The SSA decision shall be based on what?

• A. A random selection.
• B. A comparison of proposals based solely on price.
• C. A comparative assessment of proposals against all source selection criteria in the solicitation.
• D. The first proposal received.

Answer: (C)

In negotiated procurements, the decision by the Source Selection Authority is made through a careful, comparative analysis of each offer against the criteria stated in the solicitation. This means proposals are evaluated against all source selection criteria, and then ranked to determine which one provides the best overall value to the Government. Price is considered as part of the evaluation, but not in isolation; non-price factors like technical merit, past performance, and management approach are weighed as well, and a tradeoff may be used to select the most advantageous proposal. Random selection or awarding to the first received proposal would not align with this process.