[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 48, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 48CFR12.202]



[Page 195]

 

            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]