The latest changes to Part 15 eliminate deviation requirements, allowing contracting officers to structure deals without senior-level approvals. The General Services Administration is foot stomping one of the main goals of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul: give more flexibility and authority to contracting officers.
Jeffrey Koses, GSA’s senior procurement executive, began talking about the flexibility the rewritten Federal Acquisition Regulation will bring to acquisition officials back in May when GSA released changes to FAR Part 10, which governs market research.
Also in May, GSA released changes to Part 34 to give contracting officers “wide latitude to exercise business judgement.”
And in changes to Part 1 of the FAR, contracting officers and acquisitions teams are encouraged to use strategies that are in the best interest of the government, even if they aren’t specifically addressed in the FAR.
Stay in the know — Washington Technology’s Insider Membership gives you unmatched access to breaking news, in-depth analysis, and insights that federal contractors can’t afford to miss. Join today for 50% off.
Yesterday, Koses posted on LinkedIn how changes to Part 15 will allow contracting officers more flexibility in determining the structure of contracts as way of fostering innovation.
Old Part 15 specifically prohibited the use of contract types not described in the regulation, unless a deviation is issued.
“In other words, if you want to use an innovative contract type not called out, you have to write out a compelling rationale, navigate a complex and long review process, make the lawyers happy, and gain approval at a very senior level,” Koses wrote in his Oct. 20 LinkedIn post.
The new FAR language only bans contract types that are expressly prohibited by law or by the FAR. Anything else is permitted.
“The overhaul empowers the CO to use innovative contract types. No special approvals or justifications,” he wrote.
Koses also points to the strategic acquisition guidance that is part of the FAR overhaul, but not a regulation, as a resource for contracting officers because it provides examples of how to the new authorities.
For example, buying cloud services with a fixed unit price contract can now be done without a deviation, he said.
The guidance “explains that fixed price contract is ideal for things such as buying cloud on a per (gigabyte) basis,” he wrote. “We can firm-fix the per unit price even when there’s no reasonable way to estimate the total number of units needed.”
The example doesn’t fit every situation, Koses wrote. “But when it does fit, it should be easy to use.”
]]>
