Phase 1 of the contracting process is Planning for Procurement. Procurement Planning is identifying and describing requirements and determining the best method for meeting those requirements.  Planning focuses on the business and technical management approaches to achieve program objectives within specified resource constraints and the procurement and contracting strategies necessary for implementation.

Phase 1: Team Participants

Identifying the acquisition team is an essential step in acquisition planning. Participants normally include the Program Manager (PM), Program Contracting Officer (PCO), technical experts, logisticians, and financial and legal personnel for a major acquisition.

Phase 1: Procurement Activities

The contracting processes and procedures addressed during the planning phase are:

1. Defining Requirements: Defining requirements is the first step in the procurement process, and it is the Program Office that identifies, defines, and details their procurement needs.
2. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): A COI is a situation in which a person, who is in a position of trust, has a competing professional or personal interest to the Government. The PM and PCO must identify these COI’s and manage them.
3. Market Research: Before initiating a procurement action, the Program Office must perform due diligence in assessing what products or services already exist. The purpose of market research is to ensure that the “best value” is identified for procurement actions greater than $100,000 throughout the acquisition process, from development throughout the lifecycle of the system.
   • Request for Information (RFI)
   • Pre-solicitation Conference (Industry Day) / One-on-One Meetings
4. Acquisition Planning and Strategy: The principal purpose of acquisition planning is to ensure that the Government meets its needs in the most effective, economical, and timely manner. An Acquisition Strategy (AS) and Acquisition Plans (AP) achieve these objectives by focusing on competition and the acquisition of commercial items or non-developmental items.
5. Earn Value Management (EVM) System: Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project management technique for objectively measuring project performance and progress.
6. Contract Planning Conference: A Contract Planning Conference (CPC) is the forum in which key members of the program’s Acquisition Coordination Team discuss major issues that need to be addressed early in the procurement process.
7. Other than Full and Open Competition: Under certain circumstances, the Government may solicit offers from one or more sources and award contracts to those sources without providing for full and open competition to ensure that the Government meets its needs in the most effective, economical, and timely manner possible.
8. Request for Proposal (RFP): An RFP is a solicitation used in negotiated acquisition to communicate government requirements to the prospective contractors and to solicit proposals.
9. Source Selection Plan (SSP): The SSP specifies how the source selection process will be organized and conducted, and describes in detail how to analyze and evaluate the proposals and ultimately select the winning offeror(s).

Contracting Phases

• Phase 1: Planning for Procurement
• Phase 2: Solicitation
• Phase 3: Evaluation
• Phase 4: Contract Award
• Phase 5: Post-award Management of the Contract

AcqLinks and References:

• Defense Contingency Contracting Officer Representative (COR) Handbook – 22 Mar 2012
• DoD Contracting Officer Representative (COR) Handbook – Sept 2012
• Website: Navy Contract Management Process Guide
• Website: FAR Subpart 15 – Contracting by Negotiation
• Website: FAR Subpart 15.306 – Source Selection
• Website: FAR Subpart 15.6 – Unsolicited Proposals
• Website: DFARS PGI 204.2 – Contract Distribution
• Website: FAR Subpart 204.2 – Contract Distribution
• Website: Federal Procurement Data System

Updated: 3/14/2024

Rank: G