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complies with the requirements of this subpart and any OPDIV, agency, or regional office guidance issued in accordance with this subpart. Prior to the submission of the RFC to the contracting activity, the head of the program office sponsoring the project shall review the RFC to ensure that all required information is provided in the prescribed format and a technical review of the statement of work has been made. The level and extent of the technical review is to be commensurate with the estimated cost, importance, and complexity of the proposed acquisition, and must be thorough enough to ensure that vague and ambiguous language is eliminated, the statement of work is structured by phases or tasks, if appropriate, and methods are available for assessing the contractor's technical, cost, and delivery perform

ances.

315.7004 Transmittal.

The RFC will be conveyed to the contracting activity by use of a covering memorandum or other form of transmittal. The transmittal document must be signed by the head of the sponsoring program office and include both a statement attesting to the conclusiveness of the review discussed in the preceding section and a list identifying all attachments to the RFC. A standard format for the transmittal document may be prescribed by the OPDIV, agency, or regional office contracting activity.

315.7005 Format and content.

The Department does not prescribe a standard format for the RFC document, but recommends the use of a format similar to what is provided in this section. The subject areas addressed in paragraphs (a) and (b) must be included in every RFC document, whereas the areas addressed in paragraph (c) need only be included if applicable. An OPDIV, agency, or regional office contracting activity may prescribe a standard format for the RFC document and may include additional subject areas that are pertinent to that activity's needs. Some of the information to be furnished in the RFC document may be repetitive of that found in the acquisition planning document. If this infor

mation has not changed since the development of the acquisition planning document, the RFC document may either restate the information as it appears in the acquisition planning document or cross reference the applicable portion where the information appears. (a) The RFC document must contain the following:

(1) Purpose of contract. A brief, general description of requirements, including the citation of the legislation which authorizes the program or project, is to be provided, along with a statement as to the intended purpose/ use of the proposed contract.

(2) Background and need. The background history and necessity for the proposed contract are to be described. This section is to include prior, present, and planned efforts by the program office in the same or related areas, and a description of efforts by other departmental activities and Federal agencies in the same or related program areas, if known. In addition, specific project information such as the relevance or contribution to overall program objectives, reasons for the need, priority, and project overlap are to be provided.

(3) Period of performance. The number of months (or other time period) required for total performance, and, if applicable, for each phase of work indicated in the statement of work, is to be specified. The program office must indicate the proposed starting date and the required date of delivery for each deliverable.

(4) Estimated cost and fund citation. The project officer's estimate of the total cost of the proposed contract, and, if applicable, the estimate for each phase indicated in the statement of work, is to be provided. The project officer must provide a cost breakdown of all contributing cost factors, to include an estimate of the technical staff hours, direct materials, subcontracting, travel, etc. The project officer may consult with contracting and cost advisory personnel in developing this information. This section must include the certification of funds availability for the particular proposed acquisition, along with the appropriation and accounting information citations. When funds are not currently available but

are anticipated, a statement indicating that the financial plan includes provision for the funds for the proposed acquisition but the funds are not yet available for obligation shall be included in lieu of the certification of funds availability. (Contracts cannot be awarded unless funds are available, but see FAR 32.703–2.)

(5) Reference material. A list, by title and description, of study of study reports, plans, drawings, and other data to be made available to prospective offerors for use in preparation of proposals and/ or the contractor for use in performance of the contract is to be provided. The project officer must indicate whether this material is currently available or when it will be available.

(6) Technical evaluation criteria and instructions. The project officer is to include the technical evaluation criteria, which have been developed based on the requirements of the specific project, and any instructions and information which will assist in the preparation of prospective offerors' technical proposals. For example, critical areas discussed in the statement of work and the relative order of importance and weights assigned to each of these areas for technical evaluation purposes must be identified. These areas may include understanding of the problem, technical approach, experience, personnel, facilities, etc.

(7) Sources for solicitation. The project officer is to develop and include a list of known potential sources by name and mailing address. The project officer is encouraged to use trade and professional journals and publications to identify new prospective sources to supplement the list of known sources. Efforts to identify set-aside possibilities, i.e., small, disadvantaged, and labor surplus areas, and women-owned businesses, must be explained.

