Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers, Exams of Information Systems

Download Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers and more Exams Information Systems in PDF only on Docsity! Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers You are the PCO for a major competitive negotiated source selection. The RFP, which reflects the user's requirements and is based on the user's budget, has a requirement for 220 cargo loaders to be delivered at 55 per year over the next four years. One offeror proposes to deliver all 220 loaders in the first year at a dramatically reduced price. Can you accept the offeror's proposal? What factors should you consider in your decision? - correct answer You can accept the offeror's proposal under certain circumstances. Firstly, what did the RFP say about alternate proposals? Is this a situation where requirements are changed and the other offerors should be allowed to propose on the basis of the changed requirements? You need to ask the user if he wants all 220 in the first year and are the operating locations physically able to accommodate their loaders in the first year. Finally, the offeror could be taken into discussions and asked to conform to the RFP with there being the possibility of not being selected for award or elimination from the competitive range if the proposal is not made compliant with the RFP. You are the PCO on a new $2B aircraft development program. The program is in contract negotiations for a Fixed Price Incentive (Firm Target) System Development and Demonstration contract award to a sole source contractor. The program director, a fast-burning young colonel, e-mails you that she is very concerned with the aircraft's ultimate speed at the full specification payload. She would like the contractor to achieve the faster, desired objective speed rather than the mandatory threshold speed, and thinks that an objective performance incentive would be the way to go to achieve her goal. You are asked to go to her office and discuss the matter and the issues involved in using Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers such an incentive. What do you tell the colonel? - correct answer There are a number of considerations for the colonel: The desired additional speed should provide benefit to the Government in order to justify the expenditure of funds to achieve it. The colonel should be able to articulate the justification. The situation is very amenable to a classic performance incentive that would allow the contractor to earn profit for achieving the desired speed above and beyond what the final FPIF profit would be for achieving threshold speed. If the contractor perceives this can't happen, he will either not sign up to the incentive or will ignore it from Day One. The incentive and resulting payment have to be structured so as to be based on observable, measurable results that would determine how much is earned by the contractor. Subjectivity is not allowable under current AF policy without HCA approval. We have to be very careful to understand what possible unintended consequences could be caused by the existence of this feature in the contract. For example, will the contractor reduce aircraft weight beyond safe limits in order to help achieve the payment? Also, will the contractor consume excessive schedule to get the extra speed? There has to be a cost incentive in place so that the contractor doesn't spend an unconstrained amount of money to win the payment, such as under a CPFF contract. The FPIF share line serves this purpose when balanced against the incentive. The incentive has to be balanced with the FPIF share line so that the contractor doesn't spend more money to achieve the desired speed than he has potential to earn by receiving the payment. Similarly, the Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers You are the Contracting Officer for a well established transport aircraft program. The program is nearing the end of production. A Program Manager approaches you requesting that you issue a Broad Area Announcement (BAA) to support the development of a source list to supply active noise reducing headsets. The headsets are commercially available from multiple sources and the PM wants to receive performance specification sheets from each offeror and then request sample headsets be submitted for testing. The end result of the effort will be the development of a source list that can be used by various government entities to individually procure the needed headsets for their specific requirements. The PM tells you that he will not be procuring any of the headsets as a result of the BAA. What do you advise the PM? - correct answer You should advise the PM that BAAs are a method of solicitation and can only be used if the Government intends to award a contract. You might suggest that the development of the source list could be achieved by issuing a Sources Sought Synopsis with the synopsis specifying the 2 step process (spec sheets first and then sample headsets from selected offerors), and the ultimate intent of the process, e.g., a source list for use by individual users in future procurements. You might also advise the PM that there could be liability issues associated with the use, handling, and return of the headsets to the offerors and that it might be appropriate for the Government to cover shipping and any damage/wear to the units for the testing. A. Under what circumstances is ratification of an unauthorized commitment permitted? B. In general, what are the generic procedures for handling ratification actions? Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers C. Who are the approval authorities for ratifications? - correct answer A. If the contract award would have been proper if executed by a warranted PCO, the price can be determined to be fair and reasonable, and there must have been enough of the proper type of funding available to pay for the item both at the time of the commitment and at the time of the ratification. B. An investigation is required to be completed within 30 days of discovery of the unauthorized commitment explaining how and why it occurred, how future occurrences will be avoided, and describing any corrective actions taken against responsible individuals. Legal review is also required. C. The ratification approving official for all unauthorized commitments valued at or above $1M is the SPE. The ratification approving official for all Non-DISA unauthorized commitments (regardless of amount) and DISA unauthorized commitments valued below $1M is the HCA. (DARS 1.602-3(b)(2)) You are the Contracting Officer for a much-delayed effort. On Friday you finally receive the necessary authority to release the contract for signature. It's late on Friday afternoon when you e-mail the modification to the contractor for signature. The only person at the contractor's office on Friday afternoon is the Company President's 17 year old daughter who is working there as a summer-hire secretary. She knows her father urgently wants the contract modification so she signs the document and returns it to your office. You note the last name is the same as the President's so assume that he's the one who signed the modification. Is this a legal agreement? - correct answer Probably not. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers The elements of a contract are - offer, acceptance, consideration, for a lawful purpose, certainty of terms, and legal capacity. It is unlikely that a 17 year old summer hire would have the authority to bind the company, regardless of her relationship to the Company President. Courts may generally find that individuals lack "the age majority" if they are under 18 years of age. The law in a given jurisdiction may never actually use the term "age of majority" and the term thereby refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood. The age of majority is a legally fixed age, concept, or statutory principle, which may differ depending on the jurisdiction, and may not necessarily correspond to actual mental or physical maturity of an individual. In practical terms, there are certain specific actions which a person who attains the age of majority is permitted to take, which they could not do before. These may include entering into a binding contract, buying stocks, voting, buying and/or consuming alcoholic beverages, driving motor vehicles on public roads, and marrying without obtaining consent of others. The ages at which these various rights or powers may be exercised vary as between the various rights and as between different jurisdictions. For example, the ages at which a person may obtain a license to drive a car or consume alcoholic beverages vary considerably between and also within jurisdictions. You are the Contracting Officer for a follow-on buy source selection. The current effort has had the same Program Manager for over 10 years. She began as the PM while still a Military Officer and then retired and was re-hired as an A&AS employee to continue to manage the program. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers still have a bona fide need of FY10 if the contractor can deliver the spares in a "reasonable" time. Here the Program Director appears to want you to buy spares sufficient to satisfy his needs for the entire war, a sure indication of his intent to stockpile. You will have to go back to the program director to find out the spares he can actually put on an aircraft right now plus find out what a reasonable inventory is for his program. You cannot use current O&M funds to satisfy a "future" need since that violates the bona fide needs rule. Please define a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data and its purpose. What are some of the key things you would expect to see or review before accepting the certificate? There are several exceptions to obtaining a Certificate - please list some of them. - correct answer The definition is as follows: A Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data certifies that to the best of the company's knowledge, the cost or pricing data submitted were accurate, complete, and current as of the date of agreement on price or, if applicable, an earlier date agreed upon between the parties that is as close as practicable to the date of agreement on price. The purpose is to have the company commit as to the accuracy, completeness, and currency of submitted data. If the data is later found to be incorrect or appropriate data was not submitted, the government reserves the right to a downward contract price adjustment for any monetary damages incurred. Key things we would expect to see or review in a Certificate are: The certificate is in the format shown in FAR 15.406-2 Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers Current as of the date of agreement on price or an earlier agreed upon date Signed by an authorized representative of the company and dated as close as practicable to the date when price negotiations were concluded Check for qualifications or new information disclosed by the sweep and evaluate its impact on the negotiated price Exceptions: Adequate Price Competition Prices set by law or regulation Commercial Item Waiver has been granted Mod to a contract/subcontract for commercial items What is the requirement for obligating funds when awarding indefinite- quantity contracts? - correct answer (1) For indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts all supplies and services to be furnished shall be obtained via delivery orders(s) or task order(s) issued by individuals designated in the contract. (2) Upon execution of the contract, an obligation shall be recorded based upon the issuance of a delivery or task order for the cost/price of the minimum quantity specified. Obtaining a certification of availability of funding from the finance office does not satisfy the requirement to record an obligation in the official accounting records of the Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers Government for the minimum order amount established by the award of an IDIQ contract. The Government's actual obligation must be recorded at the time of contract award. Recording and subsequently reporting the required obligation using anything other than a delivery or task order will result in the action not being reported in FPDS-NG. the Recording of Obligations Act is implemented in the DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR) (DoD 7000.14-R - see paragraph 080504 of the FMR). The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is responsible for recording contractual obligations. In regards to the availability and life cycle of funds, explain the meaning of the terms "current", "expired" and "cancelled". For what purposes can each of the three phases of funds be used? How many years does the current status last for construction (3300) funds, procurement (3010) funds, for R&D (3600) funds, and for O&M (3400) funds? - correct answer Current - The funds are available for obligation. This stage is primarily for obligating or placing funds on contract for a specific purpose. The "current" phase lasts five years for construction (3300) funds, three years for procurement (3010) funds, two years for R&D (3600) funds, and one year for O&M (3400) funds. Expired - The funds are not available for obligation but may be used for liquidation of previously incurred obligations or certain adjustments to these obligations. They may be used to pay existing, unpaid bills on the contract. Funding in this phase remains available for 5 years from the year the appropriation expires, regardless of the appropriation type. No obligations for new requirements can be incurred against expired funds during this phase. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers in Sec M that will consider the information in making the final source selection decision? When can incremental funding be used and what is the rationale for allowing its use? What safeguards keep the contract from violating the Anti-Deficiency Act? What does the incremental funding amount have to cover? - correct answer Contracts using procurement appropriations must, under most circumstances, be fully funded to ensure stable production runs, lower costs, and the availability of sufficient funds to complete the product. Half an airplane or tank would not be very useful. Contracts using R&D appropriations are normally incrementally funded, allowing more flexibility and control, to provide funding as needed and as progress in the research project is accomplished. The cost and progress in R&D projects are not as predictable as in more mature production programs. In R&D, even if a program is stopped before full funding is provided, some benefit is gained from the research accomplished to date. For Fixed Price contracts, incremental funding can only be used if: (see DFAR 232.702 Policy.. Fixed-price contracts shall be fully funded except as permitted by 232.703-1) (1) A fixed-price contract may be incrementally funded only if— (i) The contract (excluding any options) or any exercised option— (A) Is for severable services; Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers (B) Does not exceed one year in length; and (C) Is incrementally funded using funds available (unexpired) as of the date the funds are obligated; or (ii) The contract uses funds available from multiple (two or more) fiscal years and— (A) The contract is funded with research and development appropriations; or (B) Congress has otherwise authorized incremental funding. The Limitation of Funds Clause (FAR 52.232-22 - for Cost Reimbursement contracts) or the Limitation of Government Obligation clause (DFARS 252.232-7007 for Fixed Price contracts) caution the contractor that he is not obligated to incur costs, nor is the Government obligated to pay in excess of the amount allotted. Incremental funding is obligated to cover the amount allotted and any corresponding increment of fee. You are the Contracting Officer for a small organization that is very short of manpower to accomplish the mission. The program has a significant source selection coming up and is in the process of selecting the source selection evaluation team. The colonel in charge of the program office comes to your desk and asks you if it is OK to select Fred Smith, an A&AS contractor, to be the source selection Performance Confidence Assessment Group (PCAG) chief. What do you tell the colonel? - correct answer It is not OK. Support contractors are not allowed to access CPAR reports, the CPAR data base, or to serve on PCAGs. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers Follow up QUESTION: Is it OK for the support contractor to serve as a PCAG member? ANSWER: No. See first answer. In a Fixed Price Incentive Firm (FPIF) contract type, one of the most important elements is the Point of Total Assumption (PTA). Please explain what the PTA is. Bonus points: Can you tell us the formula for the PTA? - correct answer The PTA is A cost value The point where the contractor will now pay all overrun costs The contract in effect becomes a Firm Fixed Price (share ratio of 0/100) First time the sum of the cost dollars and the profit dollars equal the ceiling price All costs expended beyond the PTA are taken directly out of profit by the contractor The PTA can be developed by three methods: Visual estimate from a graph; Cost element grass-roots build-up to determine most probably cost overrun; formula The PTA formula is [(Ceiling Price-Target Price)/Government Share] + Target Cost You are negotiating a Firm Fixed Price contract type with Performance Based Payments (PBPs). During the negotiation of the PBPs your team discovers that the expenditure profile in the PBPs has significantly more Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 5. For technical data that was developed totally at private expense the Contracting Officer should (in most cases) obtain Limited Rights which allows the Government to only use, release, or disclose the technical data within the Government without obtaining the permission of the contractor asserting the restriction. 