III. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION.pdf

8(a) STARS II Solicitation QTA609MCA0010

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

III. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

1. GENERAL

1.1. This section provides guidance regarding contract administration for the Basic Contract, and where applicable, for each Order placed under the Basic Contract. Additional contract administration requirements may be specified in each Order. Costs associated with these requirements shall not be billed as a direct cost to the Government.

2. AUTHORIZED USERS

2.1. Pursuant to FAR 16.504(a)(4)(vi), only authorized users may place Orders under the Basic Contract. In order to qualify as an authorized user, a duly warranted Contracting Officer (as that term is defined in FAR 2.1) in good standing must have an appropriate signed delegation of procurement authority (DPA) from the Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO). For purposes of this Basic Contract, these authorized users are identified as Ordering Contracting Officers (OCOs).

2.2. This Basic Contract is for use by all Federal agencies, authorized Federal contractors, and others as listed in GSA Order ADM 4800.2E, ELIGIBILITY TO USE GSA SOURCES AND SUPPLY, January 3, 2000, as modified from time to time.

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1. This section describes the roles and responsibilities of Government personnel after Basic Contract award. The Government may modify the roles and responsibilities at any time during the period of performance of the Basic Contract.

4. PROCURING CONTRACTING OFFICER (PCO)

4.1. The PCO is the sole and exclusive government official with actual authority to award the Basic Contract. After award of the Basic Contract, the PCO may delegate any or all of the contract administration functions, described in FAR 42.302, to an Administrative Contracting Officer.

5. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICER (ACO)

5.1. Responsibilities not specifically delegated to the ACOs by the PCO shall be reserved for the PCO.

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6. ORDERING CONTRACTING OFFICER (OCO)

6.1. Only an authorized user, who is a delegated OCO, may place and administer an Order under the Basic Contract. Upon request, the OCO for any specific Order may provide a copy of the applicable DPA.

6.2. The OCO for each Order is the sole and exclusive Government official with actual authority to take actions which may bind the Government for that Order.

7. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR) AND

CONTRACTING OFFICER’S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COTR)

7.1. The OCO for each Order may designate a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) to provide certain assistance to the OCO for that Order. The specific rights and responsibilities of the COR or COTR for each Order shall be described in writing, which upon request shall be provided to the Contractor. A COR/COTR has no actual, apparent or implied authority to bind the Government.

8. INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS ANALYST (IOA)

8.1. The Industrial Operations Analyst (IOA) is authorized to examine records and to conduct Contractor Assistance Visits (CAVs) to the Contractor’s place of business to assist Contractors with Order reporting and CAF management issues, and other general contract administration functions as deemed appropriate and necessary by the Government.

9. MARKETING

9.1. Contractors shall develop company specific 8(a) STARS II GWAC brochures for distribution at trade shows, conferences, seminars, etc. All marketing and promotional materials, including information on the contractor webpage must be approved by the ACO prior to distribution and may be co-branded with marks owned or licensed by the Contractor and GSA, as long as they comply with GSA Star Mark guidelines which can be found at www.gsa.gov/logos.

9.2. Contractors shall develop and distribute printed materials to enhance awareness of the 8(a) STARS II Contract. Contractors shall participate in various conferences and trade shows hosted by GSA to facilitate outreach efforts for federal agency customers and to aid in the marketing of 8(a) STARS II.

10. ORDER LEVEL PROTEST

10.1. In accordance with National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2008, no protest under $10,000,000 is authorized in connection with the issuance or

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proposed issuance of an order under a Task-Order Contract or Delivery-Order Contract, except for a protest on the grounds that the order increases the scope, period of performance, or maximum value of the Contract consistent with FAR 16.505.(a)(9) that predates NDAA 2008.

10.2. In accordance with the NDAA 2008, the Comptroller General of the United States has exclusive jurisdiction over any protests greater than $10,000,000.

11. OMBUDSMAN

11.1. In accordance with FAR 16.5 disputes related to matters affecting order award may be directed to the designated Ombudsman. The GSA Ombudsman is a senior GSA official who is independent of the GSA PCO, ACOs or OCO.

