of small business firms to permit making a tentative set-aside determination where appropriate; and (b) Provide sufficient procurement leadtime in the program/project implementation schedule to allow potential small business participation. § 7-1.704-6 Small business screening procedure. (a) General. All A.I.D./Washington proposed contract actions (PIO/TS, PIO/Cs, or other requisitioning documents) in excess of $2,500.00 shall be screened by the Small Business Office, with the exception of: (1) Class set-asides and those unilaterally set-aside by Contracting Officers (AIDPR 7-1.704-3 (f)); (2) Those where the Contracting Officer certifies in writing that the public exigency will not permit the delay incident to screening (AIDPR 7–1.704–7(b) ); (3) Contracts with educational or nonprofit institutions, the object of which is "institution building", i.e., the development of a counterpart capability in the host country by the educational or nonprofit institution; (4) Those involving the payment of tuition and fees for participant training at academic institutions; and (5) Personal services contract requirements (see AIDPR 7-1.702(d) (5)). (b) Preparation of AID Form 1410-14 (see AIDPR 7-16.850 and 7-16.960). (1) The Contracting Officer shall prepare the subject form in an original and 3 copies and forward the original and copies to the Small Business Office within one working day of receipt by his procuring activity of a procurement requisition (PIO/T, PIO/C, or other requisitioning document). NOTE: An approved Noncapital Project Paper (PROP) may be substituted for the PIO/T or PIO/C if required by the urgency of the procurement. (2) The Contracting Officer will attach to his transmittal a complete copy of the procurement request and a copy of the recommended source list as furnished by the technical office and supplemented by him. (3) The Contracting Officer shall complete Blocks 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10 (when appropriate) prior to submittal to the Small Business Office. (c) Screening of AID Form 1410-14 by the Small Business Office. 55 (1) The Small Business Office will screen the Contracting Officer's recommendations on set-aside potential, small business subcontracting opportunities, and section 8(a) subcontracting, and furnish him with either a written concurrence in his recommendations or written counter-recommendations on the original and duplicate copy within five working days from receipt of the form from the Contracting Officer. (2) The Small Business Office will complete Blocks 1, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 (when appropriate) prior to returning the screened form to the Contracting Officer. (d) Concurrence or rejection proce dure. (1) The Contracting Officer shall complete Block 13 upon receipt of the original and duplicate copy of the screened form from the Small Business Office. (2) If the Contracting Officer rejects a Small Business counter-recommendation, he shall return the original and duplicate forms with his written reasons for rejection to the Small Business Office within two working days. (3) Upon receipt of the Contracting Officer's rejection, the Small Business Office may (i) accept, or (ii) appeal, the rejection. In the case of acceptance of the Contracting Officer's rejection, the Small Business Office shall annotate Block 14 when it renders a decision and return the original form to the Contracting Officer within two working days. (e) Appeal procedure. (1) When informal efforts fail to resolve the set-aside disagreement between the Contracting Officer and the Small Business Office, the latter official may appeal the Contracting Officer's decision to the head of the procuring activity. Such an appeal will be made within five working days after receipt of the Contracting Officer's rejection. (2) In the case of an appeal, the Small Business Office will send the original and duplicate form, with the appeal noted in Block 14, directly to the head of the procuring activity with its written reasons for appealing. The Contracting Officer will be notified of the Small Business Office's appeal by means of a copy of the written reasons for appealing. (3) The head of the procuring activity shall render a decision on the appeal (complete Block 15) within three working days after receipt of same and return the original to the Small Business Office and the duplicate to the Contracting Officer. § 7-1.704-7 Reports on procurement actions that are exempted from screening. (a) Unilateral and class set-asides. The Contracting Officer shall prepare AID Form 1410-14 as stated in AIDPR 7-1.704-6, but forward only the duplicate copy with the documentation required by Block 5 of the form to the Small Business Office. The original will be filed in the contract file. (1) If, upon review of the material submitted under AIDPR 7-1.704-7(a) above, the Small Business Office concludes that it would be practicable to accomplish all or a portion of the procurement involved under section 8(a) subcontracting, it shall so advise the Contracting Officer in writing within five days after receipt of such material. (2) Such advice shall be considered a counter-recommendation and shall be processed in accordance with AIDPR 71.704-6 (d) and (e). (b) Public exigency exemption. The Contracting Officer shall prepare AID Form 1410-14 as stated in AIDPR 71.704-6, but forward only the duplicate copy with the documentation required by Block 5 of the form to the Small Business Office. In addition to the documentation called for in AIDPR 7-1.704-6, the Contracting Officer shall furnish a copy of his written determination exempting the procurement from screening. The