarification of the substantive portion of the solicitation shall be provided by amendment to the solicitation, a copy of which shall be furnished to each recipient of the solicitation.

(b) Each procuring activity shall, in accordance with 41 CFR 1-1.1003-4, publish in the Commerce Business Daily the names and addresses of firms to whom solicitations will be issued when substantial subcontracting opportunities exist and it is not contrary to the Government's interest to publish them. The furnishing of this information in any other manner shall be at the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

No information shall be released during the evaluation phase of a procurement unless through the following methods:

(a) During the course of evaluating proposals, personnel involved in this activity shall not reveal any information concerning the evaluation of proposals to anyone who is not also participating in the same evaluation proceedings, except as may be required for internal clearances.

(b) Preaward notice of unacceptable offers. In any procurement in which it appears that the period of evaluation of proposals is likely to exceed sixty (60) days, the Contracting Officer, upon determination that a proposal is unacceptable, shall provide prompt notice of the fact to the offeror submitting the proposal. In addition to stating that the proposal has been determined to be unacceptable, the notice to the offeror shall indicate, in general terms, the basis for such determination and shall advise that, since further negotiation with him concerning this procurement is not contemplated, a revision of his proposal will not be considered. Such notice need not be given if (1) in the judgment of the Contracting Officer, the disclosure will prejudice the Government's interest; (the possibility of protest shall not be considered prejudicial) or (2) if the proposed contract is to be awarded within a few days and notice pursuant to 41 CFR 1-3.103 would suffice.

(c) Preaward notice-small businesss set-asides. In any procurement involving a small business set-aside to be placed through conventional negotiation, upon final completion of negotiations and determinations of responsibility but prior to award, the Contracting Officer shall inform each unsuccessful offeror by written notice of the name and location of the apparently successful offeror(s). Each apparently unsuccessful offeror should be advised that any subsequent revisions of his proposal will not be considered, since no further negotiations are contemplated, and further pre-award contact with the Contracting Officer shall not be made with regard to the instant

procurement unless the unsuccessful offeror has grounds to challenge the small business size status of the apparently successful offeror(s). This notification procedure shall not apply to procurements negotiated pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 252(c) (4), (5) or (6); negotiated with a foreign supplier when only foreign sources or supplies or services have been solicited; or urgent procurement actions which the Contracting Officer determines in writing must be awarded without delay to protect the public interest. The Contracting Officer's determination shall be placed in the contract file.

§ 24-3.103-4 Postaward release of procurement information.

Promptly after making award of any procurement in excess of $10,000, the Contracting Officer shall, if he has not done so pursuant to § 24-3.103-3(c) of this Chapter, give written notice to the unsuccessful offerors that their proposals were not accepted. The notice should name the successful contractor and state the amount of the award and the number of proposals received. Where additional information is requested by the offeror, debriefing will be conducted as follows:

(a) It is the policy of the Department to provide a debriefing to any unsuccessful offeror who makes a written request to the Contracting Officer within two (2) months after contract award.

(b) A debriefing is intended to:

(1) Tell an unsuccesful offeror which areas of his proposal were judged to be weak and deficient and whether the weaknesses or deficiencies were factors in his not having been selected.

(2) Identify the factors which were the basis for selection of the successful contractor. If the quality of the successful offeror's proposal to satisfy the mission requirement was the basis, the unsuccessful offeror should be so informed and given a general comparison of significant areas, but not a point by point comparison of all the elements considered in the evaluation criteria.

(c) A debriefing should not reveal: (1) Confidential business information, trade secrets, techniques, or processes of the other offerors; and

(2) The relative merits or technical standing of the unsuccessful offerors or the scoring by the Source Evaluation Board or Technical Evaluation Panel.

(d) Any HUD official who receives from an unsuccessful offeror a request, written or oral, for a debriefing shall immediately refer the request to the appropriate procuring activity which shall make the necessary arrangements for the debriefing.

(e) It is essential that the debriefing be conducted in a scrupulously fair, objective and impartial manner, and that the information given be factual and consistent with the findings of the evaluation and the basis on which the source selection official made his decision.

