PART
1817
SPECIAL CONTRACTING METHODS
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
SUBPART 1817.1 MULTIYEAR CONTRACTING
1817.105 Policy.
1817.105-1 Uses.
SUBPART 1817.2 OPTIONS
1817.200 Scope of subpart.
1817.203 Solicitations.
1817.204 Contracts.
1817.206 Evaluation.
1817.207 Exercise of options.
1817.207-70 Analysis to support exercise of options.
1817.208 Solicitation provisions and
contract clauses.
SUBPART 1817.4
LEADER COMPANY CONTRACTING
1817.401 General.
SUBPART 1817.5
INTERAGENCY ACQUISITIONS UNDER THE ECONOMY ACT
1817.500 Scope
of subpart.
SUBPART 1817.70 INTERAGENCY
ACQUISITIONS
1817.7000 Scope
of subpart.
1817.7001 Authorization
and policy.
1817.7002 Determinations
and findings requirements.
1817.7003 Ordering
Procedures.
1817.7004 Acquisitions
with Military Departments.
1817.7004-1 Authorization
and policy.
1817.7004-2 NASA-Interagency
Purchase Request and acceptance.
1817.7004-3 Acceptance
by Military Department.
1817.7004-4 Changes
in estimated total prices.
1817.7004-5 Payments.
1817.7004-6 Contract
clause.
1817.7005 Acquisitions
with Civilian Agencies.
1817.7005-1 Authorization
and policy.
1817.7005-2 NASA-Interagency
Purchase Request and acceptance.
1817.7005-3 Contract
clause.
SUBPART 1817.71 EXCHANGE OR SALE OF PERSONAL
PROPERTY
1817.7101 Policy.
SUBPART 1817.73 PHASED ACQUISITION
1817.7300 Definitions.
1817.7301 Down-selections in phased
acquisitions.
1817.7301-1 Pre-solicitation planning.
1817.7301-2 Evaluation factors.
1817.7301-3 Down-selection milestones.
1817.7301-4 Synopsis.
1817.7301-5 Progressive competition.
1817.7302 Contract clauses.
PART
1817
SPECIAL
CONTRACTING METHODS
Subpart 1817.1--Multiyear
Contracting
1817.105
Policy.
1817.105-1
Uses.
(b) The Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Program
Operations Division, is the approval authority for the use of the
multiyear contracting technique.
Requests for approval shall be signed by the procurement officer and
shall include a description of the acquisition, identification of anticipated
contract costs and funding, and a determination, with supporting rationale,
that each of the criteria in FAR 17.105-1(b) is met by
the proposed use of multiyear contracting.
Subpart 1817.2--Options
1817.200 Scope of subpart.
FAR
Subpart 17.2 applies to all NASA contracts.
1817.203
Solicitations.
(g)(2) The procurement officer is authorized to
approve option quantities greater than 50 percent.
1817.204 Contracts.
(e)(1)
The 5-year limitation (basic plus option periods) applies to all NASA contracts
regardless of type and other procurement award instruments, except as stated in (e)(2). This includes agreements (e.g. basic ordering
agreements, blanket purchase agreements), interagency acquisitions, and orders
placed under agreements or awarded under a Federal Supply Schedule or other
indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts awarded by other agencies. See 1816.505-71 for limitations on the
ordering period of task and delivery order contracts.
(2) The 5-year limitation in paragraph (e)(1)
does not apply to acquisitions for the design, development, test, and
evaluation (DDT&E) of end-item systems development or hardware
production. The period of performance
for DDT&E should be consistent with the time needed to complete system
development or hardware production efforts to perform Phase A (concept studies,
concept & technology development phase), Phase B (preliminary design &
detailed engineering/technology completion phase), Phase C (final design,
components/systems fabrication and testing phase), and Phase D (system
assembly, integration, testing, and launch phase). The 5-year limitation in paragraph (e)(1) applies to acquisitions involving Phase E (systems and
mission operations, sustaining engineering, maintenance support) , and Phase F (close-out/decommissioning
efforts). Contracting officers shall procure Phase E and F efforts separately
to allow for the maximum number of industry opportunities for competition so
long as awards to different contractors will not pose critical integration
risks to NASA. If Phase A through F are
acquired in a combined acquisition and the period of performance is expected to
exceed 5 years then a request for deviation shall be required in accordance
with NFS 1817.2(e)(4).
