[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: 48CFR37.602-1]

[Page 742]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION
 
PART 37_SERVICE CONTRACTING--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart 37.6_Performance-Based Contracting
 
Sec.  37.602-1  Statements of work.

    (a) Generally, statements of work shall define requirements in 
clear, concise language identifying specific work to be accomplished. 
Statements of work must be individually tailored to consider the period 
of performance, deliverable items, if any, and the desired degree of 
performance flexibility (see 11.106). In the case of task order 
contracts, the statement of work for the basic contract need only define 
the scope of the overall contract (see 16.504(a)(4)(iii)). The statement 
of work for each task issued under a task order contract shall comply 
with paragraph (b) of this subsection. To achieve the maximum benefits 
of performance-based contracting, task order contracts should be awarded 
on a multiple award basis (see 16.504(c) and 16.505(b)).
    (b) When preparing statements of work, agencies shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable--
    (1) Describe the work in terms of ``what'' is to be the required 
output rather than either ``how'' the work is to be accomplished or the 
number of hours to be provided (see 11.002(a)(2) and 11.101);
    (2) Enable assessment of work performance against measurable 
performance standards;
    (3) Rely on the use of measurable performance standards and 
financial incentives in a competitive environment to encourage 
competitors to develop and institute innovative and cost-effective 
methods of performing the work; and
    (4) Avoid combining requirements into a single acquisition that is 
too broad for the agency or a prospective contractor to manage 
effectively.

[48 FR 42365, Sept. 19, 1983, as amended at 64 FR 32742, June 17, 1999]