507.7102 Analyses of Alternatives (AoAs).

(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.