1. Life Cycle of Federal Acquisition
Life Cycle of Federal Acquisition

2. Federal Acquisition Life Cycle
Contractors
Government
Market Research
Best value
Drivers
Technical evaluations
Implementation
Pains
Influence RFP
Past Performance
Awards
Needs
Opportunity
Life cycle
Demonstrations
Commitment
Acquisitions
To Take Action
“Cost realism”
Shared risk and reward
Commercial/non-developmental items
Funding
Plan to Act
Contractors
Teaming

3. Acquisition Cycle Planning Phase Define the requirements
Market research
Funding
Determine acquisition strategy
Continued market research
Refinement of requirement
Develop acquisition plan
Address all significant issues and considerations that may influence the RFP
Business, management, technical, logistics, and any other risks
Overview of source selection evaluation strategy
Commitment to take action
Set socio-economic goals
Consider teaming strategies
Look at shared risks and rewards
Obtain funding approval

4. Acquisition Cycle, cont’d
Develop RFP and SSP (Source Selection Process)
RFP to establish terms and conditions
Work requirements, instructions to offerors, basis for award
Issue to industry in draft form for comments
SSP developed to establish government plan for evaluation
Acquisition Phase
Formal issuance of RFP
Consistent with Planning Phase
Provides adequate time for proposal responses
Receive and Evaluate Bids or proposals
Orient source selection team
Request clarifications/corrections
Technical evaluations
Best value evaluation
Review bidders past performance records
Risk/mitigation management

5. Acquisition Cycle, Cont’d
Selection Process
Conduct discussions and negotiations
Request final proposal revisions
Best value determination
Conduct responsibility and legal reviews
Implementation Phase
Award the contract
Notify unsuccessful offerors
Debrief unsuccessful offerors
Execute contract
Deliver requirements

6. Traditional Federal Purchasing Model
Buying
Characteristics
Detailed requirements
Highly structured RFP and proposal process
Formal budget and procurement process
Federal Ordering Process
Business development activities and white papers
The proposal machine
Federal Cycle Time
month procurement
year contract

7. Federal Acquisition Process
Methods
Types
Vehicles

8. Acquisition Process Methods Request for Proposal (RFP)
RFPs are used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate Government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals. RFPs for competitive acquisitions shall, at a minimum, describe the Government's requirement and anticipated terms and conditions that will apply to the contract
Request for Comments (RFC)
RFCs are announcements in FedBizOpps(FBO) or other publication requesting industry comment on draft specifications
Request for Information (RFI)
RFIs are announcements in the FBO or other publication requesting information from industry about a planned acquisition.

9. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Request for Quote (RFQ)
The RFQ procedure is used to reduce the time required to solicit and award contracts for the acquisition of commercial items. This procedure can combine the FedBizOpps(FBO) synopsis and the issuance of the solicitation into a single document.

10. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Vehicles
Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC)
GWACs are contracts for various information technology resources owned by one Federal agency but which other specified Federal agencies can use.
Awardees are selected through the RFP process
Spending limits are authorized by congress
Minimum guaranteed purchases allotted to vendors under contract

11. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
General Services Administration (GSA) Schedules
Characteristics:
Commercial items and services
Non-Mandatory
Available to all Government funded entities
State & Local for IT and Security
No maximum value - Schedule order size is unlimited
Multi-year
Mirrors commercial buying practices
Contracts with any reasonably priced vendor
No ordering restrictions
No interagency agreement
Industrially funded
Fee for service: imposed a .75% fee for administration of schedules
No appropriated $ from Congress

12. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)
BPAs awarded by agencies to vendors already on the GSA Schedule
Administrative protocol can be arranged to expedite orders
Supplemental Agreement
Alternative Consideration: replacing IDIQ
Fulfills recurring needs/repetitive orders: supplies and services
Specifications
Estimated Volume
Designated Purchasing Offices
Requires delivery order
Can be open to multiple agencies
No maximum order limitation
No GSA tracking of BPA spending

13. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Task Order and Delivery Order
“Task Order” means an order for services placed against an established contract or with Government sources. “Delivery Order” means an order for supplies placed against an established contract or with Government sources.
Task Orders usually include a Statement of Work (SOW)
Itemizes the task into labor categories and performance measurement

14. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Types of Contracts
Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)
IDIQ contracts are task order contracts designed to provide government agencies the opportunity to order product or services through pre-awarded contract vehicles at pre-determined fixed prices.
An IDIQ authorizes a vendor to market their product/services but government is under no obligation to purchase
GSA Schedules are IDIQ contracts in the regulatory sense

15. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF)
A cost-reimbursement contract that provides for a fee consisting of
Award fee contracts can be combined with other cost or fixed price type contracts
A base amount fixed at inception of the contract
An award amount that the contractor may earn in whole or in part during performance and that is sufficient to provide motivation for excellence in such areas as quality, timeliness, technical ingenuity, and cost-effective management
Fee is determined by government based on subjective evaluation of performance

16. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)
A cost-reimbursement contract provides for payment to the contractor of a negotiated fee that is fixed at the inception of the contract
Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF)
A cost-reimbursement contract provides for the initially negotiated fee to be adjusted later by a formula based on the relationship of total allowable costs to total target cost
Limits regarding maximum and minimum fees available
Fees limited to 15% for R&D
10% for production
Firm Fixed Price (FFP)
A contract that provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract

17. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Time and Material (TM)
A contract that provides for acquiring supplies or services on the basis of
Direct labor hours at specified fixed hourly rates that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit
Materials at cost, including, if appropriate, material handling costs as part of material costs
The Labor Hour (LH) contract is a variation of the time-and-materials contract, differing only in that materials are not supplied by the contractor
Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA)
Expedite contracting for supplies or services when specific items, quantities, and prices are not known at the time the agreement is executed, but a substantial amount of the type of supplies or services covered by the agreement is anticipated to be purchased from the contractor."
Used as an offer or quote for competitive acquisition

18. Acquisition Process, Cont’d
Basic Ordering Agreement, Cont’d
For noncompetitive acquisition
Justification required
Use of delivery orders is not appropriate
Acquisition through purchase order or contract

19. Acquisition Dynamics Federal Characteristics
The Federal buyer is a sophisticated buyer
Product research is performed
Purchasing vehicle preference determined
Terms and conditions have been assessed
Vendors on vehicles considered
User driven through procurement process
Factors Affecting Purchasing Decisions
Risk factors
Financial
Cost overrun
Enterprise
Failure of project and the ripple effect
Performance

20. Acquisition Dynamics Cont’d
Funding issues
Is there a budget for the procurement
Justification for procurement
Socio-economic considerations
Small business requirements
Credits for meeting goals
Decision making levels
End user
Application driven
Interested in cutting edge equipment/technology

21. Acquisition Dynamics, Cont’d
Responsible party
Interested in support, education, maintenance, warranty
Contracting Officer
Will commit the government to purchase
Legal/administrative function
Executive level
Accountable for the success of overall program

22. Contact: The Gormley Group info@gormgroup.com 202.833.1120
Contact:
The Gormley Group