During the solicitation phase of a procurement, the government may disseminate information regarding the solicitation to prospective offerors. If the information is in writing, signed by the contracting officer, and provided to all prospective offerors, it contains the essential elements
Notifications and debriefings provided to offerors regarding the success or failure of their proposals play a key procedural role in negotiated procurements. For successful offerors, the contracting officer (CO) provides an executed contract or other such notice of award. Meanwhile,
The government establishes a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with qualified sources when it anticipates having repetitive needs for supplies or services. Federal Courts and Contract Appeals Boards have repeatedly held that a BPA is not a contract because it lacks
Federal agencies have broad discretion in determining whether to cancel a solicitation, provided they can establish a reasonable basis for their cancellation decision. The government may properly cancel a solicitation for various reasons anytime during the evaluation phase or even
Under the Small Business Act and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, federal agencies must publish notices of proposed contract actions and modifications exceeding $25,000 on the System of Award Management (SAM) unless an exception listed in Federal Acquisition
When acquiring commercial products, the federal government must give preference to customary commercial practices. To implement this preference, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) instructs the government to only use contract clauses that are consistent with customary commercial practices. One such
Bid protest adjudicative forums such as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have consistently held that a proposal that fails to meet a material solicitation requirement is considered technically unacceptable and cannot form the basis of an award. When included in
It is well established that the U.S. government may only enter into contracts through the authorized actions of its Contracting Officers (COs), who have actual authority to bind the government. In contrast, however, contractors may be bound by the actions
When entering federal contracts, the government acts in a proprietary capacity and owes contractors certain express and implied obligations. One such implied obligation is to disclose to the contractor facts and information vital to performance under the contract. Under what
Solicitations for federal contracts and their included Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses often direct contractors to complete representations and certifications relevant to the acquisition. Depending on the solicitation, contractors may have to complete and maintain certain representations and certifications in