“Planner” means the person residing in the requirements office who initiates, coordinates and prepares written acquisition plans. The person may be in an individual program office or have responsibility for a number of such offices.

“Planning team” means a team of individuals formed to prepare individual elements of an acquisition plan. The team should be comprised of technical and professional representatives from the requirements customer, contracting, budget, counsel, small business technical advisors (SBTA), and other offices as warranted.

“Requirements office” means the internal GSA office that establishes and funds the agency need. If an organization outside of GSA establishes and funds the need, then the requirements office will be the GSA office that is managing the acquisition for that outside organization.

(a) The HCA must ensure that the planning team adheres to the requirements of FAR part 7 and this part.

(b) Approval thresholds.

(1) The following are the dollar value thresholds and the level of the approving official for approving acquisition plans or waiving written acquisition plans. The HCA may further limit approval authority for the approving officials. Thresholds include all options.

(2)Contracting activities shall provide notification to the Service-Level Acquisition Policy Office and to the SPE at spe.request@gsa.gov during the market research phase for acquisitions anticipated to be valued over $500 million.

(3)If the acquisition meets one of the following criteria, the planner must obtain HCA approval of the acquisition plan. HCAs may designate approval authority to a level no lower than the Contracting Director.

(i) Complex, critical to agency strategic objectives and mission, highly visible or politically sensitive.

(ii) An acquisition with which the contracting activity has little or no experience that may result in a need for greater oversight or risk management.

(iii) Actions using significantly changed methods (e.g., methods of procurement such as lease versus purchase, or methods of performance such as contractor versus Government personnel).

(iv) New construction, lease prospectus and alteration prospectus budget line items.

(v) Any acquisition that involves consolidation or bundling above $2 million.

(4) Acquisitions requiring additional transactional data reporting elements to those listed in subparagraph (b)(2) of clauses 552.216-75 and 552.238-80 Alternate I-

(i) Must be coordinated with the applicable category manager, and obtain approval by the HCA and SPE; and

(ii) Must provide the information at 501.304(b)(4) in the rationale for adding transactional data reporting elements.

(iii) The approval requirements in this subparagraph do not apply to additional data elements added to a task/delivery order or blanket purchase agreement. However, coordination with the applicable category manager is required.

(c) Sustainability Strategies. Strategies to either mitigate or adapt to climate change can be explored during acquisition planning and should be clearly documented within the acquisition plan (see 507.105). Some requirements may present more environmental opportunities than others. The Sustainable Facilities tool, available at sftool.gov may be used to identify sustainable attributes (products that are energy efficient, water efficient, or made from recycled materials).

(a) The planner shall:

(1) Comply with the requirements of FAR subpart 7.1 and this subpart, and coordinate with other members of the planning team as appropriate.

(2) Write the acquisition plan using all planning team members especially for complex or highly sensitive acquisitions.

(3) Review the acquisition history of the supplies and services.

(4) Review the description of the supplies, including (when necessary for adequate description) a picture, drawing, diagram, or other graphic representation.

(5) Coordinate with the Small Business Technical Advisor (SBTA) as necessary to fulfill the requirements of FAR 7.104(d) (See 519.202-1).

(6) Coordinate with the GSA Chief Information Officer (CIO) if the action involves GSA information technology and ensure acquisition plans are approved by the GSA CIO. Guidance for identifying the applicable GSA CIO point of contact can be found on GSA’s Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal. For interagency acquisitions involving information technology, see subpart  517.5.

(7) Obtain concurrence of the contracting officer, and approvals as required in paragraph 507.103 (b)(1).

(8) Coordinate with the Office of General Counsel on an as needed basis, but definitely for acquisition plans over $20 million.

(9) Ensure that an interagency agreement is in place in all agency specific clauses, terms and conditions are incorporated in the acquisition, when conducting purchases on behalf of other agencies.

(10) Coordinate, as necessary, with any designated sustainability point of contact for the requirement (see 504.7104).

(11) Follow sustainability policies and procedures specified in part  523 throughout the procurement.

(12) Coordinate with the contracting officer to ensure all INFORM components (see INFORM Guide) are integrated into the acquisition planning process. The acquisition plan must include the time necessary for orientation of acquisition stakeholders and potential evaluators to INFORM procedures and timeline commitments.

(13)Coordinate with the designated AbilityOne Representative (ABOR), as appropriate. The GSA ABOR team may be contacted at GSAABOR@gsa.gov. Coordination may be appropriate, but is not limited to, when —

Adding a product or service to the AbilityOne Procurement List (see FAR subpart 8.7, and subpart  508.7). The planner shall ensure the requirement is clearly defined and sufficient time is included in the acquisition schedule to allow for addition to the AbilityOne Procurement List; (i)

(ii)Providing subcontracting opportunities to AbilityOne nonprofit agencies; and

(iii)Including FAR 52.208-9 in a procurement (see FAR 8.005 and 508.005).