6. For technical data that is to be developed with mixed private and Government funding, the Contracting Officer should obtain Government purpose rights. During the period of Government purpose rights (the period of Government purpose rights is negotiable) the Government may not use, or authorize other persons to use, the Government purpose rights technical data, for commercial purposes. The Government may release the technical data to Government contractors for use in the performance under a Government contract, provided the recipient has entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the contractor who developed the data. 7. Contracting Officers should negotiate specifically negotiated licens There are seven specific statutory exceptions to the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) that allow a CO to award a contract using other than full and open competition. - correct answer Seven Exceptions to Full and Open Competition FAR 6.302-1 - One Responsible Source; No other Will Satisfy Requirements: When there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the agency's minimum needs can only be satisfied by unique supplies or services available from only one source or a limited number of sources, or from only one or a limited number of suppliers with unique Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers capabilities; it shall not be used when any of the other circumstances are applicable. FAR 6.302-2 - Unusual and Compelling Urgency; An unusual and compelling urgency precludes full and open competition, and delay in award of a contract would result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government. FAR 6.302-3 - Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Development, or Research Capability; or Expert Services; When it is necessary to keep vital facilities or suppliers in business, train selected supplier, maintain properly balanced sources of supply, create or maintain the required domestic capability for production of critical supplies, continue critical supplies in production when there would otherwise be a break in production, to provide for an adequate industrial mobilization base. FAR 6.302-4 - International Agreement; When a contemplated acquisition is to be reimbursed by a foreign country using LOA directing source; or for services to be performed, or supplies to be used, in the sovereign territory of another country and the terms of a treaty or agreement specify or limit the sources to be solicited. FAR 6.302-5 - Authorized or Required by Statute; When statutes expressly authorize or require that acquisition be made from a specified source or through another agency. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers FAR 6.302-6 - National Security; When disclosure of the Government's needs would compromise the national security (e.g., would violate security requirements). FAR 6.302-7 You're in a kick-off meeting for a new $20M R&D effort and the Program Manager points out the list of potential offerors, three of which are small businesses. When asked he states that all three are capable of doing the work. Are you required to set this acquisition aside for small businesses? What question would you ask the Program Manager? - correct answer Although FAR 19.502-2(b)(2) states: "(b) The contracting officer shall set aside any acquisition over $150,000 for small business participation when there is a reasonable expectation that (1) offers will be obtained from at least two responsible small business concerns offering the products of different small business concerns (but see paragraph (c) of this subsection); and (2) award will be made at fair market prices. Total small business set- asides shall not be made unless such a reasonable expectation exists (but see 19.502-3 as to partial set-asides). Although past acquisition history of an item or similar items is always important, it is not the only factor to be considered in determining whether a reasonable expectation exists. In making R&D small business set-asides, there must also be a reasonable expectation of obtaining from small businesses the best scientific and technological sources consistent with the demands of Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 4. Advance Payments (least preferred) - made before, in anticipation of, for purposes of contract performance; requires agency approval; requires adequate security; may be in addition to progress/partial payments, interest may be required. Commercial Item Financing - correct answer 1. Advance Payments - made before performance work; 15% cap 2. Interim Payments - some work accomplished; basis may be events, passage of time, specified dates prior to delivery 3. Installment Payments - fixed number of equal payments; must be customary in the marketplace; limited to 70% of the unit price. You are the Contracting Officer involved in a very difficult Firm Fixed Price negotiation which is proposed at $120M. At the present time the two sides are $15M apart. The Government's maximum position would allow movement of $8M. The Program Manager is concerned about the length of time the negotiation is taking and has asked you about the possibility of offering the contractor a 50/50 split of the present positions. What would you tell the Program Manager? - correct answer Unless the differences are small, the Government should never offer a 50/50 split with the contractor for the following reasons: 1. If the contractor says "No", which is very likely with this magnitude of difference, the Government Negotiation Team has nowhere to go 2. The credibility of the Negotiation Team is now gone since it is now obvious that only Government management can settle the acquisition Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 3. A move of this sort allows little additional room for management to adjust (in this case only $500K) 4. If you reserve the right to go back to your previous position if the split is not accepted you would be in the same situation as telling the jury to ignore the previous statement. In other words, the contractor now knows you can go at least to the split position and they will now negotiate with this knowledge. You have a commercial item acquisition for which you are the Contracting Officer. The Program Manager comes to your office and asks you to explain how a commercial item is supported for reasonableness. You tell the PM that FAR has an order of preference that involves three steps. Please explain what these three steps are and provide examples for each step. - correct answer Step 1. Determine if information is available within the government. Examples - Prices from other government contracts, ASC/PKF historical information, government independent cost estimates, historical data from other government services or agencies, records within DCAA and DCMA. Step 2. Determine if information is available from sources other than the offeror. Examples - Market Research, published market prices, published price lists from both the offeror and other vendors, information from other vendors. Step 3. Obtain information from the offeror. Examples - Prices at which the same or similar items have previously been sold in the commercial marketplace (sales data), catalogs, market priced items (market quotes from the vendor), cost or pricing data from the vendor that will not be certified. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers You are the Contracting Officer in Source Selection and dutifully following the FAR and DFARS, etc. on a particular issue. However, your higher leadership is now giving you "direction" which you believe is contrary to your legal guidance. What do you do? Do you comply with the legal guidance or the higher direction of leadership? - correct answer First check whether the particular legal guidance is mandatory or advisory. Check out how much discretion you have. It may be that you were being too strict or literal and what is being directed is within your discretion. Once you determine the legal parameters, if there is still a conflict, discuss it with your supervisor, and possibly others in the chain of command in resolving the issue with higher leadership. The point is you do not have to "go it alone". Worse case scenario, if all this fails, remember that it is your warrant on the line. It is your obligation to ensure the integrity of the procurement system, and if that means that you won't sign off on something, then that may be the answer. As the Contracting Officer, you were involved in a source selection for the overhaul and maintenance (which includes painting) of the C-130 fleet. The effort was competed among the incumbent ALC and several commercial repair facilities. A contractor won the competition and you issued a Requirements Contract, with FAR clause 52.216-21, for a performance period of one year. The contract also includes a three-year option. Prior to award, a Pre-Award Survey was performed by DCMA. DCMA verified that the contractor had the capability, quality control, and adequate capacity. However, after the first few units were painted, despite passing quality inspections, your Program Manager was unsatisfied with the quality of the paint