(3) When the
performance period exceeds 5 years (exclusive of options), the program/project
office and the contracting officer shall review the requirement at the
mid-point of the performance period to ensure that the products or services
continue to fulfill NASA’s mission needs and that the procurement award
instrument continues to provide the best means of satisfying the requirement.
(4) Requests for deviations from the 5-year
limitation policy shall be sent to the Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Program
Operations Division, and shall include justification for exceeding
five years. At a minimum, the justification
shall discuss planned future assessment of continued performance either prior
to exercise of options or at the mid-term of a basic contract with no
options. Evidence shall also be included
showing that the extended years can be reasonably priced. The justification shall explain why longer
than a 5-year period of performance is the most prudent business course of
action. The justification shall also address how the
longer period of performance will result in obtaining the best value for the
Government if the supply or service is readily available in the open market by
considering the current market and the uncertainties in future market
conditions and by explaining why competition, which acts as a primary guarantor
of best value to the Government, is not operative to the acquisition.
1817.206
Evaluation.
(b)(i) The
procurement officer is the approval authority for determinations by the
contracting officer not to evaluate offers for any option quantities or
periods.
(ii) Unless a determination has been approved under 1817.206(b)(i), the selection statement for each acquisition involving
an option shall address the source selection authority's consideration of the
option as part of the initial competition.
1817.207
Exercise of options.
(c)(2)
In addition to determining the option fulfills an existing need, the
contracting officer shall determine that there is no change in the scope of the
option requirements.
(f) Options
under cost type contracts shall contain an estimated cost for the option
period(s).
(f)(2) Use
of the provision (or formula) for determining the price of a fixed price option
requires advance approval by the Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Program
Operations Division.
(f)(3)(ii) Use of a formula to determine the fee of an
option in a cost-type contract requires advance approval of the Assistant
Administrator for Procurement, Program Operations Division. The formula shall preclude the contractor
from increasing costs for the purpose of earning additional fee.
1817.207-70 Analysis to support exercise
of options.
(a) The contracting officer’s determination that
exercise of the option is the most advantageous method of fulfilling the
requirement shall be based on input and information from the requiring
organization. The contracting officer
and the requiring organization shall ensure that analysis sufficient to support
the determination that option exercise is the most advantageous method is
completed in advance of providing the notice to the contractor required by FAR
17.207(a). Sufficient time shall remain
in the performance period to allow the acquisition team to pursue appropriate
alternative approaches with minimal impact to the program or project in terms
of technical, cost, or schedule risk should the analysis conclude that the best
programmatic path is not exercising the option.
(b) The
analysis required to support the option exercise determination must include
consideration of other factors in addition to price. In addition to the other factors contained in
FAR 17.207(e), the determination to exercise the option should include, but is
not limited to, consideration of --
(1)
The contractor’s performance in satisfying contract requirements, for example,
receiving positive performance ratings (see subpart 1842.15) and the
contractor’s level of success in implementing and maintaining small business
programs (including mentoring arrangements), which were evaluated as part of
the source selection process and incorporated into the awarded contract; and
(2) The results of market research activities to
identify any technical, engineering or scientific advances that offer
programmatic benefits or performance improvements beyond those that are contractually available under the option to be
exercised.
1817.208 Solicitation provisions and contract
clauses.
(c)(3) The contracting officer shall insert a provision
substantially the same as FAR 52.217-5 in cost
reimbursement contracts when the other conditions of FAR 17.208(c) are met.
Subpart 1817.4--Leader
Company Contracting
1817.401
General.
It is NASA
policy not to use the leader company contracting technique.
