Glossary / Evaluation
Debriefing
A debriefing is the agency's explanation to an offeror of the evaluation of its proposal: the significant weaknesses and deficiencies, the overall ratings, the awardee's price and ratings where allowed, and a summary of the rationale for the award. FAR 15.505 and 15.506 cover pre-award and post-award debriefings in negotiated procurements; the request must be made within three days of the notice. Defense debriefings for larger awards include a written question period after the debriefing itself. Task-order competitions have their own, lighter rules.
Why it matters to your pipeline
A debriefing is the only time a buyer tells a company exactly why it won or lost, which makes it the cheapest market research in federal contracting. Firms that ask for every debriefing, win or lose, learn what the evaluators actually weigh and fix the next proposal accordingly. GovSmith's vCMs request them as a matter of course and record the findings against the client's profile.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
After losing a $3M task order, a firm's debriefing shows its technical volume rated Acceptable and the winner's Outstanding, with the difference in a staffing plan that named specific people. The next proposal names the team, and wins.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.