[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR12.202]

[Page 186]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION
 
PART 12_ACQUISITION OF COMMERCIAL ITEMS--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart 12.2_Special Requirements for the Acquisition of Commercial 
                                  Items
 
Sec.  12.202  Market research and description of agency need.

    (a) Market research (see 10.001) is an essential element of building 
an effective strategy for the acquisition of commercial items and 
establishes the foundation for the agency description of need (see part 
11), the solicitation, and resulting contract.
    (b) The description of agency need must contain sufficient detail 
for potential offerors of commercial items to know which commercial 
products or services may be suitable. Generally, for acquisitions in 
excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, an agency's statement of 
need for a commercial item will describe the type of product or service 
to be acquired and explain how the agency intends to use the product or 
service in terms of function to be performed, performance requirement or 
essential physical characteristics. Describing the agency's needs in 
these terms allows offerors to propose methods that will best meet the 
needs of the Government.
    (c) Follow the procedures in subpart 11.2 regarding the 
identification and availability of specifications, standards and 
commercial item descriptions.
    (d) Requirements documents for electronic and information technology 
must comply with the applicable accessibility standards issued by the 
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board at 36 CFR 
part 1194 (see subpart 39.2).

[60 FR 48241, Sept. 18, 1995, as amended at 62 FR 264, Jan. 2, 1997; 66 
FR 20897, Apr. 25, 2001]