Subpart 1817.5--Interagency
Acquisitions Under the Economy Act
1817.500
Scope of subpart.
(b) See 1817.70.
Subpart 1817.70
–Interagency Acquisitions
1817.7000 Scope of subpart.
This
subpart contains policies and procedures for the acquisition of supplies or
services by NASA from or through Military Departments (see 1817.7004) and
Civilian Agencies (see 1817.7005).
1817.7001 Authorization and policy.
(a) The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2473 et seq.)
applies to NASA interagency acquisitions except those acquisitions for the NASA
Office of Inspector General acquired under the authority of the Inspector
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. APPENDIX Sec.6(a)(9)). NASA has elected to conform
its implementation of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of
1958 and the Inspector General Act of 1978 to the requirements of the Economy
Act (see FAR 17.5).
(b)
Individual orders or successive non-competitive interagency orders for the same
requirement with the same servicing agency shall not exceed five years.
(c)
Requests for deviation from the five year limitation in paragraph (b) of this
section shall require the approval of the Center Director if the estimated
value of the order is $5 million or less, or the Assistant Administrator for
Procurement (Program Operations Division) if the estimated value of the order
exceeds $5 million. Requests for
deviation shall address:
(1) Why more than five years is required;
(2) Why the work must be performed by the same servicing
agency; and
(3) How long beyond the current order the requirement is
expected to continue.
1817.7002 Determinations and
findings requirements.
(a) Interagency acquisitions shall be supported
by a Determination and Finding (D&F) equivalent to that required for
Economy Act acquisitions (see FAR 17.503).
This requirement applies to all purchases of goods or services under
contracts entered into or administered by agencies other than NASA including
the Military Departments and Civilian Agencies.
The Space Act shall be cited as authority for all NASA interagency
acquisitions except that the Inspector General Act shall be cited as the
authority for interagency acquisitions for the NASA Office of Inspector
General.
(b) To satisfy the D&F requirement identified
in FAR 17.503(a)(2), current market prices,
recent acquisition prices, or prices obtained by informational submissions as
provided in FAR 15.201 may be used to
ascertain whether the acquisition can be accomplished more economically from
commercial sources.
(c) In addition to
the requirements in FAR 17.503, the D&F must identify the period of
performance and whether the acquisition is a non-competitive follow-on for the
same services from the same servicing agency.
(See 1817.7001(b).)
(d) A D&F is
required for each individual contract action (see FAR 1.702) and any increase
permitted by options (see FAR 17.2).
(e) The determination described in paragraph (a)
of this section is not required for contracts awarded under the Space Act to
Government agencies pursuant to a Broad Agency Announcement when a review of
the acquisition records would make it obvious that the award is not being used
as a method of circumventing regulatory or statutory requirements, particularly
FAR Part 6, Competition Requirements (e.g., when a significant number and value
of awards made under the BAA are made to entities other than Government
agencies).
(f)
All D&Fs for a servicing agency not covered by the FAR shall be
approved by the Assistant Administrator for Procurement.
(g) Each D&F, including class D&Fs
shall be reviewed by legal (see NFS 1801.770).
1817.7003 Ordering procedures.
To satisfy the ordering procedures in FAR
17.504(b)(4), all payment provisions shall require the servicing agency or
department to submit a final voucher, invoice, or other appropriate payment
document within six months after the completion date of the order. A different period may be specified by mutual
agreement if six months is not sufficient.
1817.7004
Acquisitions with Military Departments
This section
contains policies and procedures, developed jointly by NASA and DOD, for
acquisition of supplies or services by NASA from or through the Military
Departments.
1817.7004-1 Authorization and policy.
(a) NASA
is authorized by the National Aeronautics
and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2473 et seq.) to use the acquisition services, personnel,
equipment, and facilities of the Military Departments, with their consent and
with or without reimbursement, and, on a similar basis, to cooperate with the
Military Departments in the use of acquisition services, equipment, and
facilities.
