An Unpriced Purchase Order (UPO) is one for supplies or services for which a firm price cannot be established at the time the order is placed. Use of UPOs is discretionary on the part of the Contracting Officer; he/she should exercise care and judgment in the selection of Contractors to receive UPOs. Prior to the […]
A Forward Pricing Rate Agreement (FPRA) is an agreement between a contractor and a government agency in which certain indirect rates are established for a specified period of time. These rates are estimates of costs and are used to price contracts and contract modifications. These projections may include rates for such things as labor, indirect
Other Transaction Authority (OTA) is the term commonly used to refer to the (10 U.S.C. 4021) authority of the Department of Defense (DoD) to carry out certain prototypes, research, and production projects. Other Transaction (OT) authorities were created to give DoD the flexibility necessary to adopt and incorporate business practices that reflect commercial industry standards
Critical Program Information (CPI) is the U.S. capability element that contributes to the warfighters’ technical advantage, which, if compromised, undermines U.S. military preeminence. U.S. capability elements may include, but are not limited to, software algorithms and specific hardware residing on the system, training equipment, and/or maintenance support equipment. [2] Definition: Critical Program Information (CPI) is
System Contracting involves the development of a corporate agreement with a supplier to purchase a large number of items or raw materials on a continuous basis. The goal is to reduce costs and streamline these procurements. These contracts can range from one to five years in length. The items to be purchased are usually detailed
The Nunn-McCurdy Act (10 U.S.C. § 2433) requires the DoD to report to Congress whenever a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) experiences cost overruns that exceed certain thresholds. The purpose of the act is to help control cost growth in major defense systems by holding the appropriate Pentagon officials and defense contractors publicly accountable and
Misappropriation is the intentional and illegal use of funds for another use or other unauthorized purpose than its intended purpose. (31 USC, Section 1301) requires that funds appropriated by Congress be used only for the programs and purposes for which the appropriation was made. Definition: Misappropriations is applying funds to the objects for which the
The Bona Fide Need Rule (31 USC, Section 1502) requires appropriated funds to be used only for goods and services for which a need arises during the period of that appropriation’s availability for obligation. Definition: The bona fide needs rule is a rule of appropriations law. It mandates that a fiscal year’s appropriations only be
A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) (FAR 35.016) is a notice from the government that requests scientific or research & development (R&D) proposals from private firms concerning certain areas of interest to the government that is not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement. A BAA doesn’t provide the standard Statement of Work
Title 10 provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. Each of the five subtitles deals with a separate aspect or component of the armed services. [1] Subtitle A: General Military Law (§§ 101—2925) Subtitle B: Army (§§ 3001—4842)
The Statement of Work (SOW) is a document that enables offerors to clearly understand the government’s needs for the work to be done in developing or producing the goods or services to be delivered by a contractor. It defines (either directly or by reference to other documents) all work (non-specification) performance requirements for a contractor.
A Time and Materials (T&M) contract is normally used in construction and product development when a company or employee agrees to be paid for their “Time” and the “Material” used for the development of a product. T&M contracts are used when you can not estimate the size of the project or any of the changes
The Statement of Work (SOW) is a document that enables the offeror to clearly understand the government’s needs for the work to be done in developing or producing the goods or services to be delivered by a contractor. It defines (either directly or by reference to other documents) all work (non-specification) performance requirements for a
A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a method of soliciting offers from suppliers for customer’s requirements for suppliers or services that fit within the dollar amount for supplies or services; >$3000. This is used when the aggregate amount involved in any one transaction is relatively small. The FAR allows an RFQ for government-unique items to
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a solicitation used in negotiated acquisition to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals. The RFP describes the work to be done, how it will be judged, and the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement. It also tells the supplier how to send their proposal
A Request for Information (RFI) is a standard business process whose purpose is to collect written information about the capabilities of various suppliers. It is often used in market research as a solicitation sent to a broad base of potential suppliers for conditioning suppliers’ minds, developing strategy, and building a database for an upcoming contract
In the complex landscape of government procurement, protests play a pivotal role in upholding fairness, transparency, and accountability. As businesses engage in competitive bidding for government contracts, disputes and disagreements are inevitable. Protests provide a mechanism for companies to challenge perceived injustices, whether it be solicitation improprieties, evaluation errors, or concerns about the contract award
The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies. A system of records is a group of records under the control of an
Procuring Contracting Officers (PCO) are warranted by their respective agencies to issue legal contracts between the US Government and the contracting entity. All programmatic, technical, and other contractual requirements established by the Program Manager (PM) for the contractor (or proposed contractor) must be issued by the PCO. Any changes that the contractor implements as a
An Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) is when a person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage. COI is when a person in a position
An Other than Full & Open Competition (Called a Sole Source Procurement) is when the government enters into a contract with a contractor without going through the typical competitive process as required by law because it deems that the contractor is the only source available that can meet the government requirements. Under certain circumstances, as
Negotiation is a process of two or more people trying to come to an agreement that satisfies the interests of all parties. According to Ware (2007), “To negotiate is to communicate or confer with another to arrive at the settlement of some matter” (page 6). The process is carried out to contract development, requirements development,
Intellectual Property (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic
Interagency Acquisitions are procedures by which a federal agency needing supplies or services can obtain these supplies or services from a federal agency. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 17.5 describes the policies and procedures applicable to all interagency acquisitions. This regulation stems from the Economy Act which authorizes agencies to enter into agreements to obtain
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal freedom of information law (5 U.S.C. § 552) that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures, and grants nine exemptions to the
