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[49 FR 13969, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 23129, May 31, 1985; 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985]

307.105-2 Special program clearances or approvals.

The following special program clearances or approvals should be reviewed for applicability to each planned acquisition. The ones which are applicable should be addressed in the acquisition planning document and immediate programmatic action should be initiated to obtain the necessary clearances or approvals.

(a) Clearances or approvals required to be completed and submitted with the request for contract (RFC).—(1) Automatic data processing. All proposed acquisitions of automatic data processing hardware, software packages, and services, as well as telecommunications equipment, which exceed the dollar thresholds stated in Chapter 4-10 of the HHS ADP Systems Manual must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Management Analysis and Systems (OMAS), OASMB-0S. (See HHS ADP Systems Manual, Chapter 4-10; Title 41 CFR Chapter 150; and Subpart 339.70.)

(2) ADP systems security. All ADP systems regardless of dollar amount are required to have a Certification of ADP Systems Security Adequacy signed by the ADP system manager and the cognizant ADP systems security officer. (See ADP Systems Manual, Part 6-ADP Systems Security; OMB Circular No. A-71, Transmittal Memorandum No. 1; and Subpart 339.79.)

(3) Consultant services. The Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget is responsible for review and approval of all nonevaluation consultant service contracts of $250,000 or more. (See General Administration Manual Chapter 8-15.)

(4) Evaluation contracts. All evaluation projects except evaluability assessments under $135,000 will be reviewed and approved by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Evaluability assessments under $135,000 will be approved by the heads of the OPDIVS or the regional directors. Evaluability assessment is defined in the annual guidance for

Evaluation, Research, and Statistical Activities issued by ASPE.

(5) Commercial activities. (OMB Circular No. A-76) A request for contract (RFC) must contain a statement as to whether the proposed solicitation is or is not to be used as part of an OMB Circular No. A-76 cost comparison. (See General Administrative Manual (GAM) Chapter 18-10; FAR Subpart 7.3, Subpart 307.3; OMB Circular No. A-76.)

(6) Paid advertising. Paid advertisements, notices or contract proposals to be published in newspapers and periodicals may be authorized by the contracting officer. (See FAR Subpart 5.5, Subpart 305.5; Title 7, Chapter 5-25.2, and the General Accounting Office Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies.)

(7) Printing. The acquisition of printing by contract is prohibited unless it is authorized by the Joint Committee on Printing of the U.S. Congress. Procedures to be followed are contained in the "Government Printing and Binding Regulations" and the HHS Printing Management Manual and FAR Subpart 8.8.

(8) Fraud, abuse and waste. All proposed acquisitions that concern the subjects of fraud, abuse and waste must be reviewed and approved by the Inspector General or Deputy Inspector General, and written approval from either must be included in the request for contract.

(9) Paperwork Reduction Act. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-511), a Federal agency shall not collect information or sponsor the collection of information from ten or more persons other than Federal employees unless, in advance, the agency has submitted Standard Form 83, Clearance Request and Notice of Action, to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Director has approved the proposed collection of information. Procedures for obtaining approval are contained in Title 5 CFR Part 1320 and General Administration Manual Chapter 10-20.

(10) Contracts with federal employees. Contracts between the Government and Government employees or between the Government and organizations which are substantially owned

or controlled by Government employees may not knowingly be entered into, except for the most compelling reasons (see FAR Subpart 3.6). Authority to enter into a contract with a Government employee or an organization substantially owned or controlled by a Government employee must be approved prior to award of the contract by either the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget, the head of the OPDIV, or the regional director, or their designees. (See 45 CFR Part 73 and HHS Standards of Conduct.)

(11) Classified contracts. Projects involving national security information must be coordinated with the Division of Security and Protection, Office of Investigation for guidance and approval as required by the HHS Security Manual.

(12) Publications. All projects which will result in contracts in excess of $2,500 and which include publications require review and approval by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (OASPA). Form HHS615, Publication Planning and Clearance Request, should be forwarded to OASPA through the OPDIV public affairs officer. Publications are defined in the chapter on publications in the Public Affairs Management Manual.

(13) Public affairs services. Projects for the acquisition of public affairs services in excess of $5,000 shall be submitted to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (OASPA) for review and approval on Form HHS-524B, Request for Public Affairs Service Contract.

(14) Audiovisual (videotape and motion picture production). Any proposed acquisition of an audiovisual production requires the submission of a Standard Form 282, Mandatory Title Check, to the National Audiovisual Center (NAC). When the results of this title check have been reviewed by the project office and if a determination is made that existing materials are not adequate to fulfill the requirement, a statement to that effect shall be prepared by the project office. For acquisitions in excess of $5,000, a copy of that statement, together with a Standard Form 202, Federal Audiovisual Production Report, and Form

HHS-524A, Request for Audiovisual Material, shall be submitted through the OPDIV public affairs officer to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (OASPA) for review and approval. Following approval by OASPA, the SF 202 and the statement explaining why existing materials are insufficient will be forwarded to NAC by OASPA. An approved copy of the Form HHS-524A will be returned to the OPDIV for transmission to the contract negotiator. All audiovisuals are required to be acquired under the Government-wide Contracting System for Motion Picture and Videotape Productions, unless they are included in the exceptions to the mandatory use of the uniform system. (See the Executive Agent for Government-Wide Contracting System for Audiovisual Productions' March 21, 1980, memorandum on Implementation of OFPP Policy Letter No. 79-4, November 28, 1979, Contracting for Motion Picture and Videotape Productions; HHS General Administration Manual Chapter 1-121.)

