Competitive Sourcing
...process, the work force is kept informed about the progress and is encouraged to assist the team of analysts and functional experts by providing suggestions on how to improve the organization (Share A-76). There are several important acquisition actions that occur parallel to the A-76 process, which is why the Contracting Officer plays a critical role in the successful completion of an OMB A-76 cost comparison. This is an acquisition that must merge the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements with the OMB and DoD rules for the A-76 Commercial Activities program. In addition to assisting in the development of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), preparing and issuing the solicitation, and conducting negotiations prior to the cost comparison, the Contracting Officer is responsible for preparing and/or issuing a Commerce Business Daily notice, market survey, and Independent Government Estimate, as well as facilitating the source selection process and monitoring the performance of the selected service provider (also known as quality assurance) after implementation (Share A-76). During the development of the PWS and QASP, the CA Team then defines the specific results or outcomes of the commercial activity, including performance measures, standards and timeframes in the PWS. The PWS becomes the technical performance section of the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the Contracting Officer. The QASP describes methods of inspection, required reports, and resources to be used, including estimated work hours (Share A-76). The Government Management Plan is where the government team develops and identifies the organizational structures, staffing and operating procedures, transition and inspection plans, and equipment necessary to ensure that it can perform the activity in an efficient and cost effective manner. The Management Plan includes the following four documents: Ø Most Efficient Organization (MEO) - the staffing plan developed to represent the agency's most efficient and cost-effective organization. Ø In-House Cost Estimate (IHCE) - the part of the Government Management Plan that contains the estimated cost of the MEO's performance of the commercial activity as defined by the RFP. Ø Technical Performance Plan (TPP) - the technical approach of the MEO to meet the requirements of the PWS. Ø Transition Plan (TP) - a written plan for the transition from the current organizational structure to MEO or contract/ISSA performance, designed to minimize disruption, adverse impacts, capitalization, and startup requirements. This process can begin in conjunction with the PWS development phase because there is an overlap between what functions need to be performed and how the in-house team thinks that they can staff those needs (Share A-76). The Solicitation step is where the Contracting Officer, in conjunction with the CA team leader, determines what type of contract to use and then releases an RFP solicitation so that commercial vendors can respond with formal offers. The heart of the solicitation is the PWS, which identifies the performance expectations for the commercial activity under review. The Contracting Officer reviews the PWS for sufficiency and incorporates it into the solicitation. The Contracting Officer will announce the solicitation in accordance with the FAR requirements. The FAR requires that the Right of First Refusal of Employment clause be included in the solicitation. This clause ensures that federal employees whose positions are eliminated if an activity is outsourced will be given priority for employment with the winning contractor. The Contracting Officer and the CA team usually work together in developing the criteria by which the contractor offers will be evaluated (Share A-76). In the Negotiation phase, the Contracting Officer holds discussions with offerors to resolve any deficiencies in their respective technical and/or cost proposals. These discussions may take place orally or in writing. Each offeror is given the same amount of time to submit a revised proposal that is reevaluated by the technical evaluation panel. The Contracting Officer then selects the single contractor that will compete with the MEO in the cost comparison. The selection of the single contractor should be a "best value" source selection process with the expected outcome of an acquisition that provides the greatest overall benefit to the Government in response to the solicitation (Share A-76). After the Management Plan is completed, it is checked in the Independent Review step. In this step, the Independent Review Officer (IRO) reviews all six of the major deliverables of the cost comparison including: the PWS, the QASP, the MEO, the IHCE, the TPP, and the TP. The IRO should be a qualified person whose work and place in the organization is independent of both the commercial activity being studied and the cost comparison activity itself. The purpose of this review is to certify that data contained in the Management Plan reasonably establishes the government's ability to perform the PWS within the resources provided by the MEO and to ensure that all costs in the IHCE are fully justified. This step concludes with the IRO returning the approved Management Plan documentation to the CA team leader who seals the Management Plan and forwards it to the Contracting Officer (Share A-76). In the Cost Comparison, the Contracting Officer makes a tentative decision between the MEO and the ISSA/contractor bid. The purpose of this step is to compare the contract/ISSA offer with the in-house offer prepared by the CA team and make a tentative selection decision. The comparison is managed by the Contracting Officer and conducted in two stages. The first stage is reviewing the government and contractor technical proposals. The second stage is the review of the government and contractor cost proposals (Share A-76). With the selection of the contractor, the Contracting Officer submits to the Source Selection Authority (SSA) the government's TPP, which must comply with the technical proposal requirements of the solicitation. The SSA evaluates the TPP, but not the IHCE, and assesses whether the same level of performance and performance quality as the contractor proposal will be achieved. After the SSA has accepted the TPP, the Contracting Officer then opens the government and contractor cost proposals and completes the cost comparison form (CCF). A tentative decision is made based on the results of the cost comparison. The final selection between the in-house offer and the selected private sector offer must be based upon lowest cost. If the contractor's cost proposal is lower than the government's proposal (taking into consideration the minimum cost differential requirement), the contractor is tentatively selected to perform the commercial activity. The minimum differential is the lesser of 10 percent of the personnel costs in the government IHCE or $10 million over the performance period. The purpose of the minimum cost differential is to avoid the disruption of converting performance of the commercial activity based on a minimal cost savings. If the contractor's cost proposal is not 10 percent lower than the IHCE or $10 million over the performance period, then the MEO is selected to perform the commercial activity. The Contracting Officer notifies the Commanding Officer of the tentative decision and makes any other notifications prescribed by service directives before the announcement of the tentative decision (Share A-76). An Administrative Appeal occurs if the losing offeror feels that there were errors in the cost comparison process. To be considered an eligible appeal subject-to-review by the Administrative Appeal Authority, eligible appellants must submit their issues in writing to the Contracting Officer, and meet criteria established in the OMB Circular A-76, prior to the end of the Public Review Period. Finally, after any appeals have been settled, the final decision is made and the winning organization puts their new organization into place during the Implement MEO or Contract step (Share A-76). Many tasks must be completed to transition the current in-house operation to the new operation, whether it’s a contract or MEO. The TP is developed and executed to take care of the many details, including such items...