How To Answer A Sources Sought Notice

What A Sources Sought Notice Is

A sources sought notice is market research. An agency posts it on SAM.gov to learn which companies can do the work, before it decides how to buy. A Request for Information (RFI) is the same kind of tool.

SBA's guidance to contracting officers tells them to post sources sought announcements on SAM.gov to find small businesses in its programs, to "ask only for key pieces of information" they need to make the set-aside decision, and to "include a page limit."

Agencies use market research to learn whether capable sources exist, and "whether the acquisition should utilize any of the small business programs in accordance with part 19" (FAR 10.001(a)(3)).

Why Answering Can Matter

• Market research looks at whether small businesses are likely to submit a competitive offer at fair market prices (FAR 10.002(b)(1)(vii)).
• Above the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer sets the work aside for small business when there is a reasonable expectation of offers from at least two responsible small businesses, and award at fair market prices (FAR 19.502-2(b)). This is often called the rule of two.
• Your answer is one way the contracting officer learns that capable small businesses are out there.
• Early exchanges with industry can help "identify and resolve concerns" about how the work will be bought, the requirements, and the proposal rules (FAR 15.201(c)).

It Is Not A Proposal

• "Responses to these notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract" (FAR 15.201(e)).
• When the notice uses FAR 52.215-3, the government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of it, or to pay for the information, and your answer is treated as information only.

How To Answer, Step By Step

1. Read the whole notice. Write down the due date and time, where to send it, the page limit, and the format rules.
2. Answer every question in the order the notice asks, with its numbers and headings.
3. Put your basics at the top: company name, Unique Entity ID, CAGE code, your size for the NAICS code in the notice, and any SBA program status you really hold.
4. Show you can do the work, with proof: similar past jobs (who, what, when, and how big), the people, and the equipment.
5. Stay inside the page limit. Agencies "should not request potential sources to submit more than the minimum information necessary" (FAR 10.001(b)), so give them what they asked for, clearly.
6. If something in the notice would keep capable small businesses out, say so politely and suggest a fix.
7. Send it on time, to the address in the notice, and keep a copy.
8. Watch SAM.gov for the solicitation that may follow.

Only claim a size or status you really hold. SBA warns that "there are severe criminal penalties for knowingly misrepresenting the size of a business for a federal contract."

The FAR Overhaul

Agencies that use the overhauled text by deviation have the rule of two at 19.104-1 (it applies above the micro-purchase threshold) and RFIs at 15.101(c). The idea is the same.

How GradeTheBid Helps

The Answer A Sources Sought Or RFI tool reads the notice, lists what the agency asked for, and drafts a capability response from your own Company Profile, inside their page limit. Anything missing is marked for you to fill in. It never adds a certification or set-aside status your profile does not state.