Discussions Prior to Contract Award (DFARS Case 2010-D013)

Summary:

DCN 20110920 includes a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to strongly encourage discussions prior to award for source selections of procurements estimated at $100 million or more.

Supplementary Information:

I. Background

This DFARS case was initiated to implement an initiative to incentivize productivity and innovation in industry, as set forth in a memorandum from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics (USD(AT&L)), dated November 3, 2010. The memorandum provided guidance to the secretaries of the military departments and directors of defense agencies on obtaining greater efficiency and productivity in defense spending. In support of this initiative, DoD published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 2, 2011 (76 FR 11410). The proposed rule required that contracting officers must--

1) Give particular consideration to the use of fixed-price incentive (firm target) contracts, especially for acquisitions moving from development to production; and

2) Pay particular attention to share line and ceiling prices for fixed-price incentive (firm target) contracts, with 120 percent ceiling and a 50/50 share ratio as the default arrangement.

The comment period closed on May 2, 2011. DoD received comments from one respondent