Keep the Door Open

ennan should report the note immediately to Martin and also begin gathering information. He should write down his own recollection of the events that took place and forward for comments or concurrence with all others who attended, including Jill Foster.

Kennan also should develop a strategy to deflect potential criticism. For instance, direct the contracting officer to forward any material clarifications to all of industry in an amendment to the solicitation. Kennan could also call all the potential offerors and make them aware that he has an open-door policy to meet with them on any issues.

Although I do not know the extent of the clarifications and how they may have affected the solicitation requirements, it does not appear he went too far. Having individual meetings with the potential offerors is a smart thing to do. However, once the solicitation is issued, it is often better to keep it in the contracting management chain. The government can gain much from these private interactions, provided that we have an open-door policy for all competitors. It can actually help us improve the solicitation.

I think he should have listened to James Bay Pipeline's requests for clarifications and discussed them to ensure he understood the requests, but not provided an answer until the firm formally came to the contracting officer. This would ensure that all parties understand the clarifications, should they have a material effect on the solicitation.

Again, I would have an open-door policy to all. I would use the contracting management chain to handle almost all inquires after the solicitation was released. Stay away from providing clarifications, without going through contracting.

Kevin Carroll is the program executive officer of Standard Army Management Information Systems at Fort Belvoir, Va. He is responsible for acquisition and management of key combat service support and business systems.