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1. How long will it take to get my contract in place once a complete request package is submitted to the RSPO? It depends on the dollar amount of contract and the contracting office guidelines.
2. How much will this contract cost my project/program? The costs will include: Labor, other direct costs (if applicable), vendor fees (if applicable), contract agency fees (if applicable). Indirect costs are generated by contract expenditures. While not a contract cost, they are an associated expenditure on the reimbursable account. The Independent Government Estimate (IGE) template will help you estimate contract costs for your contract. A worksheet (Excel) for calculating indirect is also provided.
3. What is a Statement of Work (SOW)? A document that specifically defines tasks, deliverables, time period and costs for a proposed contract.
4. What are deliverables? An end product that is the result of a contractor’s work on a task. Examples might be a draft report, programming code executing a defined process, or effective administrative support.
5. When is a sole source justification (SSJ) required? When supplies or services are procured without competition (when a source is identified with the contract request).
6. How do I complete a SSJ? Templates are provided. The requestor must define: 1) what is unique about the requirement and 2) what is unique about the requested source in being the only available source to provide the defined requirement. A market survey of at least two other vendors who provide the same or similar goods or services must be completed with the sole course justification. The market survey determines price reasonableness.
7. What is contractor registration? An individual or company who wants to do business with the federal government (and therefore NPS) must be registered vendors. This includes registering with Dun and Bradstreet and Central Contractor Registration.
8. Can the contractor travel using DTS or on Invitational Travel Orders? No. Travel must be included in the SOW and funded before a contractor is authorized to travel.
9. What if the work is classified? DD 254 Contract Security Classification (PDF) must be included in the contract request package. The RSPO contracts staff will route the package to the NPS Security Office who ensure that security requirements are met.
10. What contracting vehicles or agencies are available? It depends on DoD and Navy regulations, the nature of the work and the time required to put the contract in place, among other factors. At this time, FISC and GSA are the contracting agencies available to NPS.
11. When can a contractor start working? A contractor can only start work after the contract has been awarded. If a contractor begins work before this occurs, there will be an unauthorized commitment.
12. Who ‘supervises’ a contractor? The government representative cannot supervise a contractor. The government Technical Point of Contact provides technical direction to the contractor if required to complete the deliverable. If a prime vendor has provided a contractor for a task order, the Acceptor of Deliverables should provide feedback to the prime vendor POC who should then exercise supervision over the contractor.
13. What if the Acceptor of Deliverables is unavailable to approve invoices within the prescribed timetable? Will the contractor be paid? Yes. If the Acceptor of Deliverables is not available to respond to an invoice approval request from the RSPO contracts staff, the staff will approve the invoice. Certification will be required from the Acceptor of Deliverables upon return. If the invoice is disputed by the Acceptor of Deliverables at that point, the RSPO contracts staff will take action to stop payment until the issues are resolved.
14. What is the 51% rule (PDF)? According to the DoD Financial Management Regulations, if the reimbursable account funding a contract was received as a Project Order, then NPS faculty and staff must be able to perform not less than 51% of the total costs of the project/program. The ratio is calculated as follows: NPS labor, travel, supplies and equipment over the total costs of the project.
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