Two-Phase Design-Build: A Federal Estimating Scenario Walk-Through
When federal contracting officers seek design and construction in a single procurement, they frequently turn to two-phase design-build procedures. For small general contractors building a prime proposal and interior trade subcontractors pricing partitions, ceilings, and framing packages, understanding the federal ground rules prevents misallocating scarce estimating time before a project is actually ready for pricing.
Hypothetical Scenario: Reviewing a Federal Project Opportunity
Consider a hypothetical commercial general contractor evaluating a new federal agency solicitation for a government facility. Teaming with an interior framing and drywall subcontractor, the contractor's estimating team notices that the procurement is split into two phases rather than organized as a standard sealed bid or a traditional single-step request for proposals. Before spending weeks drafting full technical solutions and compiling trade pricing, the team reviews federal procurement regulations to identify why the contracting officer structured the solicitation this way and what will be expected if they advance.
Why the Agency Chose Two Phases Under FAR 36.301
Under FAR 36.301, the contracting officer must conduct an evaluation during formal or informal acquisition planning under part 7 before using two-phase design-build selection procedures. The contracting officer determines that two-phase procedures are appropriate only when specific regulatory conditions exist. First, the agency must anticipate three or more offers from competing teams. Second, design work must be performed by offerors before developing price or cost proposals, and offerors will incur a substantial amount of expense in preparing offers. In our hypothetical scenario, because competing firms must generate initial architectural and engineering design concepts to understand the facility scope, the contracting officer establishes that requiring complete pricing from all initial bidders would impose excessive upfront expense across the industry.
Evaluating the Six Core Project Criteria
Before moving forward with the procurement structure, the contracting officer must also evaluate six specific criteria outlined in FAR 36.301(b)(3):
- The extent to which the project requirements have been adequately defined.
- The time constraints for delivery of the project.
- The capability and experience of potential contractors.
- The suitability of the project for use of the two-phase selection method.
- The capability of the agency to manage the two-phase selection process.
- Other criteria established by the head of the contracting activity.
In our hypothetical walk-through, the team realizes that Phase One focuses on contractor qualifications, team experience, and capability. The prime GC and interior subcontractor do not yet compile bottom-line labor and material estimates. Instead, they confirm that their track record aligns with the agency's baseline qualifications so they can survive the initial cut without burning through detailed estimating hours prematurely.
Advancing to Phase Two: Separate Technical and Price Packages
Once the agency evaluates Phase One submissions, the selected offerors advance to Phase Two. According to FAR 36.303-2, Phase Two of the solicitation is prepared in accordance with part 15 and requires the submission of technical and price proposals. Crucially for estimators, FAR 36.303-2(b) dictates that technical proposals and price proposals shall be evaluated separately in accordance with part 15.
In our scenario, our hypothetical prime contractor establishes two distinct preparation workflows: one group focuses on design concepts and technical narratives, while the commercial estimating team manages trade subcontractor numbers. Reviewing your internal estimating routines alongside a bid day checklist ensures pricing details are isolated properly from the narrative binders so that evaluation packets comply strictly with solicitation submission guidelines.
Structuring Phase Two Technical Evaluation Factors
FAR 36.303-2(a) provides that Phase Two solicitations include evaluation factors developed in accordance with 15.304. The regulation lists four potential technical evaluation factors:
- Design concepts
- Management approach
- Key personnel
- Proposed technical solutions
For the hypothetical framing and drywall subcontractor, this means the prime GC will need specific input long before bid day. The subcontractor may need to supply resumes for key field supervisors to support the prime's key personnel factor, or provide detailing methods for complex partition assemblies to back the proposed technical solutions factor. When handing over preliminary data to the prime GC, trade estimators must coordinate closely on scope boundaries and use clear bid exclusions and clarifications so that proposed engineering solutions match the final pricing numbers submitted to the government.
Sources
FAR 36.301 Use of two-phase design-build selection procedures. | Acquisition.GOV
FAR 36.303-2 Phase Two. | Acquisition.GOV
Published October 29, 2026. No affiliate links on this page. Facts come from the sources linked above; check them for updates.