[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 7]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR2937.103-70]

[Page 42-44]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                     CHAPTER 29--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
Sec. 2937.103-70  Department of Labor checklist to aid analysis and 
          review of requirements for service contracts.

    Contracting specialists and contracting officers must work in close 
collaboration with the beneficiaries of the services being purchased to 
ensure that contractor performance meets contract requirements and 
performance standards.
    (a) General. Following is a checklist to aid analysis and review of 
requirements for service contracts.
    (1) Is the statement of work complete, with a clear-cut division of 
responsibility between the contracting parties?
    (2) Is the statement of work discussed in terms the market can 
satisfy?
    (3) Does the statement of work encompass all commercially available 
services that can meet the actual functional need (eliminates any 
nonessential preferences that may thwart full and open competition)?
    (4) Is the statement of work performance-based to the maximum extent 
possible (i.e., is the acquisition structured around the purpose of the 
work to be performed, as opposed to either the manner by which the work 
is to be performed or a broad and imprecise statement of work)?
    (b) Cost effectiveness. If the response to any of the following 
questions is negative, the agency may not have a valid requirement or 
not be obtaining the requirement in the most cost effective manner.
    (1) Is the statement of work written so that it supports the need 
for a specific service?
    (2) Is the statement of work written so that it permits adequate 
evaluation of contractor versus in-house cost and performance?
    (3) Are the choices of contract type, quality assurance plan, 
competition strategy, or other related acquisition strategies and 
procedures in the acquisition plan appropriate to ensure good

[[Page 43]]

contractor performance to meet the user's needs?
    (4) If a cost reimbursement contract is contemplated, is the 
acquisition plan adequate to ensure that the contractor will have the 
incentive to control costs under the contract?
    (5) Is the acquisition plan adequate to address the cost 
effectiveness of using contractor support (either long-term or short-
term) versus in-house performance?
    (6) Is the cost estimate or other supporting cost information 
adequate to enable the contracting office to effectively determine 
whether costs are reasonable?
    (7) Is the statement of work adequate to describe the requirement in 
terms of ``what'' is to be performed as opposed to ``how'' the work is 
to be accomplished?
    (8) Is the acquisition plan adequate to ensure that there is proper 
consideration given to ``quality'' and ``best value?''
    (c) Control. If the response to any of the following questions is 
negative, there may be a control problem.
    (1) Are there sufficient resources to evaluate contractor 
performance when the statement of work requires the contractor to 
provide advice, analysis and evaluation, opinions, alternatives, or 
recommendations that could significantly influence agency policy 
development or decision-making?
    (2) Does the quality assurance plan provide for adequate monitoring 
of contractor performance?
    (3) Is the statement of work written so that it specifies a contract 
deliverable or requires progress reporting on contractor performance?
    (4) Is agency expertise adequate to independently evaluate the 
contractor's approach, methodology, results, options, conclusions or 
recommendations?
    (d) Conflicts of interest. If the response to any of the following 
questions is affirmative, there may be a conflict of interest.
    (1) Can the potential offeror perform under the contract to devise 
solutions or make recommendations that would influence the award of 
future contracts to that contractor?
    (2) If the requirement is for support services (such as system 
engineering or technical direction), were any of the potential offerors 
involved in developing the system design specifications or in the 
production of the system?
    (3) Has a potential offeror participated in earlier work involving 
the same program or activity that is the subject of the present 
contract, wherein the offeror had access to source selection or 
proprietary information not available to other offerors competing for 
the contract?
    (4) Will the contractor be evaluating a competitor's work?
    (5) Does the contract allow the contractor to accept its own 
products or activities on behalf of the Government?
    (6) Will the work under this contract put the contractor in a 
position to influence government decision-making, e.g., developing 
regulations that will affect the contractor's current or future 
business?
    (7) Will the work under this contract affect the interests of the 
contractor's other clients?
    (8) Are any of the potential offerors, or their personnel who will 
perform the contract, former agency officials who--while employed by the 
agency--personally and substantially participated in the development of 
the requirement for, or the procurement of, these services within the 
past two years?
    (e) Competition. If the response to any of the following questions 
is negative, competition may be unnecessarily limited.
    (1) Is the statement of work defined so as to avoid overly 
restrictive specifications or performance standards?
    (2) Is the contract formulated in such a way as to avoid creating a 
continuous and dependent arrangement with the same contractor?
    (3) Is the use of an indefinite quantity or term contract 
arrangement appropriate to obtain the required services?
    (4) Will the requirement be obtained through the use of full and 
open competition?

[[Page 44]]

             Subpart 2937.2_Advisory and Assistance Services