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Highlights
- Unsolicited proposals (UPs) offer contractors a low-risk, high-reward pathway to secure sole-source awards by presenting innovative solutions directly to agencies.
- Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 15.6 provides a clear framework for submitting, evaluating and protecting proprietary data in UPs, making them a viable option for unique offerings.
- As federal procurement shifts toward speed, flexibility and innovation, UPs are becoming an increasingly valuable tool for bringing new ideas to market.
As contractors take stock of the unprecedented year in federal procurement that was 2025, they face a stark dichotomy to navigate in 2026. On the one hand, some opportunities have decreased as the government took aggressive steps to consolidate, trim budgets and reduce waste. On the other hand, agencies, especially the U.S. Department of War, have doubled down on the need to procure cutting-edge solutions to keep pace with near-peer competitors such as China and Russia. This dichotomy begs the question: How can contractors best get their wares to market in 2026?
Unsolicited proposals (UPs), an overlooked and infrequently used tool provided for in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), may be just the ticket. And the best part about an UP? If an agency favorably evaluates the proposal and funding is available, the contracting officer may award a sole-source award to the offeror.
Rules and Requirements: FAR Subpart 15.6
FAR Subpart 15.6 encourages the submission of UPs for "new and innovative" ideas not currently covered by a government-initiated solicitation or program. An UP may form the basis of a sole-source award upon execution of a justification and approval (J&A). FAR Subpart 15.6 outlines the qualifications for a valid UP, content requirements, review procedures, and criteria for acceptance and negotiation of contracts.
UPs, Generally (FAR 15.603)
A valid UP must be for a unique and innovative offering that independently originated with and was developed by the offeror. The offering must be prepared without government involvement and cannot address a previously published requirement. The proposal also must not be an advance proposal for a known requirement that can be competed.
Content Requirements (FAR 15.605)
UPs must include the offeror's name and contact information and identify proprietary data in the submission (if any). UPs must also include a detailed technical section that includes a concise title and abstract, approximately 200 words, describing the proposed solution.
They must also state the clear objectives of the solution, offeror's method of approach for the particular problem or need addressed, anticipated results and an explanation of the benefit to agency. Additionally, UPs must include information on key personnel and any agency support required (i.e., government property or personnel resources)
Additional supporting information must include:
- price or cost
- type of award preferred
- duration of effort
- description of offeror's organization, experience and facilities to be used
- names and contact information for any agency personnel contacted previously
Review and Evaluation Procedures (FAR 15.606)
Agencies are required to designate points of contact for submission of UPs and set review procedures. Before initiating review, agencies must assess whether a proposal is "valid," relates to the agency's mission and an existing requirement, and has scientific, technical or socioeconomic merit. Any pre-evaluation rejections must be made in writing to the offeror.
The agency's evaluation will assess:
- unique, innovative and meritorious methods
- scientific, technical or socioeconomic merit
- offerors' capabilities, experience, facilities or techniques, or combination of these
- offerors' personnel qualifications and experience
- cost realism
Evaluators are then required to make a recommendation to the agency point of contact for UPs.
Acceptance and Negotiation (FAR 15.607)
A contracting officer may negotiate a sole-source award when an UP has been evaluated favorably and the agency wishes to proceed with making an award. Before awarding a contract, the agency must execute a formal J&A for the award, as required by FAR Subpart 6.3. The specific agency technical office sponsoring the contract provides funding for the contract. The award of a contract based on an UP must be synopsized on SAM.gov, as required by FAR Subpart 5.2.
Prohibitions and Limited Use of Data (FAR 15.608 and 15.609)
The FAR includes provisions to protect offerors' data relayed to the government in an UP. Specifically, government personnel are prohibited from using offerors' proprietary data for a solicitation or to negotiate with another firm, absent notification and approval. FAR 15.609 provides a legend offerors may use to mark their UP submissions to restrict the use of their data and guard against public release.
Takeaways for Contractors
When done right and it addresses a critical need, an UP can move swiftly from idea to award. UPs are one of the only viable on‑ramps to noncompetitive awards that do not rely on the status of the contractor or an identified government requirement. The only prerequisite is that the offering is truly unique and meets the FAR Subpart 15.6 criteria, which are not materially different from any other proposal. Critically, an offeror's proprietary data is protected by using the FAR's required legends. Note that any UP that does not bear the FAR-prescribed limited use legend or bears a noncompliant legend may put the company's intellectual property (IP) at risk. Thus, a company can safely disclose what is necessary to enable evaluation while preserving its IP.
Although UPs are utilized infrequently, the authors' favorable experience with the submission of UPs indicates that clients with a sufficiently unique offering can obtain sole-source contracts through UPs. Moreover, as federal procurement continues to evolve to achieve speed, flexibility and innovation, agency acquisition officials should be receptive to the submission of UPs.
At bottom, UPs are low-risk and high-reward. The only real cost to an UP is the time it takes to develop the proposal. After that, the only downside is that the government may decline to pursue the project. On the other hand, there is a huge potential upside in that a contractor can obtain a sole-source contract. And because UPs are evaluated at the agency level, a contractor is able to even submit identical proposals to multiple agencies to increase the likelihood of interest.
Now is an especially opportune moment to use this pathway. President Donald Trump's April 2025, Executive Order 14275, "Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement," directs major revisions to make the FAR and procurement process more "agile, effective, and efficient," with an aggressive timeline for reform. In the current environment, mechanisms that surface innovation outside traditional solicitations, such as UPs, are poised to receive more attention as agencies seek faster, mission‑aligned solutions.
Conclusion
UPs offer contractors a means by which to get their new and innovative solutions before government decision-makers without waiting for a solicitation and with the prospect of a sole-source award if the government accepts. Given the low-risk, high-reward nature of UPs, contractors who have unique and innovative solutions should consider submitting one.
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