(15) Privacy Act (Pub. L. 93-579.) Whenever the Department contracts for the design, development, operation, or maintenance of a system of records on individuals on behalf of the Department in order to accomplish a departmental function, the Privacy Act is applicable. The program official, after consultation with the activity's Privacy Act Coordinator and the Office of General Counsel as necessary shall include a statement in the request for contract as to the applicability of the Act. Whenever an acquisition is subject to the Act, the program official prepares a "system notice" and has it published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. (See HHS Privacy Act regulation, 45 CFR 5b; FAR Subpart 24.1 and Subpart 324.1.)

(b) Clearances or approvals required to be completed prior to contract award. All foreign research contract projects to be conducted in a foreign country and financed by HHS funds (U.S. dollars) must have clearance by the Department of State with respect to consistency with foreign policy objectives. This clearance should be obtained prior to negotiation. Procedures for obtaining this clearance are set

forth in the HHS General Administration Manual, Chapter 20-60.

[49 FR 13969, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 49 FR 36110, Sept. 14, 1984; 50 FR 23129, May 31, 1985; 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985; 53 FR 15563, May 2, 1988]

307.105-3 Specification, purchase description and statement of work.

One of the most important parts of a contract is the description of the work to be done. The description of that work may be in the form of a specification, purchase description or statement of work. A brief reference to specifications and purchase descriptions is provided, although the nature of the work performed in this Department usually results in the development of work statements. The development of the acquisition planning document should result in sufficient information to readily develop the description of work, usually in the form of a statement of work.

(a) Specification. Specification is defined in FAR 10.001. Use of the specification is primarily limited to supply or service contracts where the material end item or service to be delivered is well defined by the Government.

(b) Purchase description. FAR 10.001 also contains the definition of purchase description.

(c) Statement of work.-(1) General. A statement of work differs from a specification and purchase description primarily in that it describes work or services to be performed in reaching an end result rather than a detailed, well defined description or specification of the end product. The statement of work may enumerate or describe the methods (statistical, clinical, laboratory, etc.) that will be used. However, it is preferable for the offeror to propose the method of performing the work. The statement of work should specify the desired results, functions, or end items without telling the offeror what has to be done to accomplish those results unless the method of performance is critical or required for the successful performance of the contract. The statement of work should be clear and concise and must completely define the responsibilities of the Government and the contractor. The statement of work

should be worded so as to make more than one interpretation virtually impossible because it has to be read and interpreted by persons of varied backgrounds, such as attorneys, contracting personnel, cost estimators, accountants, scientists, sociologists, educators, functional specialists, etc. If the statement of work does not state exactly what is wanted, or does not state it precisely, it will generate many contract management problems for both the project officer and the contracting officer. Ambiguous statements of work can create unsatisfactory performance, delays, and disputes, and can result in higher costs.

(2) Term (level of effort) vs. completion work statement. Careful distinctions must be drawn between term (level of effort) statements of work, which essentially require the furnishing of technical effort and a report thereof, and completion type work statements, which often require development of tangible end items designed to meet specific performance characteristics.

(i) Term or level of effort. A term or level of effort type statement of work is appropriate to research where one seeks to discover the feasibility of later development, or to gather general information. A term or level of effort type statement of work may only specify that some number of labor-hours be expended on a particular course of research, or that a certain number of tests be run, without reference to any intended conclusion.

(ii) Completion. A completion type statement of work is appropriate to development work where the feasibility of producing an end item is already known. A completion type statement of work may describe what is to be achieved through the contracted effort, such as the development of new methods, new end items, or other tangible results.

(3) Phasing. Individual research, development, or demonstration projects frequently lie well beyond the present state of the art and entail procedures and techniques of great complexity and difficulty. Under these circumstances, a contractor, no matter how carefully selected, may be unable to deliver the desired result. Moreover,

the job of evaluating the contractor's progress is often difficult. Such a contract is frequently phased and often divided into stages of accomplishment, each of which must be completed and approved before the contractor may proceed to the next. Phasing makes it necessary to develop methods and controls, including reporting requirements for each phase of the contract and criteria for evaluation of the reports submitted, that will provide, at the earliest possible time, appropriate data for making decisions relative to all phases. A phased contract may include stages of accomplishment such as research, and demonstration.

development,

Within each phase, there may be a number of tasks which should be included in the statement of work. When phases of work can be identified, the statement of work will provide for phasing and the request for proposals will require the submission of proposed costs by phases. The resultant contract will reflect costs by phases, require the contractor to identify incurred costs by phases, establish delivery schedules by phases, and require the written acceptance of each phase. The provisions of the Limitation of Cost clause shall apply to the estimated cost of each phase. Contractors shall not be allowed to incur costs for phases which are dependent upon successful completion of earlier phases until written acceptance of the prior work is obtained from the contracting officer.

