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The Contracting Officer


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Here is an interesting article from The Dickson Law Review of Penn State University:

The Contracting Officer: his Authority to Act and His Duty to Act Independently, 70 Dick L. Rev. 333, 1965 - 66.

(Note the date on the article. It was written before passage of The Contract Disputes Act of 1978.)

https://ideas.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/dlra/vol70/iss3/5/

A quote: "Only when the contracting officer, who is the central figure in the procurement process, acts independently, responsibly and fairly, can both the Government and the contractor achieve economy and efficiently."

Is the contracting officer still "the central figure in the procurement process"?

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9 minutes ago, Vern Edwards said:

Is the contracting officer still "the central figure in the procurement process"?

I want to say yes, but I cannot. Sure, the CO is still needed to make things happen (obligation/admin/termination), but not for the reason outlined in the quote (Economy & Efficiency). 

COs are expected to be more of "yes men" these days than anything else. It is now more about pushing the current director's, executive's or administration's political agenda/opinion then it is doing what is the best business decision. Our job is only to make sure it get's through without a protest. 

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An additional quote from the same paragraph:

"The availability of complete administrative review of a contracting officer's decision may sometimes tempt the contracting officer to follow subnormal procedures in the processing of a dispute and to give less than his best attention to his decision."

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In my experience and almost without exception, today's CO is there to "protect the government's interests" and has little (if any) desire to act independently.

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19 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

Is the contracting officer still "the central figure in the procurement process"?

Intended as so (FAR 1.602).  In reality it depends.   On what?   

The agency.  My view is based on experiences during my career and anecdotally through discussions with current CO's where it still depends on what agency the CO is with.   

And the CO.  A rabbit hole that is often discussed throughout WIFCON Forum threads.

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Good article and definately pertinent and approximate when I started in this field.  But the role and responsibilities have changed over time.  When this article was written, COs pretty much have sole responsibility for contract award.  Outside of major systems and R&D, most contracts were awarded solely on price based on offeror compliance with specifications and/or statements of work.  Sealed bidding was the required method of award unless an exception for negotiation applied.  Contractors and government worked at arms length and collaboration wasn’t as common.

Now COs often as viewed as “business brokers.”  Choices of approaches are many - GSA Schedule, IDIQs, OTA, assisted acquisitions, MIPRs, relatively high dollar levels for commercial items using SAP, and on and on.  Technical/price trade offs are common and program offices are generally responsible for the bulk of evaluations.  If a program office isn’t satisfied with support at their agency, they can switch to another office.  COs are expected to provide advice and assistance and not sit back to wait until a complete “ready req” comes in.

CO respect often gets earned through coming up with strategies that are quick and produce needed results.  COs that sit back and quote regulations why something can’t be done are viewed negatively.  COs that set the tone for good working relationships with industry, agency management, and program offices are sought out.  

Times are different along with expectations and responsibities.  But some COs are still the central figure - earned and not because they are vested with a warrant
 

 

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