(a) In accordance with FAR 15.303, the source selection authorities are designated as follows:
(1) The Contracting Officer, for contracts awarded using the “lowest-priced technically-acceptable proposal” process; and,
(2) The Assistant Secretary or equivalent for the office initiating the procurement for contracts awarded using the tradeoff process. The Assistant Secretary or equivalent may delegate this function to appropriate departmental personnel.
(3) For procurements for the performance of legal services by outside counsel, using either the "lowest-price technically acceptable" or "tradeoff" approach, the General Counsel or his/her designee.
(b) The technical requirements related to source selection shall be performed by a Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP). Generally, a TEP will consist of three to five members, with one member serving as the chairperson. For procurements involving technical complexity, the TEP may include advisors and committees to focus on specific technical areas or concerns. For relatively low dollar value and routine acquisitions of equipment, supplies or services, the TEP may consist of one technical representative. The TEP is responsible for documenting the evaluation of all proposals as appropriate to the source selection approach in use and for making the source selection recommendation to the source selection authority.
