Abt contract and proposal

affiliate

an institutional member of the team which is provided the possibilty of work under the project, but to whom no subcontract arrangement has been promised

bafo

best and final offer

boilerplate

standard forms required for Government procurement submission; also refers to contract language and regulations governing contract implementation

briefing

oral discussion and/or presentation to the Government regarding proposal; may or not be part of bafo; may be very formal or informal

business management proposal

part of proposal that provides budget and required contract documentation

CBD Commerce Business Daily

a Government publication which announces upcoming RFPs and other procurement notices

CMIS Corporate Marketing Information Service

an Abt department headquartered in Cambridge

competitive range

second round of competition for institutions who have successfully passed through the initial evaluation of the technical and cost proposal; may or may not coincide with bafo

cost proposal

cost proposal

cover letter

a letter which accompanies the technical and cost proposals identifying the offering firms, the individual in the company with the ability to negotiate, the length of time for which the offer is good for, and other pertinent information as required

evaluation criteria

criteria by which the Government rates the quality and responsiveness of bids

issue date

the date on which a request for proposal is expected to be issued/released by the Government

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

Memorandum of Understanding between the prime contractor and subcontractor with regards to the bidding process and their intent should they win the project (also referred to as Teaming Agreement)

offer letter

offer letter

partner

an equal shared institutional arrangement between two or more firms which form a legal partnership for the purpose of bidding on and instituting a project; Abt rarely entertains engaging in partnership arrangements

preproposal briefing

a public meeting held by the Government prior to proposal submission to explain the requirements of the RFP; may be held before or after release of RFP

prime contractor

the institutional member of the proposed team who has the contractual relationship with the Government (and usually conducts a majority of the work) and is responsible for the conduct of all work

procurement

the process of soliciting bids and awarding a project

protest

bidders may submit a protest to the Government if they believe that the decision making process for firm selection is faulty in some manner

release date

the date an RFP is available for public distribution

RFA Request for Application

usually refers to grants or cooperative agreements

RFP Request for Proposal

usually for contracts

SF 33

Standard Government form which provides a cover page to the cost proposal and summarizes basic project identifying information.

SOW

Scope of Work

subcontactor

an institution that works with a prime contractor through subcontract arrangement

submission instructions

RFP instructions with regard to the style, location, and method of submitting proposals

teaming agreement

a document signed by Abt and potential subcontractors outlining the proposed arrangements relative to a particular procurement/RFP

technical proposal

part of proposal which discusses how the work will be completed, who will do it, when it will be done, and what experience the firms have in conducting similar work - the technical proposal MAY NOT make mention of any cost information

TPM

Team Planning Meeting