(b) The contracting officer shall:

(1) Ensure that acquisition planning and market research are performed for all acquisitions.

(2) Ensure all acquisition plans for applicable acquisitions per 515.370 contain the INFORM components.

(3) Ensure that a determination has been made on large-scale construction projects, as defined in FAR 22.502, whether to use Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) or submit an exception request. If an exception to the PLA is contemplated, the contracting officer shall follow the procedures at 522.570-1.

(4) Ensure that the contract file contains a copy of the approved acquisition plan.

(c) Applicability. All acquisitions exceeding the SAT, including orders and BPAs, require written acquisition plans.

(1) When awarding a single IDIQ contract, an acquisition plan will be developed for the base contract. The resulting orders should be covered by and reference the same acquisition plan.

(2) When awarding a BPA for a specific requirement and agency, an acquisition plan will be developed for the base contract. The resulting orders should be covered by and reference the same acquisition plan.

(3) For oral acquisition plans, see 507.105-70.

(d) For all acquisitions exceeding the SAT, the planner must provide a written acquisition plan. The plan, with required approvals, must be documented in the (electronic) contract file before solicitation issuance.

(a) The content prescribed in FAR 7.105 shall be used in the preparation of written acquisition plans. Except for 507.105(a)(1), where a particular element described in FAR 7.105 does not apply, the acquisition plan should read “not applicable.” The dollar value, complexity (e.g., commercial versus other than a commercial purchase) and method of acquisition (e.g., full and open competition versus task/delivery order) of the supplies and services to be acquired will affect the scope and breadth of the acquisition plan.

(1) Sustainable Acquisition Considerations. Whether it is in the requirements, the statement of work, the method of award, or the contract administration strategy, most acquisitions present opportunities to consider the impact on the environment. For all acquisitions that require a written acquisition plan, environmental impact shall be considered and documented in the acquisition plan (see FAR 7.105(b)(17)). When addressing FAR 7.105(b)(17) in the acquisition plan, the contracting officer should address the following:

(i) Statement of Work. When conducting acquisition planning, the contracting officer is encouraged to strategize with the program manager to consider the most environmentally preferable solutions for the Government. For example, this could include buying items with less packaging, greater recycled content, longer shelf life, lower carbon footprint, improved energy efficiency, less waste, or services that are performed remotely to reduce the federal carbon footprint (see 511.002(a) for additional guidance).

(ii) Contract Administration. Describe actions during contract administration to promote environmentally preferable solutions. For example, this could include any in-scope efficiencies that are identified after contract award that further reduce the Government’s carbon footprint.

(2) Contracting officers may not state that the sustainability section of the acquisition plan is “not applicable” without a full explanation as to why the acquisition does not present any sustainable acquisition opportunities.

(b)FAR 7.106 (major systems) and FAR 7.107 (consolidation, bundling, or substantial bundling) shall be addressed in the acquisition plan, if applicable.

(c)For leasehold interests in real property, a modified version of the contents of acquisition plans for leases is utilized.

(d)The requirement for a written acquisition plan may be waived by the appropriate level of an approving official listed in  507.103 (b). When the requirement for a written acquisition plan is waived, an oral acquisition plan is still required. The planner must obtain approval for the oral acquisition plan from the approving official.

(e) Software. If procuring software, specify the result of any software requirement alternatives analysis that has been completed in accordance with  511.170 (e).

(f) Cyber-supply chain risk management for GSA-funded acquisitions.

(1)The acquisition planner must discuss the scope of involvement (or planned involvement) of the GSA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), or representative, as part of the acquisition planning team, to ensure cyber-supply chain risk considerations are addressed on a best effort basis based on availability of resources if the acquisition may involve GSA information systems and any of the following are applicable:

(i) Hardware Devices. Hardware devices that connect to the GSA enterprise network (wired or wireless).

(ii) Critical Software. Critical software that meets the current definition of Critical Software Under Executive Order (EO) 14028, Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

(iii) Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 199 High-Impact Information System. A high-impact information system could be expected to have a severe or catastrophic adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals if there was a breach of security resulting in a potential loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

(iv) FIPS 199 Moderate-Impact Information System. A moderate-impact information system could be expected to have a serious adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, or individuals if there was a breach of security resulting in a potential loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

(v) FIPS 199 Low-Impact Information Systems. Unless 507.105(f)(1)(iii) or (iv) applies, this paragraph (f)(1) does not apply to the acquisition of low-impact information systems.