(8) Special approvals, clearances, and requirements. All special approvals, clearances, and requirements pertinent to the proposed acquisition are to be listed in this section. Copies of the actual documents are to be attached to the RFC. If the approval, clearance, or requirement has been requested and is being processed, a footnote to this effect, including all pertinent details, must be included in this section. A list

of Government-wide and Department imposed approvals, clearances, and requirements is set forth in 307.105-2. Comprehensive checklists of these and any OPDIV, agency, regional office, etc. special approvals, clearances, and requirements shall be provided for reference purposes to program offices by the servicing contracting activity.

(9) Identification and disposition of data. The project officer must identify the data expected to be generated by the acquisition and specify the data to be delivered to the Department (see 315.7005(b)(2)) and that to be retained by the contractor. The project officer must also include information relative to the use, maintenance, disclosure, and disposition of data. The project officer must include a statement as to whether or not another acquisition, based upon the data generated by the proposed acquisition, is anticipated. The project officer must also include a statement indicating whether the proposed acquisition is or is not subject to the Privacy Act (see FAR subpart 24.1 and subpart 324.1).

(10) Project officer and alternate. The project officer's name, title, organization, mailing address, and telephone number are to be provided in this section, along with the same data for the project officer's alternate. In addition, a statement that the project officer has completed the Department's project officer training course is to be provided (see 307.170).

(b) The following must be submitted with every RFC but are to be prepared as separate attachments so they may be readily adopted into the request for proposal format:

(1) Statement of work or specification. The statement of work describes the requirements to be performed and may describe the methods to be used (see 307.105-3 and FAR 35.005 for a detailed explanation). A specification is used in lieu of a statement of work when a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for a product, material, or service can be provided along with the procedure to determine that the requirements have been met. It is essential that a complete and comprehensive statement of work or specification be provided by the project officer.

(2) Schedule of deliverables or reporting requirements. The project officer must specifically describe what is to be delivered and when it is to be delivered to ensure proper contract monitoring. Usually, technical and financial progress reports and the final report are prescribed in this section. These reports should be tailored to the instant acquisition and should avoid unnecessary and burdensome reporting requirements.

(c) The following may not be applicable to all RFC's but must be included as attachments whenever any do apply: (1) Government property. The project officer must identify, as referenced in the statement of work, the types, individual items, and quantities of Government property to be furnished to or allowed to be acquired by, the resultant contractor, if known. The project officer must specify when the Government property is to be made available to the resultant contractor.

(2) Special terms and conditions. The project officer may suggest inclusion of any special terms and conditions applicable to the proposed acquisition not already covered in the statement of work or the applicable contract general provisions.

(3) Justification for other than full and open competition. If the proposed acquisition is to be awarded using other than full and open competition, a justification, prepared in accordance with FAR subpart 6.3 and subpart 306.3, must be submitted as an attachment to the RFC.

(4) Privacy Act "system notice." When the project officer has determined that the requirements of the Privacy Act are applicable to the proposed acquisition, a copy of the "system notice" must be attached to the RFC (see 324.103(d)).

[49 FR 13979, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 23132, May 31, 1985; 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985]

315.7006 Review.

Upon receipt of the RFC, the contracting activity shall review the contents to ensure that all pertinent information has been provided by the program office. If pertinent information is missing or if there are discrepancies in previously agreed upon information,

such as significant alterations in the statement of work, the contracting activity shall obtain or clarify the information so that the acquisition schedule is met. If the program office delays furnishing the information or clarification, the acquisition schedule may have to be changed. When this circumstance arises, the contracting activity should notify the head of the sponsoring program office of the problem, in writing, of the possible slippage in the acquisition schedule, and the need for an expeditious remedy. If the head of the sponsoring program office is not responsive to the request for expediency, the matter should be referred to higher management authorities for resolution.

