When mandatory qualification criteria are necessary, NIH staff must document the comprehensive rationale for their use because they restrict competition.

NIAID will use and evaluate mandatory qualification criteria as described below.

Offerors

When a solicitation has mandatory qualification criteria, include documentation that demonstrates that you have met the criteria in one clearly marked section of your initial proposal.

Contract Specialists

Work with project officers to evaluate the need for mandatory qualification criteria. The contracting officer makes the final determination.
Document the mandatory qualification criteria proposed and why they are essential. Criteria should be clear-cut and easy to evaluate.
Ensure that the use of mandatory qualification criteria is approved as part of the acquisition plan package.
Specify in the solicitation that offerors must meet the mandatory qualification criteria when submitting an initial proposal, and include applicable provisions.
Provide solicitation instructions requiring offerors to document that the qualification criteria have been met in one clearly marked section of the proposal.
Receive proposals containing mandatory qualifications, and forward within one business day to the project officer.
Ensure that the project officer evaluates each offeror's response to the mandatory qualifications, documents whether the offeror has met the mandatory qualifications, and signs the determination.
The contracting officer determines which proposals meet the mandatory qualification criteria.
Within 14 calendar days, notify offerors whether they have met the mandatory qualification criteria. Offerors who have not met the mandatory qualifications must be notified that they will no longer be considered for award.
Forward only proposals that have met mandatory qualification criteria to the Scientific Review Program for technical evaluation.

Project Officers

Work with contract specialists to evaluate the use of mandatory qualification criteria.
Write the mandatory qualification criteria as part of the acquisition plan package.
Evaluate each proposal to determine whether the offeror has met the mandatory qualification requirements at the time of the initial proposal submission. This determination is based only on the documentation in the proposal.
Document whether the mandatory qualifications have been met for each proposal and give signed copies of this determination to the contract specialist within seven calendar days.

Contacts

Check the solicitation for contact information, or see the Office of Acquisitions staff listing for the appropriate contract specialist.

See the SRP staff directory for peer review contacts.

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Links

NIH Policy Manual 6315-1 Initiation, Review, Evaluation, and Award of R&D Contracts, Item (E.) (1.)(e.)(5.)(a.)

Proposal Submission SOP

Request for Proposals SOP

Contracting Officer SOP

Project Officer SOP

Look It Up

See the Glossary for terms.