11.2. The Office of the GSA Ombudsman is:

General Services Administration Special Assistant for Contracting Integrity, Office of Acquisition Policy

(MV)

1800 F STREET, NW – ROOM 4031

WASHINGTON, DC 20405-0002

PHONE: (202) 501-4770, FAX: (202) 501-1986

12. MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES

12.1. From time to time the Government may require attendance at conferences and meetings at no additional cost to the Government.

13. BASIC CONTRACT POST-AWARD ORIENTATION

13.1. The Contractor shall participate in a Basic Contract post-award orientation at a time and place to be determined by the PCO.

14. CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE SYSTEM

14.1. Past performance evaluations pertaining to the Basic Contract and Orders under the Basic Contract will typically reside in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). The PPIRS functions as a central warehouse for performance assessment reports received from various Federal performance information collection systems.

14.2. Contractors are required to register in the appropriate past performance assessment systems to review and respond to their surveys as prescribed by the customer agency policy. Contractor “view” access to PPIRS is gained through the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) (www.ccr.gov) process. Contractors must be registered in CCR and must have created a Marketing Partner

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Identification Number (MPIN) in the CCR profile to access their PPIRS information.

15. SUBCONTRACTING CONSIDERATIONS

15.1. There are two related considerations that take center stage. The first is the Limitations on Subcontracting, and the second is what is known as Pass Throughs. All STARS II prime contractors are responsible for managing the workload mix being performed under their contract(s) and Orders.

15.2. In accordance with the 13 CFR 125.6, and associated FAR Clause 52.219- 14, a small business concern contracting for services will perform at least 50 percent of cost of the contract incurred for personnel with its own employees.

Similarly, STARS II prime contractors are expected to perform a meaningful amount of work/add significant readily-identifiable value on each Order to prevent pass-through situations. This is an area of increasing regulation, as evidenced by the DoD interim rule for pass throughs cited in GAO report GAO-08-269, January 25, 2008, and as identified in Section 866 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of 2009, P.L. 110-417 (“DHNDAA” or “NDAA 2009”).

15.3. It is a best practice for OCOs to require industry partners to disclose the amount of work they intend to perform with their own resources in Order RFQs and RFPs. OCOs may require Order invoice level subcontracting reporting should they wish to monitor these matters closely during Order performance. A good rule of thumb at the Order level is for the small business prime contractor to be expected to perform approximately 50% or more of the work itself, or to follow specific customer agency standards (such as those promulgated in DoD’s interim rule cited above).

15.4. It is reasonable and routine that on larger tasks small business prime contractors may manage capacity building through subcontracting with other small business firms and other than small business firms to provide scalability in the early stages of performance. It is reasonable to consider the total prospective life cycle of an order, including option periods, when evaluating how much work the prime plans to perform for a given task order. OCOs may request a well-defined plan from 8(a) prime contractors to facilitate this review, and may qualitatively evaluate such plans during task order source selection if they establish that in their task order solicitations.

15.5. Consent to subcontract pursuant to FAR 44.2 is applicable on an ad hoc basis at the Order level. OCOs may require subcontractor responsibility determinations of prospective subcontractors per FAR 9.103 and 9.104-1.

Consent to subcontract is not required at the Basic Contract level.

16. SUBCONTRACT REPORTING

16.1. Prime contractors shall follow the subcontracting reporting process

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established for 8(a) certified firms at 13 CFR 124.510. Contractors shall maintain up-to-date records concerning subcontracting costs and shall submit the standardized report found on the 8(a) STARS II website semi-annually (using the contract year) no later than 30 calendar days after each six-month reporting period (RP). The first RP will begin on the effective date of the notice to proceed.

GSA is considering further automation of subcontract reporting and contractors are required to switch to that reporting method once it is implemented.