[49 FR 13979, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 49 FR 36110, Sept. 14, 1984]

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(c) The following format shall be used and executed by the contracting officer as the determination and findings authorizing the use of a cost-reimbursement contract and establishing the fee:

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES-DETERMINATION AND FINDINGS

Authority to Use Cost-Reimbursement Contract I hereby find that:

(1) The (agency title) proposes to contract with (name of proposed contractor) for (describe work, service, or product) (identify program or project). The estimated cost is ($ _) (if contract is CPFF type, insert, "plus a fixed fee of ($_ which is percent of the estimated cost exclusive of fee"). (2) (Set forth facts and circumstances that show why it is impracticable to secure property or services of the kind or quantity required without the use of the proposed type of contract or why the proposed method of contracting is likely to be less costly than other methods.) I hereby determine that:

On the basis of the above findings, and in accordance with FAR 16.301-3, it is impracticable to secure the property or services of the kind or quality required without the use of a (cost, cost-sharing, or cost-plus-a-fixed fee*) type of contract, or the (cost, cost-sharing, or cost-plus-a-fixed fee*) method of contracting is likely to be less costly than other methods. Date Signature

[49 FR 14004, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 23132, May 31, 1985; 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985; 51 FR 44294, Dec. 9, 1986]

316.303 Cost-sharing contracts.

For detailed information concerning the use of cost-sharing contracts, see 335.070.

316.306 Cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts.

(c)(2) The determination and findings (D&F) required by FAR 16.306(c)(2) has been combined with the D&F required by FAR 16.301-3(c) authorizing the use of cost-reimbursement contract, and is shown in 316.301-3(c). The contracting officer is responsible for executing the

*Use applicable word, words, or statement.

D&F and is authorized to make both determinations required by the FAR. [51 FR 44294, Dec. 9, 1986]

316.307 Contract clauses.

(a) If the contract is with a hospital (profit or nonprofit), modify the "Allowable Cost and Payment" clause at FAR 52.216-7 by deleting from paragraph (a) the words "subpart 31.2 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)” and substituting "45 CFR part 74 appendix E."

(j) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 352.216–72, Additional Cost Principles, in solicitations and resultant cost-reimbursement contracts with nonprofit organizations, as identified in OMB Circular A-122.

[55 FR 42197, Oct. 18, 1990]

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316.603-70 Information to be furnished

when requesting authority to issue a letter contract.

The following information should be included by the contracting officer in any memorandum requesting approval to issue a letter contract:

(a) Name and address of proposed contractor.

(b) Location where contract is to be performed.

(c) Contract number, including modification number, if possible.

(d) Brief description of work and services to be performed.

(e) Performance or delivery schedule. (f) Amount of letter contract.

(g) Estimated total amount of definitized contract.

(h) Type of definitive contract to be executed (fixed price, cost-reimbursement, etc.).

(i) Statement of the necessity and advantage to the Government of the use of the proposed letter contract.

(j) Statement of percentage of the estimated cost that the obligation of funds represents. In rare instances where the obligation represents 50 percent or more of the proposed estimated cost of the acquisition, a justification for that obligation must be included which would indicate the basis and necessity for the obligation (e.g., the contractor requires a large initial outlay of funds for major subcontract awards or an extensive purchase of materials to meet an urgent delivery requirement). In every case, documentation

must assure that the amount to be obligated is not in excess of an amount reasonably required to perform the work.

(k) Period of effectiveness of the proposed letter contract. If more than 180 days, complete justification must be given.

(1) Statement of any substantive matters that need to be resolved.

316.603-71 Approval for modifications to letter contracts.

All letter contract modifications (amendments) must be approved by the principal official responsible for acquisition. Requests for authority to issue letter contract modifications shall be processed in the same manner as requests for authority to issue letter contracts and shall include the following:

(a) Name and address of the contractor.

(b) Description of work and services. (c) Date original request was approved and indicate approving official.

(d) Letter contract number and date issued.

(e) Complete justification as to why the letter contract cannot be definitized at this time.

(f) Complete justification as to why the level of funding must be increased. (g) Complete justification as to why the period of effectiveness is increased beyond 180 days, if applicable.

(h) If the funding of the letter contract is to be increased to more than 50 percent of the estimated cost of the acquisition, the information required by 316.603–70(j) must be included.

Subpart 316.7-Agreements

316.702 Basic agreements. (b) Application.

(2) Basic agreements shall continue in effect until termination, supersession, or expiration of the term.

(d) Contracts incorporating basic agreements.

(2) Any provision of a contract which conflicts with the terms of a basic agreement must be approved by the Director, Division of Acquisition Policy, OAGM.

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