Note: An acquisition plan is no longer required by DoD Instruction 5000.02 “Operation of Defense Acquisition System”
An Acquisition Plan is a plan that documents all cost, schedule, technical, business, management, and other considerations that will govern an acquisition program and is derived from the Acquisition Strategy. It summarizes the acquisition planning discussions and identifies milestones in the acquisition process.
Acquisition Plan Requirement
An acquisition plan is no longer required by DoD Instruction 5000.02 “Operation of Defense Acquisition System” prior to Milestone B and any Request For Proposal (RFP) release for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) Phase. The plan is governed by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 7.105 and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 207.1.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires agencies to perform acquisition planning and conduct market research for all acquisitions in order to promote:
- The acquisition of commercial items or, to the extent that commercial items suitable to meet the agency’s needs are not available, non-developmental items
- Full and open competition per FAR Part 6 or, when the full and open competition is not required in accordance with Part 6, to obtain competition to the maximum extent practicable.
Acquisition Plan Content
According to FAR Part 7.105 “Contents of Written Acquisition Plans”, the content of an Acquisition Plan should include:
- Statement of Need
- Cost
- Capability or Performance
- Delivery or Period of Performance
- Tradeoff, Risks, Acquisition Streamlining
- Sources
- Competition
- Contract Type Selection
- Source Selection Procedures
- Acquisition Considerations
- Management Information Requirements
- Cost
- Capability or Performance
- Risks
- Source Selection Procedures
- Budget and Funding
- Product or Service Description
- Priorities, Allocations, and Allotments
- Contractor vs. Government Performance
- Inherently Information Requirements
- Make or Buy
- Test and Evaluation
- Logistics
- Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)
- Environmental and Energy Conservation Objectives
- Security Considerations
- Contract Administration
- Milestone Steps
- Identification of Participants in Acquisition Plan Preparation
- Other Considerations
AcqTips:
- Make sure you address each of the components of FAR Part 7.104 and DFAR Subpart 207.1.
- Keep a copy of the Acquisition Plan in your files at all times. It’s a good point of reference during meetings to keep everyone focused on what the key deliverables are.
- Make sure a program understands the key tasks identified in the Acquisition Plan. These are the tasks that a program is going to be judged against when fighting for funding, resources, and proceeding in the next acquisition phase.
AcqLinks and References:
Updated: 6/28/2021
Rank: G1