(b) The Military Departments have agreed to
cooperate fully with NASA in making their acquisition services, equipment,
personnel, and facilities available on the basis of mutual agreement.
(c)
The Military Departments have agreed not to claim reimbursement for
administrative costs incident to acquisitions for NASA, except as may be
otherwise agreed before the services are performed.
(d) When procuring supplies or services for NASA or
performing field service functions in support of NASA contracts, the Military
Departments have agreed to use their own methods, except when otherwise
required by the terms of the agreement involved.
(e) The Military Departments normally will use
their own funds when procuring supplies or services or performing services for
NASA, and will not cite NASA funds on any Defense obligation or payment
document.
1817.7004-2 NASA-Interagency Purchase
Request and acceptance.
(a) The NASA-Interagency Purchase Request (NASA
Form 523) shall be used by NASA contracting offices for requesting acquisition
of supplies or services from all activities of the Military Departments. Individual NASA-Interagency Purchase Requests
shall be prepared in accordance with the instructions on the reverse of NASA
Form 523 and shall be numbered in accordance with Subpart 1804.71. The form shall not be used for requesting
--
(1)
Block transfers of excess property between NASA and the Military Departments;
(2)
Performance by the Military Departments of field service functions related to
NASA contracts; or
(3)
Items that the Military Departments normally purchase and stock for military
use or in-house services, except when a DOD activity is willing to accept the
form for these purposes. Supplies and
services of this nature may be requisitioned using appropriate DOD forms when
they are provided by and are acceptable to or preferred by the Military
Department supplying activity or as otherwise mutually agreed upon by the
parties.
(b) Include a provision in accordance with 1817.7003.
(c) To obtain materials from the Air Force Missile
Procurement Fund, the contracting officer shall follow the procedures of 1808.003-72.
1817.7004-3 Acceptance by Military
Department.
(a) Except
as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the Military Department concerned
will, within 30 days after receipt of a NASA-Interagency Purchase Request, forward
to the initiator of the request an Acceptance of MIPR, DD Form 448-2. Each DD Form 448-2 will show the action being
taken to fill the requirement and the name and complete address of the DOD
contracting activity.
(b) To the
extent feasible, all documents (including acceptances, contracts,
correspondence, shipping documents, work or project orders, and Standard Form
1080 (Voucher for Transfer between Appropriations and/or Funds) billings) will
reference the NASA-Interagency Purchase Request number and the item number.
(c)
Acceptance by the Military Department is not required for NASA-Interagency
Purchase Requests covering deliveries of common-use standard-stock items that
the supplying agency has on hand or on order for prompt delivery at published prices.
1817.7004-4
Changes in estimated total prices.
When a
Military Department determines that the estimated total price (Block 7, NASA
Form 523) of the items to be acquired for NASA is not sufficient to cover the
required reimbursement or is in excess of the amount required, a request for an
amendment will be forwarded to the NASA originating office. The request will indicate a specific dollar
amount, rather than a percentage, and will include justification for any upward
adjustment requested. Upon approval of the request, the Cognizant NASA
contracting office shall forward to the DOD contracting activity an amendment
to the NASA-Interagency Purchase Request.
1817.7004-5 Payments.
Except
when agreements provide that reimbursement is not required, payments to the
Military Departments shall be made by NASA office designated in block 9 of the
NASA-Interagency Purchase Request upon receipt of Standard Form 1080. Billings
will be supported in the same manner as billings between Military Departments.
1817.7004-6 Contract clause.
The
contracting officer shall insert the clause at 1852.217-70, Property
Administration and Reporting, in any NASA-Interagency Purchase Request when
property will be involved.
1817.7005 Acquisitions
with Civilian Agencies
This
section contains policies and procedures for the acquisition of supplies or
services by NASA from or through Civilian Agencies.
1817.7005-1
Authorization and policy.
NASA is authorized by the National Aeronautics and Space Act
of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2473 et seq.) to acquire supplies or services of Civilian
Agencies, with their consent and with or without reimbursement on the basis of
mutual agreement with Civilian Agencies.