jobs. He tells you that the Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers events or performance criteria, definitions of successful completion of events or performance criteria, and associated payments amounts. Payments may be established on a CLIN or total contract basis, and may be based on severable or cumulative events/criteria. Payments may not exceed 90 percent of the price of the associated CLIN or contract. The events or performance criteria should be integral, necessary parts of contract performance and may not include events such as contract award or option exercise. PBP amounts must be commensurate with the value of the events or performance criteria and cannot result in a negative or unreasonably low investment on the part of the contractor. Applicable to negotiated fixed price contracts not for commercial items. Applicable only to definitized contracts, and not available for use with any other method of contract financing. Both contractor and government must agree on use of PBP and payment terms. Advantages: Contractor can achieve better cash flow than with progress payments (up to 90% of price vs progress payment percentage of costs) Less burdensome to administer than progress payments, both for contractor and government (contractor prepares vouchers based on PBP schedule amounts vs tracking actual costs incurred; payment only made if contractor performs - no need to take action to suspend payment for lack of performance; no need to verify "progress" before payment) Advantages cited above Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers What is consideration? - correct answer Consideration is the inducement to a contract: the cause, motive, price, or impelling influence that leads a party to enter a contract. A binding contract requires an offer, acceptance of the offer, and consideration. Consideration generally requires two elements: (1) something must be given that the law regards as of sufficient legal value for the purpose - either a benefit to the seller or a detriment to the buyer, and (2) the something (benefit or detriment of legal value) must be dealt with by the parties as the agreed-upon price or exchange for the promise - there must be a "bargained-for exchange." The requirement for consideration does not require that what is relied upon for consideration be equivalent in value to the promise; the consideration need only have "some value." How would you address consideration on a Fixed Price type contract being modified to include additional Government Furnished Property (GFP) (e.g., not part of the original contract), and what is your reasoning? - correct answer After determining the estimated value of the GFP, you would add something of value to the contract (i.e., additional within scope capability, an additional study, additional hours) in order to re-establish the original "balance" of the contractual consideration. How would you address consideration on a Cost type contract being modified to include additional GFP (e.g., not part of the original contract), and what is your reasoning? - correct answer Textbook Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers answer and preference is to reduce the base fee. After determining the estimated value of the GFP, you would get a reduction in the base fee on a cost type contract (if there is a base fee). This is because the GFP, in effect, reduces the estimated cost of the contract and therefore the fee associated with it should also be reduced. This re-establishes the original "balance" of the contractual consideration. In real life, if the value of the GFP is nominal and it is impractical to reduce the fee - you have a few other alternatives: requesting something of nominal value (additional copies of a report), documenting the file that your product will be enhanced given the use of GFP or document the file that consideration was obtained through "cost avoidance" (over-run for example). Bottom Line: consideration is required on both a FFP and Cost type contract, however since the government actually funds its own consideration in a cost-type environment it if far less critical of an issue than supplying GFP in a FFP environment without "adequate" consideration. Assume you are assigned to a new program and that you are trying to determine feasible acquisition strategies. In what areas can Market Research help? - correct answer Some of the strategy considerations Market Research can help with are: whether to buy Commercial or Non- Developmental Items, use FAR Part 12 or 15, go competitive or sole- source, decide if the contract will be cost type or fixed price, decide if there will be an incentive or award fee, and evaluation criteria. What does the term "Equitable Adjustment" mean to you? - correct answer The definition from the Government Contract Law textbook Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 5) Have the necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, and technical skills, or the ability to obtain them; 6) Have the necessary production, construction, and technical equipment and facilities, or the ability to obtain them; 7) Be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws and regulations. In other words, capable of performing the work as required. To be considered RESPONSIVE, a contractor's bid must comply in all material respects with the invitation for bids. Such compliance enables bidders to stand on equal footing and maintain the integrity of the sealed bidding system. Bids should be filled out, executed, and submitted in accordance with the instructions in the invitation (timeliness is a factor). Any bid that does not conform to the requirements, specifications, or delivery schedule will be rejected. In a source selection, the SSA determination of the overall value of each proposal is judged against the source selection evaluation criteria and Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers responsiveness to the government's business, contractual and technical requirements. In general, responsiveness deals with the question of whether the contractor has promised to do exactly what the government has requested. Responsibility deals with the question of whether the contractor can or will perform as he has promised. You have just received a request for equitable adjustment from your contractor. What do you do? - correct answer First you should notify your attorney that you have received an REA. Then, you will need to determine whether the contractor's request has any merit. If you determine that the request has merit, you may attempt to negotiate a settlement with the contractor, involving your attorney as you deem necessary. If negotiating with the contractor is difficult, and the involvement of your program counsel has not helped, you may refer the case to legal for formal ADR. Formal ADR can be accomplished either before or after the issuance of a final decision. If you determine that the REA is without merit, you may still attempt to discuss the issues with the contractor prior to issuing a CO's final decision. Once a stalemate has occurred and the claim can't be resolved at the CO level, a final decision is issued and an appeal is processed. What is a CO, what is the authority given to a CO, and what are the responsibilities of a CO? What is the limit of the CO? - correct answer A CO is an agent of the Government that safeguards the Government's Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers interests. A CO has actual authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings only to the extent of the authority delegated to them. Responsibilities: A CO is responsible for performance of all necessary contract actions, ensuring compliance with terms and conditions, safeguarding Government interest in contractual relationships, ensuring all requirements of law, Executive Orders, and Regulations are met, ensuring sufficient money is available, ensuring contractors receive impartial, fair, and equitable treatment, and consider the advice of specialists. You are the CO on a program where the contractor is a Small Business and new to government business. They call you up one day very concerned about what they heard from one of their business consultants. The consultant mentioned the Government is not bound by apparent authority and anyone entering into an arrangement with the Government takes the risk that the person they are dealing with stays within the bounds of their authority. First, is this true or is the Government bound by apparent authority? What can you do to help relieve the contractor's concerns? - correct answer FAR 1.602-1 Authority. (a) CO's have authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings. CO's may bind the Government only to the extent of the authority delegated to them. Apparent Authority: It is well-settled in Government contracting that apparent authority will never bind the Government. Apparent authority is, in effect, an application off the doctrine of estoppels in which a "representation" is made by creating the appearance that a person has Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers