Polaris Post-Submission Governance: Account Access, Entity Rules, and Clarification Responses

Purpose: This guide outlines contractor responsibilities, account management rules, and system workflows during the GSA Polaris evaluation phase, detailing how new users access submitted proposals under the bidding UEI, how to monitor and respond to government Clarifications, and how to access debrief documents.


Table of Contents

1. Onboard Personnel Under the Submitting UEI & Assign Roles

2. Monitor Proposal Notifications & Evaluation Status

3. Review and Respond to Requests for Clarification 

4. Access Final Award Determinations and Debrief Documents 


Before You Start

  • Proposal Snapshot Lockdown: Once submitted, proposals are read-only. Edits made under My Company do not cascade to the submitted offer. Advisory warnings present on the summary screen at submission remain part of the formal evaluation record and cannot be cleared.
      
  • Original Bidding UEI Restriction: Polaris proposals are permanently tied to the exact 12-character Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) that originally certified and submitted the offer.
     
    • If your company underwent an acquisition, merger, corporate restructuring, or was assigned a new UEI, you cannot access or respond to Polaris under that new UEI.
        
    • Users with new UEIs cannot interact with Polaris proposals in Symphony. All staff requiring access must register strictly under the original submitting UEI.
        
  • Mandatory Review of Evaluation Notices: Clarification notices issued by GSA contain vehicle-specific instructions and firm deadlines. Users must read the notification text carefully before taking action. A notice may be purely informational or demand specific textual explanations and attachments; failure to comply with instructions or meet deadlines risks proposal elimination.
     
    • Legacy Platform Version: The Polaris vehicle operates on an earlier release of the Symphony portal. Features found in newer vehicles (such as self-service proposal modifications or interactive Exchanges) are not supported; communication during evaluation is managed strictly via formal Clarifications.
        
  • Official Evaluation Channel: All formal post-submission communications and timeline inquiries must be directed to the GSA Program Office at Polaris@gsa.gov.

  

Steps

1. Onboard Personnel Under the Submitting UEI & Assign Roles

When organizational turnover occurs, new personnel must be granted access under the original submitting entity:


  1. User Registration: Direct the new employee to self-register at the Polaris Symphony portal using the original submitting UEI. (Registering under a new or alternate UEI results in an empty dashboard without proposal access).
      
  2. Account Activation: A company Symphony Administrator navigates to Administration, locates the newly registered user, and updates their account status from Initial to Active.
      
  3. Configure Group Membership: Open the user's profile under Administration and check the appropriate role under Group Membership (e.g., Administrator):
      
    • Staff users have read-only access and cannot submit clarification responses.
        
    • Only accounts assigned as SAM POC Administrator or designated as the Open Market Proposal Manager (OMPM) have authority to draft and submit clarification responses.
         
  4. Assign Open Market Proposal Manager (If Applicable): To designate a specific user as the lead proposal manager, click Assign [user@company.com] as the Open Market Proposal Manager.
      

User management screen showing the Group Membership options, Proposal Manager Assignment, and a role selected.

User management screen showing the Group Membership options, Proposal Manager Assignment, and a role selected.


2. Monitor Proposal Notifications & Evaluation Status

Symphony dispatches automated email alerts when the Program Office initiates a clarification or posts an update:

  

  1. Notifications are routed to SAM POC Administrators, the Open Market Proposal Manager, and assigned Contract/Program Managers.
      
  2. Sign in to the Polaris Symphony Portal and review the Dashboard for your pool submissions (e.g., Small Business, WOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone).
      
  3. Click the Submitted (view) link to inspect your locked submission snapshot.


System Status Note: The status in Symphony remains Submitted throughout the source selection lifecycle. Symphony does not display progress bars or internal government review stages; refer to official GSA program announcements for timeline updates.


Submission Details screen showing the status as 'Submitted’.

Submission Details screen showing the status as 'Submitted’.


Notification Delivery & Missing Emails: When the Program Office issues a clarification request or award notice through Symphony, automated email notifications are sent only to your company’s active SAM POC Administrators, the submission Contract Manager, Program Manager, and the designated Open Market Proposal Manager (OMPM). 
  

  • Verify Group Membership: Ensure relevant personnel are active and assigned the appropriate Administrator or OMPM role. Refer to Administrator Guide: Activating Users and Assigning Permissions for setup instructions. 
      
  • Spam & Security Filters: If an expected notice is not received, check internal spam, quarantine, and firewall filters to ensure automated system messages from noreply@gsa.gov are not being blocked.


3. Review and Respond to Requests for Clarification

When the government evaluation board requires clarification under FAR 15.306(a), they issue a request directly within the portal:


  1. Open your submitted proposal and select the Clarifications tab on the left navigation menu.
      
  2. Examine the Request Details & Deadline:
    • Review the Needs Attention banner and note the strict Eastern Time deadline timestamp.
        
    • Read the Request Thoroughly: Examine the full narrative under Program Office: Request and download any files under Program Office Attachments (e.g., sample forms or clarification letters).
        
    • Determine whether a response is required or if the notice is an informational acknowledgment.
        
  3. Draft Response [Administrator or OMPM Only]:
    • Enter your formal clarification narrative in the Clarification Response field (maximum 2,500 characters).
        
    • If the government explicitly requested supporting documentation, drag and drop or browse to upload the unclassified PDF files.
        
  4.  Submit: Click Save to store a draft, or click Submit Response to formally deliver the clarification to GSA.


Crucial Clarification Constraints:


  • No Retractions or Edits: Once Submit Response is clicked, your response and attached files are permanently locked and cannot be recalled or edited.
      
  • ​Strict Deadlines: Clarification deadlines are enforced by government timestamps. Support cannot extend deadlines or unlock closed clarification windows. If an error was submitted or a deadline was missed, you must email Polaris@gsa.gov directly.
      


Clarifications tab showing an inquiry and the area for the response narrative.Clarifications tab showing an inquiry and the area for the response narrative.


4. Access Final Award Determinations and Debrief Documents 

When source selection concludes and final award announcements are issued:

  1. Official award notifications are communicated by GSA outside of the Symphony portal.
      
  2. Sign in to the Polaris portal and click Submitted (view) for your proposal.
      
  3. Select the Debrief tab on the left menu.
      
  4. Click Download to retrieve your official Debrief Letter and government attachments (such as Evaluated Price of Awardees and Evaluated Ranking of all Offerors).
      

The Debrief section showing the download option for the Debrief Letter.

The Debrief section showing the download option for the Debrief Letter.


Troubleshooting

IssueRoot CauseFix
New employee cannot see the submitted Polaris offerUser registered under a new corporate UEI or wrong entity.Users with new UEIs cannot access Polaris. The user must register under the original submitting UEI, and an internal Admin must activate their account.

"Submit Response" button is missing on ClarificationsUser is assigned the Staff role, or the notice is informational.Check the notice text. If a response is required, a company Admin must update the user's role to Open Market Proposal Manager (OMPM) under Administration.

Need to correct a mistake in submitted documentsProposal is permanently frozen post-deadline.Support cannot edit submitted files. ​Contact the GSA Program Office directly at Polaris@gsa.gov to request instructions. 

Status shows "Submitted" without updatesNormal evaluation queue behavior.Symphony remains in "Submitted" status throughout evaluation. Source selection progress is communicated via SAM.gov and official GSA announcements.
​
Clarification window closed / missed deadlineSystem deadline timestamp expired.Symphony Help Desk cannot override or reopen evaluation deadlines. Immediately contact Polaris@gsa.gov to report the issue.

  

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