Standards of Conduct

Question 1

General rule for conflict of interest

Answer 1

Avoid strictly any conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest in Government-contractor relationships

Question 2

Where in the FAR does it prescribe “Standards of Conduct

Answer 2

FAR 3.103-3

Question 3

The overarching rule on accepting gifts from contractor/employees:

Answer 3

FAR 3.101-2: You may not solicit gifts from anyone, for any reason

Question 4

Subcontractor kickbacks:

Answer 4

The Anti-Kickback Act of 1986 prohibits any person from:

• providing, attempting to provide, or offering to provide any kickback
• soliciting, accepting, or attempting to accept any kickback
• including, directly or indirectly, the amount of any kickback in the contract price charged by a subcontractor to a prime contractor

Question 5

Disclosures

Answer 5

No person or other entity may disclose contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information to any person other than a person authorized, in accordance with applicable agency regulations or procedures, by the agency head or the contracting officer to receive such information

Question 6

NDA’s

Answer 6

Any contractor bid or proposal information delivered to the Government with restrictions on its use, modification reproduction, release, performance, or display may not be provided to third parties unless the intended recipient completes and signs an NDA

Question 7

Source selection information means any of the following:

Answer 7

• bid prices submitted in response to an agency invitation for bids
• proposed costs or prices submitted in response to an agency solicitation
• source selection plans
• technical evaluation plans
• technical evaluations of proposals
• cost or price evaluation of proposals
• competitive range determinations
• ranking of bids, proposals, or competitors
• reports and evaluations of source selection panels, boards, or advisory councils
• other information marked as “source selection information”

Question 8

Personal Conflicts of Interest (FAR 3.11)

Answer 8

a situation in which a covered employee has a financial interest, personal activity, or relationship that could impar the employee’s ability to act impartially

Question 9

Organizational Conflicts of Interest (FAR 9.5)

Answer 9

An OCI is the existence of a set of circumstances in which a contractor may be unable to render impartial advice to the government, or might have impaired objectivity in performing contracted work, or may obtain an unfair competitive advantage in the marketplace

**Examples of OCI in FAR 9.508 (a) through (i)

Question 10

Three broad categories of OCI:

Answer 10

1. Unequal Access
2. Impaired Objectivity
3. Biased Ground Rules

Question 11

Unequal Access

Answer 11

An unfair competitive advantage typically surfaces when a contractor obtains information not generally available to competitors where such information would assist the contractor in winning a contract award

Question 12

Impaired Objectivity

Answer 12

This may happen when a support contractor is performing duties that involve assessing or evaluating itself or a related entity

Question 13

Biased Ground Rules

Answer 13

This most often occurs when the contractor is writing a statement of work performing systems engineering, or providing technical direction efforts

Question 14

There are three basic approaches available to contractors and the Agency for dealing with OCI:

Answer 14

Avoid

Neutralize

Mitigate

Question 15

Can you award to a contractor if you determine there is an OCI?

Answer 15

At the end of the day, yes you can if the KO determines that doing so is in the best interest of the Government as well as submitting a waiver request, which is approved by the Head of the Contracting Activity