(4) Elements of the statement of work. The elements of the statement of work will vary with the objective, complexity, size, and nature of the acquisition. In general, it should cover the following matters as appropriate.

(i) A general description of the required objectives and desired results. Initially, a broad, nontechnical statement of the nature of the work to be performed. This should summarize the actions to be performed by the contractor and the results that the Government expects.

(ii) Background information helpful to a clear understanding of the requirements and how they evolved. Include a brief historical summary as appropriate. Include pertinent legislative history, related contracts or grants,

and the relationship to overall program objectives.

(iii) A detailed description of the technical requirements. A comprehensive description of the work to be performed to provide whatever details are necessary for prospective offerors to submit meaningful proposals.

(iv) Subordinate tasks or types of work. A listing of the various tasks or types of work (it may be desirable in some cases to indicate that this is not all-inclusive). The degree of task breakout is directly dependent on the size and complexity of the work to be performed and the logical groupings. A single cohesive task should not be broken out merely to conform to a format. Indicate whether the tasks are sequential or concurrent for offeror planning purposes.

(v) Phasing. When phasing is applicable, describe in detail the work or effort required in each phase and the criteria for determining whether the next phase will take place. If one or more phases contain subordinate tasks or types of work, the preceding information in paragraph (c)(4) (iv) may be incorporated into the part.

(vi) Reference material. All reference material to be used in the conduct of the project, such as technical publications, reports, specifications, architect or engineering drawings, etc., that tell how the work is to be carried out must be identified. Applicability should be explained, and a statement made as to where the material can be obtained.

(vii) Level of effort. When a level of effort is required, the number and type of personnel required should be stated. If known, the type and degree of expertise should be specified.

(viii) Special requirements (as applicable). An unusual or special contractual requirement, which would impact on contract performance, should be included as a separate section. Such items could include required place(s) of performance or unusual travel requirements. Clearance requirements, such as forms clearance, should be addressed.

(ix) Deliverables reporting requirements. All deliverables and/or reports must be clearly and completely described. For example, in a Final Study Report it is important to indicate what

areas the report should cover and the criteria for use in accepting the final report to determine if the contract objectives have been satisfied. It is important to require the preparation and submission of progress reports (administrative, technical and financial) to reflect contractor certification of satisfactory progress. If possible, the reports should be coordinated in such a manner as to provide a correlation between costs incurred and the state of completion. All delivery and reporting requirements shall include the quantities, the place of delivery, and time of delivery.

307.170 Program training requirements.

(a) Chapter 8-95 of the General Administration Manual (GAM) addresses the general parameters for acquisition planning as stated in 307.104. In conjunction with the principles of proper acquisition planning, the Department has established training courses for program officials to promote expedient program management in the planning and other pertinent aspects of the acquisition process. Chapter 8-96 of the GAM sets forth specific training requirements for program officials as follows:

(1) All program personnel selected to serve as project officer for an HHS contract shall have successfully completed either the Department's basic or advanced "Program Officials Guide to Contracting" training course, or an equivalent course (see paragraph (b), below).

(2) At least fifty percent of the HHS program personnel performing the function of technical proposal evaluator on a technical evaluation team or panel for any competitively solicited HHS contract shall have successfully completed the basic "Program Officials Guide to Contracting" training course, or an equivalent course (see paragraph (b), below). This requirement applies to the initial technical proposal evaluation and any subsequent technical evaluations that may be required.

(b) Determination of course equivalency shall be made by the principal official responsible for acquisition. The contracting officer is responsible for ensuring that the project officer

and technical proposal evaluators have successfully completed the required training discussed in 307.170-2.

307.170-1 Policy exceptions.

(a) Small contracting activities. (1) Program personnel designated to serve as project officers and technical proposal evaluators for contracts which originate in offices having a mission which only incidentally and infrequently involves the generation of contract requirements (i.e., normally less than three contract requirements per fiscal year and in an amount not exceeding $100,000 per contact) are not required to have completed the prerequisite training course, although it is recommended.

(2) As a substitute for the training, contracting officers servicing these program offices are required to ensure, as a minimum, that program personnel designated to serve as project officers and technical proposal evaluators have read and studied the HHS publication, "The Negotiated Contracting Process-A Guide for Project Officers," and fully understand their responsibilities. The contracting officer shall require these program personnel to furnish written certification that they have fulfilled this requirement prior to discharging the duties of project officer or technical proposal evaluator.

(b) Urgent requirements. In the event there is an urgent requirement for a specific individual to serve as a project officer and that individual has not successfully completed the prerequisite training course, the principal official responsible for acquisition may waive the training requirement and authorize the individual to perform the project duties, provided that:

(1) The individual first meets with the cognizant contracting officer to review the HHS publication, "The Negotiated Contracting Process-A Guide for Project Officers," and to discuss the important aspects of the contracting-program office relationship as appropriate to the circumstances; and

(2) The individual attends the next scheduled basic or advanced training course, as appropriate.

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