Contracting Officer shall complete and execute a Determination and
Finding (D&F) before placing an order for supplies or services with another
Government agency in accordance with NFS 1817.70.
1817.7005-2
NASA-Interagency Purchase Request (NF-523) and Acceptance.
(a)
The NASA-Interagency Purchase Request (NF-523) shall be used by all NASA
Contracting Offices for requesting acquisition of supplies or services from all
activities of Civilian Agencies under the National Aeronautics and Space Act of
1958 (42 U.S.C. 2473 et seq.).
Individual NF-523’s shall be prepared in accordance with the instructions
contained in the NF-523 and shall be numbered in accordance with Subpart NFS
1804.71.
(b)
Include a provision for ordering procedures in accordance with 1817.7003.
(c)
Include a provision for acceptance by Civilian Agencies, such as: the servicing
agency shall provide acceptance of this order no later than 30 days after
receipt of the order. The acceptance
shall be sent to: Insert NASA
installation, office code, and address.
The acceptance shall cite the order number and have a typed name, title,
and signature of the accepting official, including address, phone number, email
address, and facsimile number.
(d) Include a provision and instructions for
submission of invoices/billing and payments to be made by Civilian
Agencies. Identify the address of the
Agency location for the servicing agency to submit invoices to, provide
detailed instructions for transmitting the funds, and whether the servicing
agency shall submit invoices via the online Intra-Governmental Payment and
Collection (IPAC) System or SF1080/SF1081 or equivalent form to be
utilized. Information about IPAC is
available at http://fms.treas.gov/goals/ipac/index.html.
(e)
Include provisions for contract administration, property accountability, and
reporting requirements (if property is provided to the Civilian servicing
agency or will be acquired and requires reporting). Complete contract administration requirements
and contract audit responsibilities appropriate for the type of contract and
scope of work on all interagency orders.
The requiring activity should also provide provisions for any special
contract terms or other applicable requirements for funding. This includes
information such as special funds tracking and reporting requirements,
additional contract administration requirements, special delivery or packaging
instructions, a copy of the executed determination, and any other supporting
documents;
(f)
Include a provision for data rights, patent rights, and reportable new
technology, if applicable;
(g)
Identify the technical representative and identify roles, responsibilities, and
limitations;
(h)
Identify the scope of work/deliverables.
Include a complete description of the supply or service to be delivered
and include reference to any proposal received from the servicing civilian
agency;
(i)
Cite the Authority. Cite the National
Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (42 U.S.C. 2473 et seq.) as the authority
unless the order is for the NASA Office of Inspector General (See NFS
1817.7001);
(j)
Amount of the Order. Include funding (incremental or fully-funded) amount and
accounting and appropriation data (i.e. procurement request number).
1817.7005-3 Contract clause.
The contracting officer
shall insert the clause at 1852.217-70,
Property Administration and Reporting, in any NASA-Interagency Purchase Request
when property will be involved.
Subpart 1817.71--Exchange or Sale of Personal Property
1817.7101 Policy.
(a) Section 201(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act of 1949, 63 Stat. 384, as amended (40 U.S.C. 481(c)), authorizes
the exchange or sale of Government personal property and the application of the
exchange allowance or proceeds from sale to the acquisition of similar property
for replacement purposes. The
transaction must be evidenced in writing.
(b) NASA installations and contractors are authorized to conduct
exchange/sale transactions as long as the requirements and restrictions of NPR 4300.1 and the Federal Property Management Regulations,
Subchapter H, part 101-46, are followed. In conducting such exchanges/sales,
NASA contractors must obtain the contracting officer's prior written approval
and must report the transactions to the cognizant NASA
installation Property Disposal Officer (PDO).
Subpart 1817.73--Phased
Acquisition
1817.7300 Definitions.
(a) Down-selection. In a phased acquisition, the process of
selecting contractors for later phases from among the
preceding phase contractors.
