What do post-award debriefings need to include?

• A. The Government's evaluation of significant weaknesses or deficiencies in the offeror's proposal, if applicable
• B. The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during the source selection
• C. The overall cost or price (including unit prices), and technical rating, if applicable, of the successful offeror and the debriefed offeror
• D. Reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed

Answer: (C)

Post-award debriefings are meant to show the basis for the government’s award decision in a way that lets the debriefed offeror understand how it compared to the winner. The most essential, consistently required details are the actual cost or price (including unit prices) and the technical rating assigned to both the successful offeror and the debriefed offeror. Providing these numbers and ratings lets the debriefed firm see how price and technical merit affected the award and whether the evaluation was fair and reasonable.

Other elements, like the government’s evaluation of significant weaknesses or deficiencies, the ranking of all offerors (if such ranking was developed), or responses to questions about procedures followed, can also appear in a debriefing, but they are contingent on the specific procurement or the questions asked. The core, universal pieces are the cost/price and the technical rating for the winner and the debriefed offeror.