(2)For any other procurement requiring a written acquisition plan, the acquisition planner should discuss efforts to mitigate risks associated with cyber-supply chain risk management. Efforts and considerations could include:

(i)Market research efforts (see 510.002(c) and (d));

(ii)Procuring products or services already approved in GSA’s Enterprise Architecture Analytics and Reporting (GEAR) system;

(iii)Procuring products or services with a current GSA IT Assessment and Authorization (A&A, or Authority to Operate (ATO)) or Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Authorization;

(iv)Considering contracting vehicles that have already evaluated awardees supply chain methods and assurances; or

(v)Planning efforts with the GSA CISO.

(a) Concurrent with the transmittal of each statement of work or any modification to a statement of work for a service contract, the requirements office must provide the contracting officer a written determination that none of the functions to be performed are inherently governmental as defined in FAR subpart 7.5. The determination must include a statement that the requirement is not for functions similar to those listed under FAR 7.503(c).

(b) The requirements office must also review the examples of functions listed under FAR 7.503(d). While these functions are not inherently governmental, they may restrict the discretionary authority, decision-making responsibility, or accountability of Government officials using the contractor services or work products. If the services to be acquired may cause such restrictions, the acquisition plan must discuss the associated vulnerabilities, and address management controls to mitigate them.

(1)  These measures may include requiring special controls and safeguards to prevent improper personal services relationships, contractor personnel access to privileged or sensitive information, and/or confusion regarding the mistaking of contractor employees for Federal employees. For additional guidance see 537.104 Personal Service Contracts.

(2) The requirements office is directed to use FAR 37.104 and FAR subpart 37.5 and OFPP Policy Letter 93-1 for guidance in addressing these considerations.

(3) The HCA resolves any disagreement regarding the requirements official’s determination, following the guidelines in FAR subpart 7.5. The HCA may delegate this authority to a level not lower than the contracting director.

This subpart prescribes acquisition policies and procedures for use in acquiring information technology supplies, services and systems in support of a weapon system as part of a national security system, as defined by FAR 39.002.

(a)  Although GSA’s mission does not include the direct acquisition of weapon systems on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD), GSA contracting activities may procure information technology supplies, services and systems in support of a weapon system, which is part of a national security system (e.g., components, services to install and maintain weapon systems, ancillary supplies and services) when responding to a bona-fide requirement received from a requiring agency or program office.

(b)  Contracting Officers shall ensure that all requiring agency regulations and the policies and directives of The Committee on National Security Systems at https://www.cnss.gov/cnss/ are incorporated during the acquisition planning stage and are met before acquiring information technology supplies, services and systems in support of a weapon system as part of a national security system.

(c)  Employees responsible for or procuring information technology supplies, services and systems in support of a weapon system shall possess the appropriate security clearance associated with the level of security classification related to the acquisition. They include, but are not limited to contracting officers, contract specialists, project/program managers, and contracting officer representatives.

(a) OMB expects agencies to effectively manage contract spending through a balance of Government-wide, agency-wide, and local contracts; to reduce unnecessary contract duplication and cost avoidance; and to continue achievement of statutory small business goals and other statutory socioeconomic requirements (e.g., AbilityOne and Federal Prison Industries). Information about category management, including who the designated category managers are, and copies of OMB memos can be found on the Category Management, AoAs & Business Cases page on the GSA Acquisition Portal available at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.

(b) The contract tiered maturity model is a category management tool that can be used by agencies to evaluate their progress in aligning common spend with category management principles, in acquisition planning and market research, and in support of other actions and decisions:

(1) Tier 3 - Spend through best practice solutions.

(2) Tier 2 - Spend through multi-agency solutions or government-wide solutions that are not best practice solutions.

(3) Tier 1 - Spend through agency-wide mandatory use solutions.

(4) Tier 0 - Spend not aligned to category management principles.

(a) General. With exception to paragraph (b) of this section, an AoA shall be developed—

(1) For GSA-funded Tier 0 acquisitions over $50 million, including all options and incentives;

(2) For GSA-funded Tier 1 acquisitions over $100 million, including all options and incentives; or

(3) When establishing a new Tier 2 contract at any dollar value if the acquisition is not included in a governmentwide category management strategic plan approved by the Category Management Leadership Council at https://hallways.cap.gsa.gov/category-management-strategic-plans.

(b) Exceptions. An AoA is not required when the planned acquisition is for—

(1) Defense-centric spend;

(2) Agency-wide spend through FSS, including FSS BPAs;

(3) Any planned acquisition considered Tier 2 spending which is included in a governmentwide category management strategic plan approved by the Category Management Leadership Council at https://hallways.cap.gsa.gov/category-management-strategic-plans, since the AoA requirement is satisfied through the category management process;

(4) Any OMB designated Tier 3 solution, including those mandated by statute such as the GSA AutoChoice Program ( Pub. L. 107-217, Aug. 21, 2002) and GSA City Pair Program (CPP) ( Pub. L. 96-192, Feb. 15, 1980), since the AoA requirement is satisfied through the category management process;

(5) The establishment of a GWAC including the next generation of an existing GWAC (but see 507.7103); or

(6) Acquiring leasehold interests in real property (see part  570).