(b) Phased Acquisition. An incremental acquisition implementation
comprised of several distinct phases where the realization of program/project
objectives requires a planned, sequential acquisition of each phase. The phases may be acquired separately, in
combination, or through a down-selection strategy.
(c) Progressive
Competition. A type
of down-selection strategy for a phased acquisition. In this method, a single solicitation is
issued for all phases of the program. The initial phase contracts are awarded,
and the contractors for subsequent phases are expected to be chosen through a down-selection
from among the preceding phase contractors.
In each phase, progressively fewer contracts are awarded until a single
contractor is chosen for the final phase.
Normally, all down-selections are accomplished without issuance of a
new, formal solicitation.
1817.7301
Down-selections in phased acquisitions.
1817.7301-1 Pre-solicitation planning.
(a) The
rationale for the use of the down-selection technique shall be thoroughly
justified in the acquisition planning requirement. Because the initial phase solicitation will
also lead to subsequent phase award(s), the decision to use a down-selection
strategy must be made prior to release of the initial solicitation. Accordingly, all phases must be addressed in
the initial acquisition strategy planning and documented in the acquisition
plan or PSM minutes.
(b) If
there is no direct link between successful performance in the preceding phase
and successful performance in a subsequent phase, down-selection is
inappropriate. In this case, the phases should be contracted for separately
without a down-selection.
(c) With
one exception, both the initial and subsequent phase(s) of an acquisition
down-selection process are considered to be full and open competition if the
procedures in 1817.7301-4 and 1817.7301-5 (if using the progressive competition
technique) are followed. If only one
contractor successfully completed a given phase and no other offers are
solicited for the subsequent phase, award of the subsequent phase may be made
only if justified by one of the exceptions in FAR
6.302 or one of the exclusions in FAR 6.2, and only after compliance with the synopsis
requirements of FAR 5.202 and 5.205 and 1804.570-2.
1817.7301-2 Evaluation factors.
A separate
set of evaluation factors must be developed for each phase in a down-selection
competition. Since these competitive
down-selection strategies anticipate that a preceding phase contractor will be
the subsequent phase contractor, the evaluation factors for initial phase award
must specifically include evaluation of the offerors’ abilities to perform all
phases.
1817.7301-3
Down-selection milestones.
(a) When sufficient programmatic and technical
information is available to all potential offerors, proposal evaluation and
source selection activities need not be delayed until completion of a given
phase. These activities should commence
as early as practicable. The initial
phase contracts should be structured to allow for down-selection at a discrete
performance milestone (e.g., a significant design review or contract
completion) of a design maturity sufficient to allow for an informed selection
decision. This will avoid time gaps
between phases and eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort.
(b) The appropriate contract structure must
reflect program technical objectives as well as schedule considerations. For example, if a two-phased acquisition
strategy calls for formal completion of initial phase effort at Preliminary
Design Review (PDR), but it is not financially practical or technically necessary
for subsequent phase award and performance to carry all initial phase
contractors through PDR, the initial phase contracts should be structured with
a basic period of performance through a significant, discrete milestone before
PDR with a priced option for effort from that milestone to PDR. The down-selection would occur at the earlier
milestone, the PDR option exercised only for the down-selection winner, and the
subsequent phase performance begun at the completion of the PDR option.
1817.7301-4 Synopsis.
(a) Each
phase of a phased acquisition not performed in-house must be synopsized in
accordance with FAR 5.201 and must include all the information required by FAR
5.207. Time gaps between phases should be minimized
by early synopsis of subsequent phase competition. The synopsis for the initial competitive
phase should also state the following:
(1)
The Government plans to conduct a phased acquisition involving a competitive
down-selection process. (Include a
description of the process and the phases involved).
(2) Competitions for identified subsequent phases
will build on the results of previous phases.
(3) The award criteria for subsequent phases will
include demonstrated completion of specified previous phase requirements.
(4) The Government expects that only the initial
phase contractors will be capable of successfully competing for the subsequent
phase(s). Proposals for the subsequent
phase(s) will be requested from these contractors.