16.2. The completed report shall be submitted to the Small Business GWAC Center by one of the following means:

Mail email Fax Small Business GWAC Center s2@gsa.gov 816.823.1608 ATTN: 8(a) STARS II 1500 E. Bannister Road Room 1076 Kansas City, MO 64131

16.3. Contract options for contractors not in full compliance with FAR 52.219-14 may not be exercised. Willful failure or refusal to furnish the required reports, or gross negligence in managing the subcontracting limitation, or falsification of reports constitutes sufficient grounds to terminate the Contractor for Cause.

17. ORDERING PROCEDURES

17.1. Any services, and ancillary services or equipment, to be furnished under this contract will be ordered by issuance of written orders. Oral orders are not authorized. An order specifies and authorized the work to be performed by the Contractor. The order will include pricing and a statement of work. All orders must cite the primary NAICS code and the appropriate FA. Orders may only be issued from date of contractor notice to proceed through contract expiration.

17.2. Ordering procedures must comply with the following:

(a) FAR 19.8 for directed orders or FAR 16.505 (for DoD customer agencies refer to DFARS 216.505-70) for orders subject to fair opportunity to be considered;

(b) Orders are not exempt from the development of acquisition plans (see FAR 7.1), and an information technology acquisition strategy; (see FAR 39). OCOs follow customer agency processes for planning and funding the order requirements, gaining any necessary approvals and documenting the procurement

(c) The OCO shall include the evaluation procedures in task order solicitations and establish the time frame for responding to task order

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solicitations, giving Offerors a reasonable proposal preparation time while taking into account the unique requirements and circumstances of the effort;

(d) Orders shall be within the scope, issued within the period of performance, and be within the maximum value of the Basic Contract;

(e) Contractor due diligence, preparation, presentation, and discussion of the Offeror’s proposal in response to a task order solicitation will be at no direct cost to the Government; and

(f) All Orders placed under the Basic Contract are subject to the terms and conditions of the Basic Contract at time of order award. In the event of any conflict between the Order and the Basic Contract, the Basic Contract will take precedence.

18. FAIR OPPORTUNITY

18.1. OCOs must follow the Fair Opportunity procedures specified in FAR 16.505(b)(1) and the exceptions to Fair Opportunity in FAR 16.505(b)(2) with issuing a task order that exceeds the 8(a) competition threshold. DoD guidance on the above is contained at DFARS 216.505-70.

18.2. FAR 16.505(b)(1) provides that each contractor shall be given a Fair Opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding the 8(a) competition threshold. The method to obtain fair opportunity is at the discretion of the OCO, and it must be documented. The OCO is responsible for completing and documenting price reasonableness according order type(s).

18.3. In accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2008, for task or delivery orders in excess of $5,000,000, the contracting agency’s obligation to provide “a fair opportunity to be considered” is not met unless “all contractors” are provided the following (at a minimum):

1) a notice of the order that includes a clear statement of the agency’s requirements

2) a reasonable period of time to provide a proposal in response to the notice

3) disclosure of the significant factors and subfactors, including cost or price, which the agency expects to consider in evaluating such proposals, and their relative importance

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4) in the case of an award that is to be made on a best-value basis, a written statement documenting the basis for the award and the relative importance of quality and price or cost factors; and

5) an opportunity for a post-award debriefing if timely requested

18.4. The Government may disseminate RFI/RFQ/RFPs via e-mail, facsimile, GSA’s e-Buy at www.gsa.gov/ebuy, commercial mail carrier or other electronic means as prescribed by the OCO’s agency. Solicitation synopsis in FedBizOpps is not required or recommended under indefinite-delivery contracts. The use of any one of the preceding mediums to broadcast an RFQ/RFP notice to all contract holders satisfies the Fair Opportunity to be considered notification requirement.

19. CANCELLATION OF REQUIREMENT

19.1. Canceling a task order solicitation is at the discretion of the OCO and may be necessary when:

(a) Services are no longer required, or are significantly changed;

(b) All offers received are at unreasonable prices, or only one offer is received and the contracting officer cannot determine the reasonableness of the price; or

(c) For other reasons, cancellation is clearly in the government’s interest.

