FAR Part 5 Flashcards
Publicizing Contract Actions
FAR Part 5 - Publicizing Contract Actions:
Ensuring Transparency
Purpose:
Establishes policies and procedures for publicizing contract opportunities and award information (FAR 5.000).
FAR Part 5 - Publicizing Contract Actions:
Ensuring Transparency
Key Objectives
Increase competition (FAR 5.002(a)).
Broaden industry participation (FAR 5.002(b)).
Assist small businesses in obtaining contracts (FAR 5.002(c)).
FAR Part 5 - Publicizing Contract Actions:
Ensuring Transparency
Transparency
Vital for ensuring fair and open competition, promoting accountability, and providing equal opportunities for all potential contractors.
Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE):
Centralizing Information
Role of GPE: Central platform for publishing notices of contract actions (FAR 5.003).
Benefits:
* Centralized access to contracting information (FAR 5.101(a)).
* Enhances transparency and accessibility (FAR 5.102).
Requirement: All notices must be transmitted to the GPE to ensure consistent and broad dissemination of information (FAR 5.003).
Subpart 5.3 - Synopses of Contract Awards:
Promoting Transparency Post-Award
Purpose: Requires publicizing contract awards to ensure transparency (FAR 5.301).
Criteria for Synopses:
* Awards exceeding $25,000 (FAR 5.301(a)(1)).
* Task or delivery orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (FAR 5.301(a)(2)).
Transparency Impact: Ensures the public is informed about the use of federal funds and the awarding of contracts.
Preparing and Transmitting Synopses
Steps:
* Include essential details such as contract value, awardee, and contract performance
location (FAR 5.302).
* Use GPE for dissemination (FAR 5.207).
PublicAnnouncement:
* For awards over $4.5 million, information must be made available by 5 p.m. on the
award date (FAR 5.303(a)).
Goal: Maintain a transparent and open federal procurement process.
Subpart 5.4 - Release of Information:
Ensuring Integrity and Transparency
Content:
Policy: Maximizing public access to information while protecting sensitive
data (FAR 5.401(b)).
KeyPoints:
* Information must not provide undue advantage (FAR 5.401(b)(1)).
* Protect confidential information from offerors (FAR 5.401(b)(2)).
* Adhere to FOIA and Privacy Act requirements (FAR 5.401(b)(3-4)).
Subpart 5.4 - Specific Release Situations:
Handling Specific Information Requests
GeneralPublicRequests:
* Process in accordance with FOIA and Privacy Act (FAR 5.402).
Congressional Requests:
* Provide detailed contract information unless classified or confidential (FAR 5.403).
Long-Range Acquisition Estimates:
* Publicize estimates to assist industry planning and locate additional sources (FAR 5.404-1).
Public Disclosure of Justification Documents:
*FAR5.406mandatesthepublicdisclosureofjustificationdocumentsforspecificcontract
actions. This includes:
* Justifications for other than full and open competition.
* Limited-source justifications for Federal Supply Schedule orders.
* Justifications for task or delivery orders awarded without providing fair opportunity.
Subpart 5.5 - Paid Advertisements: Authority and Procedures
Subpart 5.5 - Paid Advertisements: Enhancing Public Awareness
Authority: Agency heads can approve paid advertisements (FAR 5.502(a)).
Procedure:
* Place advertisements to ensure competition (FAR 5.503(a)).
* Use advertisements when effective competition cannot be obtained otherwise (FAR 5.503(b)).
Utilizing Advertising Agencies:
Using Advertising Agencies for Effective Communication
Purpose: To assist in producing and placing advertisements (FAR 5.504(a)).
Benefits:
* Reach a wider audience (FAR 5.504(a)(1)).
* Professional assistance in media selection and advertisement creation (FAR 5.504(a)(2)).
Transparency: Ensures broad dissemination of contracting opportunities to the public.
Subpart 5.6 - Publicizing Multi-Agency Use Contracts
Multi-Agency Use Contracts
* Subpart5.6-PublicizingMulti-AgencyUseContracts:StreamliningAccess
Purpose: Establish a governmentwide database for multi-agency contracts (FAR 5.601(a)).
Requirement: Agencies must enter contract details into the database (FAR 5.601(b)).
Transparency Impact: Provides a centralized resource for identifying existing contracts and reducing redundant contracts.
Database Utilization:
Utilizing the Governmentwide Contract Database
Access: Available via the internet at the designated website (FAR 5.601(a)).
Content: Includes details of GWACs, multi-agency contracts, and Federal
Supply Schedule contracts (FAR 5.601(b)(1)).
Benefit: Enhances transparency by providing comprehensive information on available contracting opportunities.
Subpart 5.7 - Publicizing Requirements Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
RecoveryActTransparency
* Subpart 5.7 - Publicizing Requirements Under the Recovery Act: Ensuring
Accountability
Scope: Posting requirements for actions funded by the Recovery Act (FAR 5.701).
KeyElements:
* Publicize both preaward and postaward notices (FAR 5.704(a)).
* Additional requirements for orders and non-fixed-price or non-competitive actions (FAR 5.705(b)).
Publicizing Postaward Actions: Postaward Transparency for Recovery Act Actions
Requirement: Publicize awards exceeding $500,000 (FAR 5.705(a)).
Rationale: Include justification for non-fixed-price or non-competitive
awards (FAR 5.705(b)).
Goal: Enhance transparency and accountability for Recovery Act-funded projects.
Contract
A mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish the supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them
Contract action
An action resulting ni a contract, including actions for additional supplies or services outside the existing contract scope, but not including actions that are within the scope and under the terms of the existing contracts, such as contract modifications issued pursuant to the Changes clause, or funding and other administrative changes.