(c) Timeframe for development. An AoA shall generally be developed no less than 18-24 months prior to award. Prior to developing an AoA, the contracting officer shall follow their Service-level procedures and the process described in subpart 504.71 for purposes of notifying the SPE and, if applicable, scheduling an acquisition review.

(d) Coordination. The contracting officer shall coordinate with the applicable Service-level acquisition policy organization, category manager(s), and OSDBU in developing the AoA.

(e) Content. An AoA sample is available on the Category Management, AoAs & Business Cases topic page on the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal and may be used for developing an AoA. Each AoA shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Identification of the document as a “Analysis of Alternatives”;

(2) The name of the agency, the contracting activity, and requiring activity(ies);

(3) Description of the requirement;

(4) The spend category(ies) and subcategory(ies) associated with the planned acquisition;

(5) The contract/program name;

(6) The total contract value and spend;

(7) The contract tier;

(8) Identification of existing contracts, if applicable, and explanation of why they are not an appropriate solution;

(9) The contract type, product and service code(s), and North American Industry Classification Systems code(s); and

(10) Identification of the applicable OMB Justification Code as well as providing a justification explaining why a certain contract tier is not suitable (e.g., for Tier 0 planned acquisitions, provide an explanation as to why Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 solutions are not suitable);

(11) Any other information supporting the planned acquisition (e.g., service-level requirements); and

(12) Name(s) of key points of contacts for the planned acquisition.

(f) Approval.The SPE is the designated agency approving authority for AoAs.

(a) General. A business case is required for the establishment of a new Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) (see definition at FAR 2.101) including the next generation of an existing GWAC.

(b) Timeframe for development. A business case shall generally be developed no less than 18-24 months prior to award (see FAR 17.502-1(b) for additional details). Prior to developing a business case, the contracting officer shall follow their Service-level procedures and the process in subpart 504.71 for purposes of notifying the SPE and, if applicable, scheduling an acquisition review.

(c) Coordination. The contracting officer shall coordinate with the applicable Service-level acquisition policy organization, category manager(s), and the OSDBU when developing a business case.

(d) Business case Content. A GWAC Business Case Analysis sample is available on the Category Management, AoAs & Business Cases page on the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal and may be used for developing the respective business case. Each business case shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Identification of the document as a “Business Case Analysis for the Establishment a Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC)”;

(2) The name of the agency, the contracting activity, and requiring activity(ies);

(3) Description of the scope of the GWAC;

(4) The spend category(ies) and subcategory(ies) associated with the planned acquisition;

(5) The total contract value and spend;

(6) The anticipated contract tier;

(7) Identification of existing contracts, if applicable;

(8) The contract type, order type(s), product and service code(s), and North American Industry Classification Systems code(s);

(9) A discussion of the planned GWAC’s:

(i) Uniqueness;

(ii) Benefits;

(iii) Prices paid;

(iv) Small business opportunities;

(v) Anticipated demand;

(vi) Cost and fees;

(vii) Vendor management; and

(viii) Acquisition Gateway best practices.

(10) Any other information supporting the planned acquisition (e.g., service-level requirements); and

(11) Name(s) of key points of contacts for the planned acquisition.

(e) Approval. The SPE is the designated agency approving authority for business cases.

(a) General.

(1)OMB issues executive agent designations to Federal agencies to establish and operate GWACs, per 40 U.S.C. § 11302.

(2)OMB may issue executive agent designations to Federal agencies to establish and operate certain other programs consistent with applicable statutory requirements.

(3)OMB requires an alternative of analysis (see 507.7103) or business case (see 507.7103) as part of their executive agent designation review process.

(b) Exceptions. Any statute that designates an executive agent does not require a request to OMB, including the GSA AutoChoice Program ( Pub. L. 107-217, Aug. 21, 2002) and GSA City Pair Program (CPP) ( Pub. L. 96-192, Feb. 15, 1980).

(c) Timeframe for development. An executive agent designation shall generally be developed no less than 18-24 months prior to award (see FAR 17.502-1(b) for additional details). Prior to developing an executive agent designation request, the contracting officer shall follow their Service-level procedures and the process in subpart 504.71 for purposes of notifying the SPE and, if applicable, scheduling an acquisition review.

(d) Coordination. The contracting officer shall coordinate with the Service-level acquisition policy organization, the category manager(s), and OSDBU when developing an executive agent designation request.

(e) Approval. OMB approves executive agent designations. The Administrator must approve an executive agent designation request prior to its submission to OMB.