(5)
The Government intends to issue (or not issue) a new, formal solicitation(s)
for subsequent phase(s). If new
solicitations are not planned, the acquisition must be identified as a
"progressive competition" (see 1817.7301-5), and the mechanism for providing pertinent
subsequent phase proposal information (e.g., statements of work,
specifications, proposal preparation instructions, and evaluation factors for
award) must be described.
(6)
Each subsequent phase of the acquisition will be synopsized in accordance with
FAR 5.201 and 5.203.
(7) Notwithstanding the expectation that
only the initial phase contractors will be capable of successfully competing
for the subsequent phase(s), proposals from all responsible sources submitted
by the specified due date will be considered.
In order to contend for subsequent phase awards, however, such
prospective offerors must demonstrate a design maturity equivalent to that of
the prior phase contractors. Failure to
fully and completely demonstrate the appropriate level of design maturity may
render the proposal unacceptable with no further consideration for contract
award.
(b) In addition to the information in paragraph
(a) of this section, the synopsis for the subsequent phase(s) must identify the
current phase contractors.
1817.7301-5 Progressive competition.
(a) To
streamline the acquisition process, the preferred approach for NASA phased acquisitions is the "progressive
competition" down-selection technique in which new, formal solicitations
are not issued for phases subsequent to the initial phase. Subsequent phase proposals are requested by
less formal means, normally by a letter accompanied by the appropriate proposal
preparation and evaluation information.
(b) When
using the progressive competition technique, if a prospective offeror other
than one of the preceding phase contractors responds to the synopsis for a
subsequent phase and indicates an intention to submit a proposal, the
contracting officer shall provide to that offeror all the material furnished to
the preceding phase contractors necessary to submit a proposal. This information includes the preceding phase
solicitation, contracts, and system performance and design requirements, as
well as all proposal preparation instructions and evaluation factors. In addition, the prospective offeror must be
advised of all requirements necessary for demonstration of a design maturity
equivalent to that of the preceding phase contractors.
(c) A key
feature of the progressive competition technique is that a formal solicitation
is normally not required. However, when
the Government requirements or evaluation procedures change so significantly
after release of the initial phase solicitation that a substantial portion of
the information provided in the initial phase synopsis, solicitation, or
contracts is no longer valid, a new solicitation shall be issued for the next
phase.
(d)
Subsequent phase proposals should be requested by a letter including the
following:
(1) A specified due date for the proposals along
with a statement that the late proposal information in paragraph (c)(3) of FAR 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Competitive
Acquisition, applies to the due date.
(2) Complete instructions for proposal preparation,
including page limitations, if any.
(3) Final evaluation factors.
(4) Any statement of work, specifications, or other
contract requirements that have changed since the initial solicitation.
(5) All required clause changes applicable to new
work effective since the preceding phase award.
(6) Any representations or certifications, if
required.
(7) Any other required contract updates (e.g.,
small and small disadvantaged business goals).
(e) Certain factors may clearly dictate that the
progressive competition technique should not be used. For example, if it is likely that NASA may
introduce a design concept independent of those explored by the preceding phase
contractors, it is also likely that a new, formal solicitation is necessary for
the subsequent phase and all potential offerors should be solicited. In this circumstance, progressive competition
is inappropriate.
1817.7302 Contract clauses.
(a) The contracting officer
shall insert the clause at 1852.217-71, Phased
Acquisition Using Down-Selection Procedures, in solicitations and contracts for
phased acquisitions using down-selection procedures other than the progressive
competition technique. The clause may be
modified as appropriate if the acquisition has more than two phases. The clause shall be included in the
solicitation for each phase and in all contracts except that for the final
phase.
(b) The contracting officer shall insert the
clause at 1852.217-72, Phased Acquisition Using Progressive Competition
Down-Selection Procedures, in solicitations and contracts for phased
acquisitions using the progressive competition technique. The clause may be modified as appropriate if
the acquisition has more than two phases. The clause shall be included in the
initial phase solicitation and all contracts except that for the final phase.
