tractors or may be originated by Government personnel. Letters of intent are not authorized by the FAR and are prohibited for use by Department personnel.

316.770-2 Memorandums of understanding.

A "memorandum of understanding" is an unauthorized agreement, usually drafted during the course of negotiations, to modify mandatory FAR and HHSAR provisions in such a manner as to make them more acceptable to a prospective contractor. It may be used to bind the contracting officer in attempting to exercise rights given the Government under the contract, or may contain other matters directly contrary to the language of the solicitation or prospective contractual document. Use of such memorandums of understanding is not authorized. Any change in a solicitation or contract shall be made by amendment or modification to that document. When a change to a prescribed contract clause is considered necessary, a deviation shall be requested.

(1) Identify the supplies or services as a discrete option quantity in addition to the basic quantity of supplies or services to be delivered under the initial contract award;

(2) Establish a price or specify a method of calculation which will make the price certain;

(3) Be agreed to and included in the initial contract award; and

(4) Permit the Government the right to exercise the option unilaterally.

(b) Contract provisions which provide the Government the right to buy additional requirements, subject to the written agreement of the contractor, do not meet the requirements of paragraph (a)(4) of this section and are not authorized. Further, any contract provision which merely extends the initial contract period without requiring delivery of additional supplies or services is not an option.

317.202 Use of options.

(c)(6) The primary purpose for inclusion would be the achievement of administrative convenience.

317.7002 Policy.

(a) The following supplies, services, and equipment have been indentified as common use items and are to be acquired by the centralized contracting activity identified in paragraph (b):

(1) Administrative supplies, equipment, and services (i.e., general use office items or related services), as distinguished from functional or program requirements.

(2) Automated data processing services (but see ADP Systems Manual, Chapter 4).

(3) Stenographic reporting services. (4) Visual arts, graphics, and supplementing services.

(5) Press clipping services.

(b) Activities within the metropolitan Washington, DC area are required to submit purchase requests for the above items to the applicable centralized contracting activity as follows:

(1) Activities located in the Southwest Washington complex; Procurement Branch, Division of Contract Operations, Office of Acquisition and Grants Management, Office of the Secretary.

(2) Parklawn Complex, Rockville, Maryland (Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties area); Division of Acquisition Management, Administrative Services Center, Office of Management, Public Health Service.

(3) National Institutes of Health; Division of Procurement, National Institutes of Health.

(c) Activities outside the metropolitan Washington, DC area are encour

age to establish centralized points to conduct acquisitions for common use items.

[49 FR 14006, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 54 FR 24343, June 7, 1989; 55 FR 13536, Apr. 11, 1990]

Subpart 317.71-Supply and Service Acquisitions Under the Government Employees Training Act

SOURCE: 53 FR 43208, Oct. 26, 1988, unless otherwise noted.

317.7100 Scope of subpart.

This subpart provides alternate methods for obtaining training in nonGovernment facilities under the Government Employees Training Act, 5 U.S.C. Chapter 41.

317.7101 Applicable regulations.

Basic policy, standards, and delegations of authority to approve training are contained in HHS Personnel Manual Instruction 410-1.

317.7102 Acquisition of training.

(a) The acquisition of interagency training courses and non-governmental off-the-shelf training courses, whether for individual employees or for groups of employees, is the responsibility of the Assistant Secretary for Personnel Administration.

(b) Non-governmental training must be acquired through the contracting office if there are costs for training course development or for modification of off-the-shelf training courses.

Subpart 319.2-Policies

319.201 General policy.

(c) The functional management responsibilities for the Department's small business, disadvantaged business, and labor surplus area programs are delegated to the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU).

(1) The Director, OSDBU is responsible for:

(i) Recommending to the Under Secretary overall Department-wide operating concepts and policies relating to the Department's small business, disadvantaged business, and labor surplus area programs;

(ii) Implementing policy decisions through the issuance of operating procedures (Operating Divisions alternative

(OPDIVs) may develop procedures for achieving departmental policy goals, and objectives. However, any change in procedures must be approved by the Under Secretary);

(iii) Reviewing and evaluating the Department's policies, practices, and procedures pertaining to the disadvantaged business, small business, and labor surplus area programs, as well as recommending changes or corrective actions to the OPDIV heads or to the Under Secretary, as appropriate;

(iv) Providing the Under Secretary with regular appraisals of performance and quality of effort, including timely notification of significant problems, events, and accomplishments, and the need for changes in Department-wide objectives and policies; and (v) Providing technical assistance and support to the small and disadvantaged business utilization specialists.

(2) The Director, OSDBU is authorized to:

(i) Establish standards, procedures and operating guidelines controlling the manner in which the small business, disadvantaged business, and labor surplus areas programs are conducted throughout the Department;

(ii) Provide advice on proposed allocations of personnel, funds, and other resources in light of the total needs of the Department;

(iii) Prescribe, after coordination with appropriate concerned personnel, reporting requirements necessary to preserve openness in reporting, identifying emerging problems, monitor Department-wide activity, and provide a basis for appraisal and evaluation of performance. To the maximum extent, these reporting requirements will be satisfied through existing Department-wide reporting systems or by making modifications to them;

(iv) Conduct surveys and review of operating practices in the OPDIVS and regional offices; and

(v) Communicate directly with the small and disadvantaged business utilization specialists to assist them in carrying out their individual and collective responsibilities.