determination shall cite the pertinent facts which led to his decision. This exemption is not intended to be used as a substitute for good procurement planning and leadtime; the Small Business Office will report abuses of this exemption to the head of the procuring activity for appropriate action in accordance with AIDPR 7-1.704-4(c). (c) Institution building contract (IBC) exemption. The Contracting Offcer shall prepare AID Form 1410-14 as stated in AIDPR 7-1.704-6, but forward only the duplicate copy with the documentation required by Block 5 of the form to the Small Business Office. (d) Personal services contract exemption. The Contracting Officer shall prepare AID Form 1410-14 as stated in AIDPR 7-1.704-6, but forward only the duplicate copy with the documentation required by Block 5 of the form to the Small Business Office. Subpart 7-1.10-Publicizing § 7-1.1001 General policy. (a) Section 602 of the Foreign Assistance Act dictates that, to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with the purposes of the Act, information about purchases to be financed under the Act will be made available as far in advance as possible to suppliers in the United States, particularly small independent enterprises. (b) (1) In furtherance of this policy, as well as the requirements set forth in FPR 1-1.1001, A.I.D. obtains the maximum practicable publicity for its direct procurements of supplies and services through publication of notice of such procurement actions in the "Commerce Business Daily". (2) Also, a Contractor's Index is maintained in Washington by the A.I.D. Small Business Office. Prospective Contractors wishing to perform contracts for A.I.D. should file AID Form 1420-6 (Management Consultant Questionnaire), 1420-5 (Architect-Engineer Questionnaire), 1420-19 (Urban and Regional Planner Consultant Questionnaire) or 1420-7 (Construction Contractor's Questionnaire), as appropriate with the Small Business Office, Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C. 20523 and should keep current the information so filed. (3) Prospective contractors who are interested in specific future procurements about which notice has been given, either through the Commerce Business Daily or otherwise, should submit an indication of their interest or a proposal to the cognizant A.I.D. office, as directed in the notice. In addition, the prospective contractor should forward the appropriate AID Form (1420-5, 1420-6, 1420-19, or 1420-7) to the A.I.D. Small Business Office, if a form has not previously been filed. [30 FR. 12968, Oct. 12, 1965, as amended at 35 FR 3807, Feb. 27, 1970; 38 FR 28669, Oct. 16, 1973] ernment Architect-Engineer Questionnaire" cited in FPR 1-1.1003-3(c). [39 FR 21127, June 19, 1974] § 7-1.1003-7 Preparation and transmittal. (a) The notice should state if the procurement will be limited to commercial sources or not. Language substantially as follows should be used as appropriate: "Procurement will be limited to commercial sources" or "Noncommercial non-Federal sources are not excluded from consideration". (b) Notices of sole source procure. ments may be provided substantially as follows: (1) For unsolicited proposals: Negotiations will be conducted with (Name and address of firm) for (Description of articles or services) on the basis of an unsolicited proposal submitted by this firm. This notice is issued for the information of prospective subcontractors. (2) For other sole source procurements: Negotiations will be conducted with (Name and address of firm) for (Description of articles or services). This notice is issued for the information of prospective subcontractors. No RFP is available. (c) 'A.I.D. utilizes A.I.D. Form 14205, "Exception to Standard Form 251, Architect-Engineer Questionnaire", in place of the Standard Form 251, "U.S. Government Architect-Engineer Questionnaire" cited in FPR 1-1.1003-7 (b) (9). [30 FR 12968, Oct. 12, 1965, as amended at 39 FR 21127, June 19, 1974] PART 7-2-PROCUREMENT BY FORMAL ADVERTISING Subpart 7-2.4-Opening of Bids and Award of 7-3.204 Contract 7-3.205 Sec. 7-2.406-3 Other mistakes disclosed before 7-3.211 award. 7-2.406-4 Disclosure of mistakes after 7-3.807-3 7-3.903 posal. Requirements for cost or pricing data. Subpart 7-3.9—Subcontracting Policies and Procedures Review and approval of Contractor's purchasing system and subcontracts. 7-8.903-2 Review and approval of subcontracts. AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 7-8 issued under sec. 621, 75 Stat. 445, as amended; 22 U.S.C. 2381. SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 7-8 appear at 80 F.R. 12971, Oct. 12, 1965, unless otherwise noted. Subpart 7-3.1-Use of Negotiation $7-3.101 General requirements for negotiation. § 7-3.101-50 Exceptions to normal negotiation procedures. Competition should be obtained in negotiated procurements whenever possible. However, there are four types of exceptions to normal negotiation procedures which authorize departures from ordinary competitive practices as follows: (a) The requirements of FPR 1-3.101 for the solicitation of proposals from the maximum number of qualified sources consistent with the nature of and requirements for the supplies or services to be procured shall be deemed satisfled when the selection of the contractor for Architect-Engineer services has been made pursuant to the procedures prescribed in AIDPR Subpart 7-4.2. (b) Negotiation without the solicitation of proposals from more than one offeror may be undertaken for the types of contracts listed below. In each of these cases, however, consideration of as many sources as is practicable, including informal solicitation to the maximum extent practicable, is