risk. You have to be able to write to and support your final price agreement. What is the purpose of ratification and what conditions must first be met? - correct answer A ratification is the act of approving an unauthorized commitment. Unauthorized commitments may be ratified only when the conditions of FAR 1.602-3(c) are met.a) Use of appropriated funds b) Provided to or accepted by the Government - received a benefit c) Ratification official has the authority to ratify d) Resulting contract must otherwise be proper e) Price must be fair & reasonable f) Funds are available and were available at the time the action occurred g) The CO recommends payments h) It is IAW other requirements and limitations You are the Contracting Officer on a program where the contractor has recently submitted a very large claim based on a constructive change to the contract. The claim is based on direction that the Colonel, the Group Commander of the program, allegedly gave the contractor. The contractor maintains it was a constructive change to the contract. You find out from the Colonel's secretary that he is going out to the contractor's facility next week to meet with corporate management about the claim. You make inquiries and find out that nobody from the Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers program's contracting division or JAG will be accompanying the colonel. What should you do? - correct answer Authority: FAR 43.104 / FAR 52.243-7 A constructive change is sometimes called a 'change by implication' and occurs when the Government, by its actions, changes the contract without specifically adhering to the requirements of the 'Changes' clause. A constructive change order has been defined as an oral or written act or omission by the Contracting Officer or other authorized Government official, which is of such a nature that it has the same effect as a formal written change order under the Changes clause. You should notify you supervisor immediately and brief them on the situation. You should also express concern over not being involved in the situation and concern that the Colonel might be compromising the Government's position in this matter. You should recommend to your boss that the Group COCO should ask the colonel either to take along his PCO and JAG or cancel the trip altogether. If the colonel refuses, then the COCO should elevate the matter by alerting the SCCO and the JAG office. You are the Contracting Officer in a major weapon system program. The program is under a lot of pressure to get through flight test and into production. There are cost overruns. Numerous IPTs are working with the contractor. The engineers are meeting regularly with the contractor and making decisions on how to accomplish flight test. Senior Program Management is working with the contractor's management group deciding how to get to production. Decisions are not getting Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers documented. No PCO letters have been issued for over six months. What do you do? - correct answer Authority: FAR 43.202 There seems to be a major communications breakdown. It appears that many folks may have given constructive changes to the contractor. You should communicate to both Government and contractor personnel that no one is authorized to give direction or take action on a decision unless they receive a PCOL. You need to try to document the past agreements/decisions, etc. that have been made, on both sides, and bring the contract up to date to reflect these things. You may also need to prepare for an eventual claim from the contractor. The PCO is the only one authorized to make a change to a contract, unless it's been delegated to the ACO, per FAR 43.202. You receive notification from the Contractor they will submit a new CDRL based on request by Lead Engineer on your contract. The KTR will be sending an invoice since this CDRL is at additional cost. What are the ramifications of this notification and what actions would you take? - correct answer IDENTIFY POSSIBLE RATIFICATION (Ratification Processing Procedures) 1) Conduct CO Investigation 2) write determination (within 30 days) 3) would the CO mod the contract (scope determination) 4) Legal Opinion 5) Were funds available 6) Ratification on Mod Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 2. Compelling urgency would cause the Government to be seriously injured if the agency complied with the time periods specified 3. A foreign government is reimbursing the agency for the cost of the acquisition; or an international agreement or treaty between the U.S. and a foreign government/international organization has the effect of requiring that the acquisition shall be from specified sources. 4. The contract action is expressly authorized or required by statute 5. The contract action is for utility services (other than telecommunications) and only one source is available 6. The contract action is an order under an indefinite delivery contract 7. The action results from acceptance of a proposal under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 8. The proposed contract action results from the acceptance of an unsolicited research proposal that demonstrates a unique and innovative concept and any notice would improperly disclose the originality of the proposed research or proprietary information. 9. The proposed contract action is made for perishable supplies and advanced notice is not reasonable 10. The proposed contract action is made under conditions described in 6.302-3, or 6.302-5 with regard to brand name commercial items for authorized resale, or 6.302-7, and advance notice is not appropriate or reasonable 11. The proposed contract action is made under the terms of an existing contract that was previously synopsized Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 12. The proposed contract action will be made and performed outside the U.S. and only local sources will be solicited. 13. The proposed contract action will not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, will be made through a means that provides access to the notice through GPE, and permits the public to respond to the soli Publicizing and Response Time: - correct answer 1. The CO must provide access to pre-solicitation notices through the GPE and must synopsize a proposed contract action before issuing any resulting solicitation. 2. The notice of contract action must be published at least 15 days before issuance of a solicitation. Except, for acquisition of commercial items, the CO may: - establish a shorter period for issuance of the solicitation - use the combined synopsis and solicitation procedure 3. The CO must establish a solicitation response time that will afford potential offerors a reasonable opportunity to respond depending on the circumstances of the individual acquisition such as complexity, commerciality, availability and urgency. 4. Except for the acquisition of commercial items, agencies shall allow at least a 30 day response time for receipt of bids/proposals from the date of issuance of a solicitation if the acquisition is over SAT. 5. Agencies must allow at least a 45 day response time for receipt of bids/proposals from the date of publication of the notice for proposed Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers contract actions categorized as research and development if the proposed contract action 1279 REPORTS-DFARS 205.303 - correct answer The threshold for DoD awards is $6.5 million. Report all contractual actions, including modifications, that have a face value, excluding unexercised options, of more than $6.5 million. - For undefinitized contractual actions, report the not-to-exceed (NTE) amount. Later, if the definitized amount exceeds the NTE amount by more than $6.5 million, report only the amount exceeding the NTE. - For indefinite delivery, time and material, labor hour, and similar contracts, report the initial award if the estimated face value, excluding unexercised options, is more than $6.5 million. Do not report orders up to the estimated value, but after the estimated value is reached, report subsequent modifications and orders that have a face value of more than $6.5 million. - Do not report the same work twice. Inherently Governmental Functions - correct answer - A function that is so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by government employees. These functions include those activities that require either the exercise of discretion in applying government authority or the making of value judgments in making decisions for the Government. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers (a) 1. Providing Systems engineering and technical direction 2. Preparing specifications of work statements 3. Providing evaluation services 4. Obtaining access to proprietary information (b) 1. Conflicting roles that might bias a contractor's judgment 2. Unfair competitive advantage Describe some techniques for conducting market research? - correct answer 1. Contacting knowledgeable individuals in Government and industry regarding market capabilities to meet requirements. 2. Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements. 3. Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. 4. Querying the Government-wide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies and other Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions. 5. Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers. 6. Obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 7. Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on- line. 8. Conducting interchange meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential offerors early in the acquisition process. 7 Steps to PBSA - correct answer 7 Steps to PBSA 1) Form a team 2) identify the problem 3) examine the market 4) develop PWS 5) determine how to measure 6) select the KTR 7) Manage the Performance You are the CO on a new competitive program that is preparing for the System Development and Demo phase, and you are very close too issuing the RFP. The Col who is the PM comes up to you and says that the General at the user's requirements office has asked that a few significant last minute requirements be put into the RFP, and he wants to know what your thoughts are. What do you tell the PM? - correct answer Since it is difficult for a Col to say "no" to the Gen...explain the situation in the following manner. The PM should tell the Gen that there Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers will most likely be a cost, schedule, and/or performance impact from adding the new requirement. It may be as simple as a delay in contract award, or it could be more complex than that. The Col has an obligation to tell the Gen that he/she will obtain all the info needed for the Gen to make an informed decision. The PM should also ask the Gen if the new requirements can be inserted at a planned future date, perhaps along with other new or changed requirements. The new/changed rqrmts could be added at a later date as a planned "block" or separate increment of capability in a planned, organized, and less disruptive manner after the current contract is in performance. You are working on a competitive RFP and are nearing completion of Sections L, containing information and instructions for offerors, and Section M, containing evaluation factors for award. You have just completed a cross-check of Sections L and M to make sure that there is correlation between the contents of the two sections and are satisfied that there is 100% correlation. Your PM comes into your office all excited and tells you that this new information requires is not related to any other information requested from the offerors in Sec L. You also know from your work on the RFP that there is no corresponding evaluation criterion in Sec M for this information. You ask him why he wants to include the request in the RFP, and he states that this is important information that he absolutely has to obtain for the success of the program.. What do you tell the PM? - correct answer It is critical that the information requested in Sec L be held to an absolute minimum, and then be requested only to the extent that the information will be relevant to the evaluation criteria in Sec M. A sure Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers control of criminal investigations or prosecutions, command of military forces, determination of agency policy and application of regulations, determining budget priorities, and direction and control of federal employees, among other. (The list is not all inclusive!) You are in a source selection and according to the RFP the offerors are to submit a paper copy and an electronic version of their offer. One offeror submits both versions, on time, one hour before closing time for receipt of proposals. However, the next day, when the electronic version is loaded to begin evaluations, it is found to be defective and cannot be read. What do you do and why? - correct answer Authority: FAR 15.207(c) Check to make sure the paper version is complete and acceptable for evaluation. Then you may either use it or you should ask the offeror to submit another electronic version, verify that it is the same as the paper version you already have, and then use the new electronic version. Why? No one has been harmed or disadvantaged by this, the government could have evaluated the paper version alone so the electronic version is merely for the convenience of the government. FAR part 15 says that if any portion of a proposal received by the contracting officer electronically or by facsimile is unreadable, the contracting officer immediately shall notify the offeror and permit the offeror to resubmit the unreadable portion of the proposal. The method and time for resubmission shall be prescribed by the contracting officer after consultation with the offeror, and documented in the file. The resubmission shall be Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers considered as if it were received at the date and time of the original unreadable submission for the purpose of determining timeliness under 15.208(a), provided the offeror complies with the time and format requirements for resubmission prescribed by the contracting officer. You are the Contracting Officer for a source selection and are in the process of preparing the RFP. A large business submits a query as to whether or not you will consider PBPs. What are the things you should consider before you respond - correct answer Is this a program suitable for PBPs? Is it Fixed Price? How complex is it, how many items are you buying, how long is the period of performance, etc. How long will it take you to develop a PBP schedule with events and criteria that complies with the FAR? Are you trying to award without discussions and will this add time to the evaluation process? How will you ensure compliance with the FAR section on PBPs. What about the dollars? According to the FAR you have to decide up front whether or not the PBPs will affect the best value. Should you be calculating the cost to the treasury? How do you compare across companies, such as one company wanting PBPs at the max (90% every month) and one company wanting progress payments? Are you excluding competition if you don't allow PBPs? If it is a large business, they will probably have an adequate accounting system and that won't be an issue. Can you award with progress payments and change to PBPs at a later date? Yes, but remember that might require consideration. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers Best Value - correct answer Best Value Continuum: Agencies can obtain best value in negotiated acquisitions by using any one or a combination of source selection approaches. The relative importance of cost or price may vary, i.e., clearly defined acquisitions have less risk of unsuccessful performance, so cost or price may play a dominant role in the source selection. Less defined requirements typically require more development work and have more risk (performance, technical, or past performance), so cost or price are less important than technical factors. What are some examples of relevant contractor past performance information? How long should past performance information be retained? - correct answer Authority: FAR 42.15 Past performance information includes the contractor's record of conforming to contract requirements and to standards of good workmanship; the contractor's record of forecasting and controlling costs; the contractor's adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the contractor's history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the contractor's business-like concern for the interest of the customer. Past performance information shall not be retained to provide source selection information for longer than three years after completion of contract performance. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers For a Post-Award (1) The Government's evaluation of the significant weaknesses or deficiencies in the offeror's proposal, if applicable; (2) The overall evaluated cost or price (including unit prices), and technical rating, if applicable, of the successful offeror and the debriefed offeror, and past performance information on the debriefed offeror; (3) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during the source selection; (4) A summary of the rationale for award; (5) For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror; and (6) Reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed. The debriefing shall not include point-by-point comparisons of the debriefed offeror's proposal with those of other offerors. Moreover, the debriefing shall not reveal any information prohibited from disclosure by 24.202 or exempt from relea What is difference between price and cost analysis? - correct answer Price analysis - involves overall evaluation of total price and is required for all acquisitions. Based essentially on data that is obtained from sources other than the prospective KTR. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers 2. Cost Analysis - involves an evaluation of each cost element to include profit/fee. WHEN IS COST OR PRICING DATA REQUIRED? (TINA EXCEPTIONS) - correct answer Required for contract actions >$700k if one of the following exceptions does not apply ◦ Adequate price competition ◦ Price set by law or regulation - very, very RARE!! (i.e. prices set by local/regional Government utilities) ◦ TINA Waiver ◦ Modification to commercial contract or subcontract ◦ Commercial For modifications, threshold determined by adding value for increases and decreases ◦ Ex: $200k modification based on increases of $450k and decreases of $250k requires cost or pricing data ($450k+$250k=$700k) Defective Pricing - correct answer Occurs when contractor fails to provide current, accurate, and complete data as of the conclusion of negotiations and failure results in an increase in price Not same as fraud Usually found by DCAA during post-award audit Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers TINA provides basis to make downward contract adjustment and interest is collected on principal ASC/PKFB is focal point What would you do as PCO to minimize the chances of defective pricing in a major negotiation? - correct answer 1. Obtain DCAA audits prior to completion of negotiation s 2. Audit the work in process 3. Pressure the KTR to correct deficiencies cited in the audit 4. Have KTR evaluate subcontract proposals properly You are the CO on a Commercial Services contract estimated to be $100M. Your PM calls a meeting with all the functional leads to discuss the acquisition strategy. During the meeting, the PM inquires what types of incentives are available to ensure that the contractor meets the minimum contractual requirements given the high visibility of the program. How would you respond? - correct answer I would point out first that contractual incentives must only apply to performance that exceeds the minimum requirements. If there are no performance objectives (requirements beyond the minimum requirement), a FFP contract should be plenty of incentive to the contractor to perform. If there are areas where we would be able to quantify performance and provide incentive to the contractor for exceeding the minimum contractual requirements, I would look in to another type of arrangement such as an FPIF, FPAF, or FPAT type contract. I would also Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers decide to use a Time-and-Material (T&M) contract type. The Program Manager is not familiar with this type contract and has asked you to explain what a T&M contract type is and some of the advantages and disadvantages. What would be your answer? - correct answer Authority: FAR 16.601(c) A Time-and-Material contract arrangement is used to buy time at a fixed and specified hourly rate that includes direct labor, indirect costs, and profit. Material is acquired at cost with no addition of profit. Advantages: 1) used when costs cannot be estimated realistically, 2) profit is saved on the material expenditures, 3) exclusion of profit on material makes it more likely the contractor will choose to repair rather than replace which is usually what we want to the extent it is economical. Disadvantages: 1) expending additional hours increases profit dollars, 2) contractor may use lower graded labor than was priced in the hourly rate, thus making more money on the rate differential, 3) use of lower graded laborers may result in more hours being expended, increasing profit dollars. Contingent Liability - correct answer A contingent liability is an existing condition, situation, or set of circumstances that poses the possibility of a loss to an agency that will ultimately be resolved when one or more events occur or fail to occur. Examples include: • Award fees Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers • Multi-year contract cancellation ceilings • Estimated amounts for the difference between target and ceiling amounts • Upward adjustments under savings clauses • Overruns on FPIF contracts • Unpriced options What is the Economy Act, when does it apply, and what supporting documentation must you obtain prior to issuing an Economy Act order? - correct answer What is the Economy Act, when does it apply, and what supporting documentation must you obtain prior to issuing an Economy Act order? A1: The Economy Act is a law which authorizes agencies to enter into mutual agreements to obtain supplies or services by inter-agency acquisition. It may NOT be used by an agency to circumvent conditions and limitations imposed on the use of funds. It applies when more specific statutory authority does not exist. Each Economy Act shall be supported by a D&F and it shall state: The use of an interagency acquisition is in the best interest of the Government, and The supplied and services cannot be obtained as conveniently or economically by contracting directly with a private source. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers PM had difficulty getting funding (stopped work last qtr due to lack of funds). Facing same situation this quarter. He wants to use procurement funding (3010) to cover the effort for the rest of the year. Previously, the effort was funded with RDT&E funding (3600). As PCO, what issues would you consider before taking action to obligate the procurement funds? - correct answer You cannot pay for RDT&E efforts with Procurement funds. This would be violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act. Bona Fide needs deals with time, purpose and amount. You would be augmenting the RDT&E appropriation with procurement funds. Taking into account the ADA, please advise what you would do. In response to a solicitation you issued, you have received a proposal from the Widget Company to provide 10,999 high-strength plastic widgets. In order to take advantage of a qty price break on high-strength plastic, the Widget Company needs to place an order immediately with their high-strength plastic vendor. The Widget Company Contract Administrator contacts you as the PCO and explains the situation. The Contract Administrator knows that you won't have the money to award the K until 1 Oct. The CA explains that if she can get you to give her a letter stating that K award is imminent; her manager will allow her to order the high-strength plastic at a substantial savings. Would you issue the letter? Why? - correct answer NO!!!! IF you issue the letter you are authorizing expenditure in excess of available funds. Describe the Anti-deficiency Act and list some actions that would constitute a violation of it. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers beyond the limits established in the Limitation of Cost or Limitation of Funds clause. What additional liabilities does the contractor incur when a fixed-price contract is terminated for default (in lieu of a termination for convenience)? - correct answer Authority: FAR 49.402-2 1. The Government is not liable for the contractor's costs on undelivered work and is entitled to the repayment of any advance and progress payments applicable to that work. 2. The contractor is liable to the Government for any excess costs incurred in acquiring supplies and services similar to those terminated for default. Describe "cure notice" and when you would use one as a CO? - correct answer If a contract is to be terminated for default before delivery date, a "cure notice" is required by the Default clause. Before using this notice, it must be ascertained that the amount of time equal to or greater than the period of "cure" remains in the contract delivery schedule or any extension to it. If the amount of time remaining in the contract delivery schedule is not sufficient to permit a "cure" period of 10 days or more, the Cure Notice should NOT be issued, instead a "Show Cause Notice" may be issued. What is the Bona Fide need rule? - correct answer The bona fide needs rule is one of the fundamental principles of appropriations law: A fiscal year appropriation may be obligated only to meet a legitimate, or bona Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers fide, need arising in, or in some cases arising prior to but continuing to exist in, the fiscal year for which the appropriation was made. You have a requirement for a radio communication system. After some market research your PM thinks there is a commercially available item that the Government could buy and modify in order to meet our minimum requirement. The PM would like to develop a new item to satisfy the Government's requirement, and he knows he has enough money budgeted to pay for a developmental item. First, does the item that the PM found commercially fit the definition of a commercial item? And secondly, can the Government develop the item? - correct answer The item found in the marketplace may very well fit the definition of a commercial item in FAR 2.101. I would first double check the definition of what a commercial item is. Currently, that definition states that an item can be considered commercial if it is "of a type" of item sold in the commercial marketplace, therefore, depending on the extent of the modifications being performed on the item, it could very likely be considered a commercial item, which