319.201-70 Small and disadvantaged business utilization specialist.

(a) The Head of each OPDIV shall appoint a qualified full time small and disadvantaged business utilization specialist (SADBUS) in the following activities: Office of Human Development Services (OHDS), Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), Social Security Administration (SSA), Public Health Service (PHS), to include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (and each regional Office of Engineering Services), Indian Health Service (IHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Administrative Services Center (ASC). A SADBUS shall also be appointed for the Office of the Secretary (OS) and for each Regional Office. As deemed necessary, additional small and disadvantaged business utilization specialists may be appointed in larger contracting activities.

(b) When the volume of contracting does not warrant assignment of a fulltime SADBUS, an individual shall be appointed as the specialist on a parttime basis. The responsibilities of this assignment shall take precedence over other responsibilities. The specialist shall be responsible directly to the appointing authority and shall be at an organizational level outside the direct

acquisition chain of command, i.e., should report directly to the principal official responsible for acquistion, where appropriate.

(c) The Director, OSDBU will exercise functional management authority over small and disadvantaged business utilization specialist regarding small business, disadvantaged business, and labor surplus area matters. Appointments of SADBUS's shall only be made after consultation with the Director, OSDBU. A copy of each appointment and termination of appointment of specialists shall be forwarded to the Director, OSDBU.

(d) The SADBUS shall perform the following duties, as determined to be appropriate to the activity by the appointing official or by the Director, OSDBU. The SADBUS shall:

(1) Maintain a program designed to locate capable small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business and labor surplus area business sources for current and future acquisitions, through SBA or by using other methods, establish appropriate source lists for each category, and work closely with contracting and small purchasing offices to ensue offers are solicited from firms on the source lists;

(2) Coordinate inquiries and requests for advice from small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area business concerns on acquisition matters, and counsel them with respect to business opportunities to enhance their potential participation in the Department's acquisition program;

(3) Prior to the issuance of solicitations (or contract modifications for additional supplies or services) in excess of $10,000, which have not been reviewed, reserved, or set-aside by the contracting officer, review the contracting officer's justification for such action;

(4) Assure that small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area concerns are provided adequate specifications or drawings by initiating actions, in writing, with appropriate technical and contracting personnel to ensure that all necessary specifications or drawings for current and future acquisitions, as appropriate, are available;

(5) Review proposed requirements for possible breakout of items suitable for acquisitions from small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area concerns;

(6) Assure that financial assistance, available under existing regulations, is offered, and that requests by small business concerns for proper assistance are not treated as a handicap in the award of contracts;

(7) Participate in determinations concerning responsibility of prospective contractors whenever small business concerns are involved;

(8) Participate in the evaluation of a prime contractor's small business, labor surplus area, and disadvantaged business subcontracting plans;

(9) Advise and assist contracting officers in discharging their responsibilities by:

(i) Monitoring and reviewing contractor performance to determine compliance with small and small disadvantaged business subcontracting plans, and

(ii) Developing and maintaining records and reports that reflect such compliance or noncompliance;

(10) Review and make appropriate recommendations to the contracting officer on proposals to furnish Government-owned facilities to contractors if this action may enhance the small business program;

(11) Assure that the participation of small businesses, disadvantaged businesses, women-owned business, and labor surplus area concerns is accurately reported;

(12) Make available to SBA copies of solicitations when so requested;

(13) When a bid or offer from a small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, or labor surplus area concern has been rejected for nonresponsiveness or nonresponsibility, upon request, aid, counsel and assist that firm in understanding requirements for responsiveness and responsibility so that the firm may be able to qualify for future awards;

(14) Participate in government-industry conferences to assist small business, disadvantaged business, womenowned business, and labor surplus area concerns, including Business Opportu

nity/Federal Acquisition Conferences, Minority Business Enterprises Acquisition Seminars, and Business Opportunity Committee meetings;

(15) Advise potential sources how they can obtain information about sealed bid and negotiated acquisitions;

(16) Brief the head of the contracting activity at least once quarterly concerning the status of the activity's small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area programs in relation to goals and objectives established;

(17) Participate in the development, implementation, and review of automated source systems to assure that the interests of small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area concerns are fully considered;

(18) Assure that the organization maintains a list of products and services which are categorized as repetitive small business set-aside;

(19) Provide small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area concerns information regarding assistance available from Federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration, Minority Business Development Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Economic Development Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Labor, and others, including State agencies and trade associations;

(20) Be responsible for establishing an education and training program for personnel whose duties and functions affect the activity's small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus areas programs; and

(21) Participate in interagency programs relating to small business, disadvantaged business, women-owned business, and labor surplus area matters as authorized by the Director, OSDBU.

[49 FR 14007, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 23126, 23133, May 31, 1985; 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985; 54 FR 24343, June 7, 1989]

319.270 Federal acquisition conference.

The Department of Commerce is responsible for coordinating the partici

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