required. In each case the contract file will include appropriate explanation and support. (1) Procurements to be performed by the contractor in person. (2) Procurements by an overseas procuring activity which do not exceed $25,000. (3) Procurements from State or local governmental agencies. (c) Negotiation without solicitation of proposals from more than one offeror or informal solicitation may be undertaken for contracts for which one institution or firm has exclusive or predominate capability by reason of experience, specialized facilities or technical competence to perform the work within the time required and at reasonable prices. In such a circumstance, the initiating technical office may recommend, for approval by the contracting officer, that a proposal be solicited only from this one institution or firm. This recommendation shall be in writing and will be contained in a separate document entitled "Justification for Noncompetitive Procurement" which shall set forth full and complete justification for the selection. Specifically the "Justification" shall explain with particularity the exclusive or predominant capability the proposed contractor possesses which meets the requirements of the procurement, shall cite any other circumstances which operate to make competitive negotiation impracticable and shall reflect the degree of consideration which has been given to other sources in the particular field and the reasons they lack the capability of the proposed contractor. The following illustrations represent factors which should be considered, as appropriate, in preparing the "Justification": (1) What capability does the proposed contractor have which is important to the specific effort and makes him clearly more desirable than another firm in the same general field? (2) What prior experience of a highly specialized nature does he possess which is vital to the proposed effort? (3) What facilities or equipment does he have which are specialized and vital to the effort? (4) Does he have a substantial investment of some kind which would have to be duplicated at Government expense by another source entering the field? (5) If time schedules are involved, why are they critical and why can the proposed contractor best meet them? (6) Does the proposed contractor have personnel considered predominant experts in the particular field? Each "Justification” shall contain, in the first sentence of the document, an appropriate recommendation (e.g., "I recommend that we negotiate only with the (Name of Entity) for the (Item or services being procured)"). (d) Negotiation without solicitation of proposals or informal solicitation and without consideration of other competitive sources may be undertaken for the types of contracts listed below. In each case the contract file will include appropriate explanation and support. (1) Contracts based on unsolicited research and development proposals to be awarded to a qualified offeror upon the appropriate determination by the cognizant Assistant Administrator pursuant to AIDPR 7-4.5301. (2) Contract amendments which provide for the continuation of activities or assistance which in the judgment of the contracting officer are designed to meet a goal which is the same as or substantially similar to the goal stated in the original contract. (3) Procurements for which the contracting officer determines that the property or services can be obtained from only one person or firm (sole source of supply). See FPR 1-3.210(a) (1). (4) Procurements for which the Assistant Administrator having primary responsibility for the program (this authority is not delegable except to his chief deputy) makes a written determination, with supporting findings (including the degree of consideration, if any, given to other sources in the particular field) that procurement from another source would impair foreign assistance objectives and would be inconsistent with fulfillment of the foreign assistance program. A copy of the determination and findings shall be included in the contract file. [38 FR 28669, Oct. 16, 1973] § 7-3.102 Factors to be considered in negotiating contracts. Location in a surplus or scarce labor area refers to United States locations only. § 7-3.102-50 Adaptability to overseas conditions. In addition to the factors set forth in FPR 1-3.102, AID will consider the adaptability of the prospective Contractor and its employees to employment and residence in the overseas location or locations where work is to be performed. § 7-3.103 Dissemination of procure ment information. See also AIDPR Subpart 7-1.10. § 7-3.200 Scope of subpart. All negotiated A.I.D. contracts are negotiated under the authority of section 633 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and Executive Order 11223, May 12, 1965, 30 FR 6635 (see FPR 13.215). Contracts will not be negotiated, however, unless they fall within one of the circumstances permitting negotiation enumerated in FPR 1-3.201 through 1-3.214. [28 FR 28670, Oct. 16, 1973] § 7-3.204 Personal or professional serv ices. (a) In addition to the requirements of FPR 1-3.211, prior negotiation authorization must be obtained from the Administrator for contracts in connection with "Development Research" programs under sec. 241 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. However, pursuant to FPR 1-3.303 the authority has been delegated to the Assistant Administrator for Technical Assistance to authorize negotiation of contracts under the Small Projects Research Program; provided, that each such contract does not exceed $25,000. (b) Prior negotiation authorization by a head of the agency (see AIDPR 71.204) is required for experimental, de |