20. DIRECTED ORDERS

20.1. In accordance with Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act and FAR 19.8, Orders may be awarded on a directed, a/k/a sole source, basis up to the 8(a) competition threshold based on the contractor’s self-marketing efforts or past performance. The OCO shall make a determination of price reasonableness and have the authority to make award decisions for each order.

21. ORDER INFORMATION

21.1. Orders shall include, but not be limited, to the following:

(a) Date of Order;

(b) Contract Number and Order Number;

(c) Order Type;

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(d) Contract Line Item Numbers; Travel (if any), Materials (if any); Contract Access Fee (CAF) if requested by the OCO; Fixed Price, or Ceiling Price

(e) Statement of Work, Statement of Objectives, or Performance Work Statement;

(f) Delivery and/or performance schedule, including Options (if any);

(g) Place of delivery and/or performance (including consignee);

(h) Any packaging, packing, and shipping instructions;

(i) Accounting and appropriation data; and

(j) Method of payment and payment office.

22. CONTRACTOR ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING

22.1. The following defines the administrative reporting requirements under the Basic Contract. All reporting data shall be reported using the GWAC Management Module in ITSS or any other process prescribed by GSA. The types of reporting data required are as follows:

22.2. The types of reporting data required are as follows:

• Order Award/Modification Data

• Invoice Data

• CAF Payment Data

22.3. Order Award/Modification Data – The contractor shall report all Orders and modifications within 30 calendar days of order acceptance/award. Data includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Contractor Name

(2) Basic Contract Number

(3) Order Number

(4) Award/Modification Date

(5) Award/Modification Total Estimated Value

(6) Award/Modification Obligated Amount

(7) Period of Performance

(8) Order Type(s)

(9) Issuing OCO

(10) Customer Agency

(11) Performance-based (Yes/No)

(12) Use of non-standard/specialized labor categories

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22.4. Invoice Data – The contractor shall report all invoicing activity within 60 calendar days of performance acceptance by the customer. Invoice data includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Contractor Name

(2) Basic Contract Number

(3) Order Number

(4) Contractor Invoice Number

(5) Total Invoiced Amount including CAF

(6) Date Issued

22.5. The Contractor shall accept payment of invoices via EFT. Invoice submission information shall be contained in each individual Order. Payment of invoices will be made by the payment office designated in each individual Order.

22.6. CAF Payment Data – The contractor shall report CAF payment data within 14 calendar days following each monetary transfer. CAF payment data includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Total Remitted Amount

(2) Remit Date

(3) Transfer Confirmation Number

(4) Amount applied to each Task Order Number (for the reported payment) The Contractor shall convert all currency to U.S. dollars using the “Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange,” issued by the U.S.

Department of Treasury, Financial Management Service.

22.7. The Contract Access Fee (CAF) reimburses GSA for the cost of operating the 8(a) STARS II GWAC. The CAF is calculated as ¾ of a percent (i.e. 0.0075) applied to all prices/costs for contractor performance billed to the Government.

22.8. The formula is: Total CAF = Total Price or costs * CAF Percentage.

22.9. The CAF percentage is set at the discretion of GSA and GSA maintains the unilateral right to change the percentage at any time, but not more than once per year. GSA will provide reasonable notice prior to the effective date of any change.

22.10. Contractors shall remit the CAF to GSA in U.S. dollars within 45 calendar days upon receipt of payment from the customer. Where payments for multiple invoices (on one or more Orders) are due, Contractors may consolidate the CAF owed into one payment.

22.11. All CAF payments must be remitted via Automated Clearing House (ACH) or check.

22.12. Failure to remit the CAF in a timely manner will constitute a Basic Contract debt to the United States Government under the terms of FAR 32.6.

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23. ORDER CLOSE-OUT

23.1. The OCO is responsible for closing out individual Orders under the Basic Contract. The Contractor agrees to cooperate with the OCO to close out Orders as soon as practical after expiration, cancellation or termination of each Order.