Contracting officers must publicize contract actions in order to:
Increase competition
Broaden industry participation ni meeting government requirements
Assist small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns,
HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business
concerns, and women-owned small business concerns in obtaining contracts and subcontracts
When Must Notices of Proposed Contract Actions be Posted?
For proposed contract actions expected to exceed $25,000, by synopsizing in the GPE
For proposed contract actions expected to exceed $15,000, but not expected to exceed $25,000, by displaying in a public place, or by any appropriate electronic means, an unclassified notice of the solicitation or a copy of the solicitation
Whati st h e GovernmentPointofEntry?
https://sam.gov
SAM.GOV is the single government point of entry (GPE) for federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000.
Government buyers are able to publicize their business opportunities by posting information directly to SAM.GOV via the internet.
Through one portal, SAM.GOV commercial vendors seeking federal markets for their products and services can search, monitor, and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire federal contracting community.
When Must Notices of Proposed Contract Actions be Posted?
A notice of proposed contract action, when required, must be published at least 15 days before issuance of a solicitation.
For acquisitions of commercial items, the contracting officer
may establish a shorter period for issuance of the solicitation, or use the combined synopsis and solicitation procedure.
Contracting officers should consider the circumstances of the
individual acquisition, such as the complexity, commerciality, availability, and urgency when establishing solicitation response times for either contract actions estimated to be
greater than $25,000, but less than the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, or contract actions for the acquisition of
commercial items in an amount estimated to be greater than $25,000.
Except for the acquisition of commercial items, agencies shall
alow at least a 30-day response time for receipt of bids or proposals from the date of issuance of a solicitation, if the proposed contract action is expected to exceed the Simplified
Acquisition Threshold.
All publicizing and response times are calculated on the date
of publication, which is the date the notice appears on the GPE.
Contracting officers may, unless they have evidence to the
contrary, presume the notice was published one day after transmission to the GPE.
Publicizing Subcontracting Opportunities
A contractor awarded a contract exceeding $150,000 that is likely to result in the award of any subcontract, or a subcontractor or supplier at any tier under a contract exceeding $150,000, that has a subcontracting opportunity exceeding $15,000, may seek competition by posting a notice of the subcontracting opportunity on the GPE.
This notice must describe:
The business opportunity
Any prequalification requirements
Where to obtain technical data needed to respond to the requirement
Exemptionst to Requirements to PublicizeContractActions
The contracting officer is not required to submit notice of a contract action when conditions listed at FAR 5.202(a) apply. Examples:
The synopsis cannot be worded to preclude disclosure of an agency’s needs and such disclosure would compromise the national security
The proposed contract action is made under conditions of unusual and compelling urgency
Acquisition is being made from specified sources at the direction of a foreign government or international treaty
The proposed contract action is expressly authorized or required by a statute to be made through another government agency
The proposed contract action is made for perishable subsistence supplies
Why P o s t Proposed Contract Actions?
The primary purposes of the notice are to
improve small business access to acquisition
information, and enhance competition by identifying contracting and subcontracting opportunities.
When Must Synopses of Contract Awards be Posted?
Contracting officers must synopsize,
through the GPE, awards exceeding $25,000 that are covered by the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement
or a Free Trade Agreement, or likely to result in the award of any subcontracts.
The dollar threshold is not a prohibition against publicizing an award of a smaller amount when publicizing would be advantageous toward industry or to the government.
Justifications for other than full and open competition must be
posted. Contracting officers shall release to the public and make information available on awards over $4 million.
What Information Shall Be Released to the Public?
To assist industry planning and to locate additional sources of
supply, estimates of unclassified long-range acquisition requirements may be publicized fi the information will assist
industry in its planning and facilitate meeting the acquisition
requirements, wil not encourage undesirable practices, and will not indicate the existing or potential mobilization of the
industry as a whole.
The Governmentwide Database of Contracts and Other Procurement Instruments
Interagency Contract Directory
https://www.contractdirectory.gov
A searchable database used to identify existing contracts and
other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies (GWACs, GSA, VA schedules)
The Governmentwide Database of Contracts and Other Procurement Instruments
FederalProcurementDataSystem
https://www.fpds.gov/
Provides data on procurement activities of federal agencies, and contains reporting tools for searching through that
information
FAR PART 5. PUBLICIZING
CONTRACT ACTIONS
A. POLICY (FAR 5.001)
Contracts actions are to be publicized in order to
increase competition,
broaden industry participation in meeting requirements,
and assist small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, and women-owned small business concerns in obtaining contracts and subcontracts.
Primary purposes of the GPE notice are to
to improve small business access to acquisition information
and to enhance competition by identifying contracting and subcontracting opportunities. Refer to FAR 201(d) for correct site.
An agency must transmit a notice of proposed contract action to the GPE. All publicizing and response times are calculated based on the date of publication. The publication date is the date the notice appears on the GPE. The notice must be published
at least 15 days before issuance of a solicitation except that, for acquisitions of commercial items, the contracting officer may
Establish a shorter period for issuance of the solicitation;
Use the combined synopsis and solicitation procedure. (FAR
The contracting officer must establish solicitation response times as prescribed in FAR 5.203(b).
Except for the acquisition of commercial items, agencies shall allow at least 30 days response time for receipt of bids or proposals from the date of issuance of a solicitation, if the contract action is expected to exceed the SAT.
Contracting officers may, unless they have evidence to the contrary, presume the notice was published one day after transmission to the GPE.
Contracting officers must synopsize, through the GPE, awards in the amount indicated in FAR 5.301(a)(1) that are
Covered by the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agree-ment or a Free Trade Agreement (subpart 25.4); or
Likely to result in the award of any subcontracts.However, the dollar threshold is not a prohibition against publicizing an award of a smaller amount when publicizing would be advantageous to industry or to the