(f) It is most important that all HUD personnel engaged in the evaluation and selection process be aware of the foregoing policies and procedures. Detailed and complete records will be maintained by key technical and business participants in a manner which will facilitate either a written or oral debriefing of any unsuccessful offeror's proposal.

§ 24-3.106 Preproposal conferences.

In cases of complex procurement, preproposal conferences may be used to explain complicate specifications and requirements to prospective offerors so as to permit them to submit proposals without undue expenditure of effort, time and money. The preproposal conference shall not be used as a method for prequalification of offerors, and may only be used when approved by the head of the procuring activity. The preproposal conference shall be arranged and conducted by the Contracting Officer or his representative, with participation by technical and legal personnel as appropriate. All prospective offerors shall be furnished identical information in connection with the proposed procurement. Remarks and explanations at the conference shall not qualify the terms of the solicitation and specifications. All conferees shall be advised that unless the solicitation is amended in writing it will remain unchanged and that if an amendment is issued, normal procedures relating to the ac

knowledgment and receipt of solicitation amendments shall be applied. A complete record shall be made of the conference.

Subpart 24-3.150-Treatment of Proposal Information

§ 24-3.150-1 General.

It is the general policy of HUD to use information contained in proposals only for evaluation purposes except to the extent such information is generally available to the public, is already the property of the Government or the Government already has unrestricted use rights, or it is or has been made available to the Government from other sources, including the offeror, without restriction.

§ 24-3.150-2 Disposition of unsuccessful proposals.

Unsuccessful proposals shall be disposed of as follows:

(a) By the procuring activity. Unsuccessful cost and technical proposals shall be retained in the procuring activity for a period of two (2) months subsequent to contract award as reference material for debriefings in accordance with HUDPR 24-3.103. Upon expiration of the two (2) month period, the procurement office shall destroy each unsuccessful proposal unless (1) a debriefing has been requested but not held or (2) a protest is pending concerning the procurement.

(b) By the program office. Unsuccessful proposals shall be retained on file in the program office which conducted the technical evaluation for a period of two (2) months subsequent to contract award. Upon expiration of the two (2) month period, the program office shall return all copies of each unsuccessful proposal not required for Departmental use to the procuring activity for destruction.

(c) Unsuccessful proposals shall not be used for other than internal reference unless (1) written permission has been obtained from the offeror or (2) the proposal expressly states that unrestricted use of the proposal is given to the Government regardless of its success in the competition or (3) any

of the conditions described in HUDPR 24-3.150-1 exist.

§ 24-3.150-3 Use of successful proposals.

Successful proposals will be accorded unrestricted use by the Government unless the offeror places restrictions on the use of the proposal and the proposal is not incorporated in the resulting contract.

Subpart 24-3.4-Type of Contracts

§ 24-3.405-3 Cost-sharing contract.

(a) Purpose. This section implements Federal Management Circular No. 733 with respect to HUD contracts and sets forth basic guidelines governing cost sharing on research contracts with non-Federal organizations.

(b) Basic guidelines. (1) Cost sharing with non-Federal organizations shall be required or encouraged as provided below for the following contracts for basic or applied research:

(i) Cost-sharing shall be required for any contract which results from an unsolicited proposal.

(ii) A contract which does not result from an unsolicited proposal but in which the parties have nevertheless considerable mutual interest in the research (e.g., when it is probable that the performing organization or institution will receive significant future benefits from the research such as: Increased technical knowledge useful in future operations; additional technical or scientific expertise or training for its personnel; opportunity to benefit through patent rights; and the use of background knowledge in future production contracts).

(2) Cost sharing ordinarily shall not be applied to the following contracts: (i) When the Contracting Officer has determined that:

(a) The research effort has only minor relevance to the non-Federal activities of the performing organization, which is proposing to undertake the research primarily as a service to the Government; or

(b) The performing organization has little or no non-Federal sources of funds from which to make a cost contribution; or

(c) The performing organization is predominately engaged in research