23.2. Order close-out will be accomplished within the guidelines set forth in: FAR Part 4 Administrative Matters and FAR Part 42 Contract Administration and Audit Services.

24. ANNUAL ORDER REPORT

24.1. The Contractor shall submit annually the Annual Order Report to the STARS II ACO at s2@gsa.gov and to their servicing SBA district office, due 30 calendar days after the anniversary date of the Basic Contract notice to proceed, and thereafter annually until all Orders are accounted for. This report shall include a list of all active Orders within the reporting period and will include, but not be limited to:

(1) Order Number

(2) Order Type

(3) OCO Point of Contact

(4) OCO Email

(5) Period of Performance

(6) Order Value

(7) Cumulative Invoiced Amount

(8) De-obligated Amount

(9) Total CAF Amount Paid

(10) CAF Balance Owed

(11) Issues

24.2. The report will also include identification of completed orders including, but not limited to the following data:

(1) Order Number

(2) Order Type

(3) OCO Point of Contact

(4) OCO Email

(5) Period of Performance

(6) Final Order Value

(7) Cumulative Invoiced Amount

(8) De-obligated Amount

(9) Total CAF Amount Paid

(10) CAF Balance Owed

(11) Final Invoice Paid (Y/N)

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(12) Release of Claims Date

(13) Pending Actions (if not closed out)

25. BASIC CONTRACT SIZE RE-REPRESENTATION

25.1. GSA intends to implement FAR 52.219-28 and the associated regulatory framework (SBA Final Rule 11/15/2006, FAR Final Rule 4/20/2009.) Accordingly, there are numerous scenarios to consider. For example, if a firm is no longer small as a result of organic growth as an 8(a) company and has not undergone a merger or acquisition, with or without a novation, GSA would consider allowing the firm to retain their STARS II contract pursuant to the 8(a) program framework which permits this.

25.2. A second example is if a firm has been through a merger or acquisition with a non-8(a) organization, with or without a novation, and is no longer a small business concern. That firm has responsibilities to coordinate with the SBA regarding continued 8(a) eligibility. In such an instance, GSA would request SBA to render an 8(a) eligibility determination for the new organization. SBA’s determination would determine continued eligibility under STARS II.

26. ORDER SIZE RE-REPRESENTATION

26.1. OCOs have the discretion to require a re-representation of the prime contractor’s size status as a condition of order award. Mere inclusion of a NAICS code in a task order solicitation does not amount to an order-level size re-representation. It is commonplace for a NAICS code and size standard to be listed in a task order solicitation and that doesn't explicitly indicate that an order level size re-representation is a solicitation requirement. If an OCO intends to require an order level size re-representation as a condition of order award, they should explicitly make that assertion in the task order solicitation by stating that “Only currently small businesses will be eligible for order award”. STARS II prime contractors encountering a NAICS code and size standard in a task order solicitation should look ask the OCO to clarify their intent.

27. DELEGATION OF PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY

27.1. Federal buyers who wish to use STARS II must receive and will benefit from STARS II contract overview training leading to a written Delegation of Procurement Authority (“DPA or “delegation”). A written DPA authorizes warranted contracting officers to become Ordering Contracting Officers (OCOs), and is required prior to awarding and for administering Orders.

27.2. The OCO training and written delegation requirement are beneficial because they provide a clear set of roles and responsibilities between the Basic Contract Contracting Officer(s) and OCOs, making it good for all stakeholders.

The training and DPA arise out of GSA’s obligations to the Office of Management

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and Budget, are consistent with Section 865 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of 2009, P.L. 110-417 (“DHNDAA” or “NDAA 2009”) and are in-line with the related recommendation of the Acquisition Advisory Panel/SARA Panel (authorized by Section 1423 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003).

27.3. While delegation can only be granted to warranted Contracting Officers, all individuals (i.e. project managers, program officials, etc.) involved with a task order are encouraged to participate in the training.

27.4. No work may be performed; no debt or obligation accrued and no payment may be made except as authorized by a bona-fide written order signed by an OCO having a written STARS II DPA.