¶ … regulatory requirements the SSA must consider in making a source selection decision? According to the formal Department of Defense Source Selection Procedures (2008), in general, there are two processes which can be observed when engaging in source selection regarding government contracts. The first, the Tradeoff Source Selection Process (FAR 15.101-1) permits a "tradeoff between non-cost factors and cost/price and allows the [U.S.] Government to accept other than the lowest priced proposal or other than the highest technically rated proposal to achieve a best-value contract award" (DOD Source Selection Procedures, 2008, p.1). It uses a standard economic cost-benefit analysis approach similar to a SWOT analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the different bids. In other words, in some instances, there might be a very low bid but the quality of the materials and record of the bidder might be unacceptable; on the other hand there might be a bid from a contractor with an impeccable reputation but at a very high cost. The TSSP allows for the selection of a different bidder entirely, a bid which is cheaper than the contract offered by highest bidder although the selected bidder has a higher-quality record but a lower price than the most expensive bidder.

Another, equally acceptable alternative is the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source...

This process is used when the main objective is to find a proposal which meets minimal standards of technical acceptability at the lowest possible price (DOD Source Selection Procedures, 2008, p.1). A combination of both approaches can be used when selecting multiple source components for the same project. However, regardless of the chosen approach, "agencies are required to utilize the standardized rating tables" of the DOD (DOD Source Selection Procedures, 2008, p.1)
Q2. What type of justification, if any, is required to support a SSA's decision to award a contract to a higher priced offer?

When a contractor is selected, regardless of the price, a specific form must be filled out. A different standardized rating table is used for a tradeoff evaluation. "The Technical Evaluation Worksheet ... provides space for evaluators to list the proposal's strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies to support the rating you have given the proposal" ("How the government evaluates a proposal," 2015). Questions which arise may include "why pay 10% more, and what does the Government get for the price differential" ("How," 2015). This process is used to offer a way to analyze how cost decisions may be weighed against non-cost-based factors, "resulting in an overall 'individual' or 'cross-talk based' recommendation that considers…