is something the contracting Officer can determine. Secondly, if the item is determined to fit the definition of a commercial item and satisfies the Government's minimum requirement, the Government cannot develop an item to satisfy the requirement. You are the CO for a $5M acquisition for which the contractor has taken the position that the product is commercial. You must now determine if you agree with this position. What documentation would you need to complete for your contract file and what steps would you take in Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers determining if you agree with the contractor's position of commerciality? - correct answer The document you would need to complete for the contract file is a Commercial Item Determination (CID). There are various ways to proceed when deciding if I agree with the contractor. The best way to start would be to review the definition of a "commercial item" at FAR 2.101(b) to make sure I completely understood what is required for an item to be determined commercial. Next, you would ask the contractor to provide support for its position in the form of prices at which the same or similar items have previously been sold in the commercial marketplace. At the same time, you can be doing research to determine if info is available within the government that may assist and also perform market research to determine if published market prices exist for this item from this contractor or other contractors that may have similar products. After much deliberation and analysis, you as the CO have decided that an item proposed as commercial does not fulfill the definition in FAR 2.101(b). You ask the contractor to submit certifiable cost or pricing data, however, the contractor refuses your request and still insists that its product is commercial. What steps would you now take? - correct answer Explain your position again to the contractor, emphasizing that you are the CO; you have the final determination regarding commerciality; and failure of the contractor to submit the data is a serious situation. 2) Elevate the impasse to management and solicit their help through the leverage they have with their contractor counterparts. 3) Examine the possibility of another source (unlikely at this point). 4) Ask the contractor to put into writing that the company refuses to supply certifiable cost or pricing data and the company will Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers solicitation requirements, technical excellence, management capability, personnel qualifications, and prior experience . To evaluate Past performance (for acquisitions over $100,000). The currency and relevance of the information, source of the information, context of the data, and general trends in contractor's performance shall be considered. Consider information provided by the offeror and information obtained from any other source. In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. You awarded a UCA and the contractor is taking a long time to definitize. Your office has received a qualified proposal, though you are nearing 180 day time for definitization. You have yet to obligate over 50% of the NTE. What do you do? - correct answer Per 217.7404-3 (b) Submission of a qualifying proposal in accordance with the definitization schedule is a material element of the contract. If the contractor does not submit a timely qualifying proposal, the contacting officer may suspend or reduce progress payments under FAR 32.503-6, or take other appropriate action. As the CO, I can elevate the issue and get my management involved. I can stop Progress Payments, or withhold money because they have not met the schedule that was outlined in the UCA. Upon notice that a protest has been filed with the GAO, the contracting officer shall immediately begin compiling the information necessary for a report to the GAO. The agency shall submit a complete report to the Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers GAO within how many days? What is to be included in the "Protest File" and when is it accessible? - correct answer 30 Days the report is due. A protest file shall include an index and as appropriate -- (A) The protest; (B) The offer submitted by the protester; (C) The offer being considered for award or being protested; (D) All relevant evaluation documents; (E) The solicitation, including the specifications or portions relevant to the protest; (F) The abstract of offers or relevant portions; and (G) Any other documents that the agency determines are relevant to the protest, including documents specifically requested by the protester. When a protest is filed with the GAO, and an actual or prospective offeror so requests, the procuring agency shall, in accordance with any applicable protective orders, provide actual or prospective offerors reasonable access to the protest file. The protest file shall be made available to non-intervening actual or prospective offerors within a reasonable time after submittal of an agency report to the GAO. However, if the GAO dismisses the protest before the documents are submitted to the GAO, then no protest file need be made available. Information exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C.552 may be redacted from the protest file. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers What can you change using the unilateral right of the "Changes" clause ? - correct answer SUPPLIES (1) Drawings, designs, or specifications when the supplies to be furnished are to be specially manufactured for the Government in accordance with the drawings, designs, or specifications. (2) Method of shipment or packing. (3) Place of delivery SERVICES (1) Description of services to be performed. (2) Time of performance (i.e., hours of the day, days of the week, etc.). (3) Place of performance of the services. Of course, if at all possible a mutal or bilateral agreement is recommended. What is a claim? What has to happen in regard to the claim if it is over 100K? - correct answer Claims Far 33.206 "Claim" means a written demand or written assertion by one of the contracting parties seeking, as a matter of right, the payment of money in a sum certain, the adjustment or interpretation of contract terms, or other relief arising under or relating to the contract. However, a written demand or written assertion by the contractor seeking the payment of money exceeding $100,000 is not a claim under the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 until certified as required by the Act. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers none was accomplished as the mission partner wants to use their "usual" contractor; she also tells you that she isn't really sure why any would be necessary or where to begin the research. What should you do? - correct answer Authority: FAR 10.002 You should inform her that Market Research is usually the foundation for sole-source or limited competition and without it (unless one of the other exceptions in 6.302 applies) you cannot process the J&A. You should also ensure that she understands that the Market Research will demonstrate if a commercial item is available, or could be modified, to meet the Government's requirement thereby saving time and money in the development and delivery of the item. You should direct her to FAR Part 10 which provides several avenues of conduction Market Research, some of which are: (1) Contacting knowledgeable individuals in Government and industry regarding market capabilities to meet requirements. (2) Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements. (3) Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. (4) Querying the Government-wide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies available at www.contractdirectory.gov and other Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions. (5) Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers. Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers (6) Obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources. (7) Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on- line. (8) Conducting interchange meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential offerors early in the acquisition process. What are some benefits of competition? What are some keys of effective competition? - correct answer Benefits of competition: 1) drives cost savings 2) improves quality of product/service 3) enhances solutions and the industrial base 4) promotes fairness and openness leading to public trust 5) prevents waste, fraud, and abuse, because KTR's know they must perform at a high level or else be replaced 6) increases likelihood of efficiencies and innovations Keys to Effective Competition (MR Objective) 1) gather information from relevant sources in and outside the organization to support Contracting Officer warrant board questions and answers a) commercial product/service that meet minimum requirement and mission needs b) expand insight into commercial marketplace 2) Use results to determine if: a) if capable sources exists b) availability of commercial and/or non-developmental items