Federal Archeological Contracting: Utilizing the Competitive Procurement Process

This Technical Brief outlines the Federal procurement process in archeology by emphasizing the utility and importance of the Request for Proposal (RFP) type of competitive procurement. While centering attention on Section C, the Scope of Work (SOW), important considerations in Sections F, H, L, and M are discussed also. Since one of the principal current issues in archeological contracting involves identifying and evaluating archeological properties according to criteria for eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places, it is important to determine what is "signficant" in prehistory and history. It is shown that the RFP type of competitive procurement process can assist efforts to resolve the "significance" issue by providing or facilitating better and more innovative archeological investigations and reports. The proposal evaluation process is shown to be fundamental, requiring qualified evaluators and careful development and weighting of proposal evaluation criteria. The Technical Brief concludes with a short statement on the importance of the key aspects of archeological contracting following contract award, including monitoring and peer review.