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Electronic Code of Federal Regulations : Page 21 of 43 ( 11 ) Grantees and subgrantees alone will be responsible , in accordance with good administrative practice and sound business judgment, for the settlement of all contractual and administrative issues arising out of procurements . These issues include , but are not limited to source evaluation , protests , disputes , and claims . These standards do not relieve the grantee or subgrantee of any contractual responsibilities under its contracts . Federal agencies will not substitute their judgment for that of the grantee -or subgrantee unless the matter is primarily a Federal concern . Violations of law will be referred to the local , State , or Federal authority having proper jurisdiction . (12) Grantees and subgrantees will have protest procedures to handle and resolve disputes relating to their procurements and shall in all instances disclose Information regarding the protest to the awarding agency . A protestor must exhaust all administrative remedies with the grantee and subgrantee before pursuing a protest with the Federal agency. Reviews of protests by the Federal agency will be limited to : ( i ) Violations of Federal law or regulations and the standards of this section (violations of State or local law will be under the jurisdiction of State or local authorities) and ( li ) Violations of the grantee's or subgrantee's protest procedures for failure to review a complaint or protest. Protests received by the Federal agency other than those specified above will be referred to the grantee or subgrantee . (c) Competition . ( 1 ) All procurement transactions will be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with the standards of §31 .36 . Some of the situations considered to be restrictive of competition include but are not limited to : (i ) Placing unreasonable requirements on firms in order for them to qualify to do business , (ii) Requiring unnecessary experience and excessive bonding , ( iii ) Noncompetitive pricing practices between firms or between affiliated companies , (iv) Noncompetitive awards to consultants that are on retainer contracts , (v) Organizational conflicts of interest, (vi ) Specifying only a "brand name" product instead of allowing "an equal" product to be offered and describing the performance of other relevant requirements of the procurement, and (vii ) Any arbitrary action in the procurement process . (2 ) Grantees and subgrantees will conduct procurements in a manner that prohibits the use of statutorily or administratively imposed in-State or local geographical preferences in the evaluation of bids or proposals , except in those cases where applicable Federal statutes expressly mandate or encourage geographic preference . Nothing in this section preempts State licensing laws . When contracting for architectural and engineering (A/E) services , geographic location may be a selection criteria provided its application leaves an appropriate number of qualified firms , given the nature and size of the project , to compete for the contract. (3) Grantees will have written selection procedures for procurement transactions . These procedures will ensure that all solicitations: (i ) Incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the material , product, or service to be procured . Such description shall not, in competitive procurements , contain features which unduly restrict competition . The description may include a statement of the qualitative nature of the material ; product or service to be procured , and when necessary , shall set forth those minimum essential characteristics and standards to which it must conform if n is to satisfy its intended use . Detailed produpt specifications should be avoided If at all possible , When it is impractical or uneconomical to make a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements , a "brand name or equal" description may be used as a means to define the performance or other salient requirements of a procurement. The specific features of the named brand which must be met by offerors shall be clearly stated ; and (li ) Identify all requirements which the offerors must fulfill and all other factors to be' used in evaluating bids or proposals , http : //ecfr . >>uuoaccess. >7ov/esri/t/te3ct/texf -idx ? c =ecftRy. sirl =hFiSP(lpar5 i rdrlRal�d7hdfA14Pd� ie "711 911nn9