What is "Source Selection Information"?

The Procurement Integrity Act implemented at FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) 3.104, has application for Government contractors (and prospective contractors). It provides for a ban on disclosing or obtaining procurement information (including source selection information), a requirement for Government procurement personnel to report on employment contacts by contractors, and a one year ban for certain personnel on accepting compensation from a contractor.

The primary provision that contractors sometime run afoul of is the ban on receiving source selection information. Often when such information leaks out, its because someone in the Government inadvertently forwarded an email or attached the wrong document to an email. However, there have been more than a few cases where contractors have paid money to Government officials in order to obtain source selection information.

The definition of source selection information is very broad and includes just about all information the Government uses to base its contract awards. It includes:

• Bid prices
• Proposed costs or prices
• Source selection plans
• Technical evaluation plans
• Technical evaluations of proposals
• Cost/Price evaluations of proposals
• Competitive range determinations
• Ranking of bids, proposals, or competitors
• Reports and evaluations of source selection panels, boards, or advisory councils.

Should you ever receive Government procurement information or information that a reasonable person would consider to be procurement information, you should immediately advise the contracting officer and request instructions for its disposition and mitigation of potential damage.