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PART 5307—ACQUISITION PLANNING

SUBPART 5307.1—ACQUISITION PLANS

5307.103 Agency-head responsibilities.

(c)(i)(C) Written acquisition plans (APs) shall be prepared for the following:

(I) Single Acquisition Management Plans (SAMPs). All ACAT I and II programs as defined by DODD 5000.1, Defense Acquisition, and DOD 5000.2-R, Mandatory Procedures for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) and Major Automated Information System (MAIS) Acquisition Programs, are required to prepare a Single Acquisition Management Plan (SAMP). SAMPs are optional for all other programs and acquisitions. Whenever a SAMP is prepared, it shall meet the requirements of an acquisition plan as described in the FAR and have an approval process that takes precedence over the acquisition plan approval process;

(II) All modifications when the estimated total acquisition cost is $10 million or more;

(III) Other acquisitions involving Other Contracting at the discretion of the principal staff officer responsible for contracting at the MAJCOM headquarters; and

(IV) APs for Major, Selected, or Other Programs shall include all major subsystems, Government-furnished equipment, major component contractual actions, and all other contracts which have a significant effect on the total program.

5307.104-90 Air Force procedures for acquisition plans.

(a) General. MAJCOMs, FOAs, and DRUs shall prescribe procedures for preparing, coordinating, updating, and implementing APs and shall establish review, signatory, and approval levels for APs that do not require approval by the SPE, PEO, or DAC.

(b) Approval requirements.

(1) Acquisition plans for the following categories of acquisitions require SPE approval. SPE approval authority has been delegated, without power to redelegate, to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition and Management) (PDASAF(A&M)).

Acquisition Category*

Dollar Threshold

(i) First time competitive

$200 million

(ii) Non-competitive, except follow-on production

$200 million

(iii) R&D, except when the Air Force is serving as contracting agent to acquire basic and applied research for another agency (e.g., ARPA) under broad agency announcement procedures as defined in FAR 6.102 (d)(2)

$25 million

(iv) Production acquisitions that require a D&F pursuant to FAR 6.202 (b)

$15 million in any fiscal year or

$30 million cumulative

(v) Communications and Computer Acquisitions not integral to a weapon system. If $25 million or more are RDT&E funds, (iii) above applies

$100 million

* If an acquisition fits in more than one category, the category with the lower dollar threshold shall apply.

(2) PEOs and DACs shall approve all acquisition plans for programs under their purview, except those identified in (1) above. This authority may be redelegated for acquisitions below $25 million.

(3) Other Contracting and programs not assigned to a PEO or DAC, which do not require SPE approval, shall be approved in accordance with the procedures established under (a) above.

(c) APs requiring Final Acquisition Action Approval (FAAA) by the SPE.

(1) SAF/AQCS furnishes SPE AP approval to the contracting activity by memorandum entitled, "Final Acquisition Action Approval (FAAA)," outlining any restrictions (exceptions) which have been imposed. SAF/AQCS prepares and processes FAAAs. SAF/AQCS shall monitor clearance of the exceptions noted in the FAAA. When an AP and justification and approval (J&A) require SPE approval, the J&A documentation should be submitted concurrently with the AP. Anticipate 45 days for staffing and issuance of the FAAA after receipt by SAF/AQCS.

(2) When AP approval by the SPE is required, the following procedures apply:

(i) APs requiring SPE approval shall be signed by the contracting officer, chief of the contracting office, and program manager. Additionally, for AFMC PEO actions, APs requiring SPE approval shall be signed by the BOCO and for AFMC DAC actions, by the Senior Center or Laboratory Contracting Official. The responsible PEO or DAC shall also sign the AP prior to submitting it to SAF/AQCS for SPE approval. For Other Contracting and programs not assigned to a PEO or DAC, signature shall be in accordance with command procedures.

(ii) For Major and Selected Programs, the PEO shall forward the AP to SAF/AQCS prior to solicitation release. SAF/AQCS shall begin internal review of the AP upon receipt from the PEO and will release the document for SAF/AQ staffing. Within five work days of receiving the AP from the PEO, SAF/AQCS shall send the PEO and MAJCOM contracting activities written authorization to release the solicitation on the 15th calendar day after SAF/AQCS received the plan. The contracting officer may release the solicitation on or after the specified date, unless directed otherwise by the SPE. SAF/AQCS shall verbally communicate SPE direction to stop release of the solicitation, followed up by written cancellation or amendment of the authorization to the PEO. In this case, the contracting officer shall not release the solicitation until the FAAA is signed or a revised date is specified in the amendment. After release of the solicitation, negotiations shall not commence (see 5306.003) nor shall sealed bids be received until the FAAA is signed by the SPE.

(iii) For AFMC Major Programs not assigned to a PEO and Other Programs, procedures for processing the AP after signature by the DAC are the same as for PEO programs, except authorization and SPE directions will be sent to the Senior Center Contracting Official.

(iv) For Other Programs assigned outside AFMC. After signature the AP will be submitted to the MAJCOM principal staff officer (or designee) responsible for contracting at the command headquarters, who has been delegated the responsibility for initial reviews as a service to the ASAF(A). The AP will be forwarded by the MAJCOM to SAF/AQCS within 30 calendar days or when problems have been resolved, whichever occurs earlier. The MAJCOM’s transmittal letter will address any unresolved issues and include a recommendation regarding solicitation release. Within five work days of receiving the AP from the MAJCOM, SAF/AQCS will send the MAJCOM contracting activity a written authorization to release the solicitation immediately, unless major issues precluding solicitation release have been identified and the SPE has directed that the solicitation not be released. SAF/AQCS shall verbally communicate SPE direction to stop release of the solicitation followed up by written cancellation or amendment of the authorization. In this case, the contracting officer shall not release the solicitation until the FAAA is signed or a revised release date is specified in the amendment. After the solicitation has been issued, negotiations shall not commence (see 5306.003) nor shall sealed bids be received until the FAAA is signed by the SPE.

(v) For Other Contracting, the HCA (or designee) may authorize solicitation release after the AP is reviewed for adequacy and forwarded to SAF/AQCS. For AFMC, the procedures for processing the AP after signature are the same as for PEO programs. After the solicitation is issued, negotiations shall not commence (see 5306.003) nor shall sealed bids be received until the FAAA is signed.

(vi) For acquisitions citing the authority in FAR 6.302-2 (unusual and compelling urgency), the contracting officer shall not release the solicitation until approval is received, except when approval will unreasonably delay the acquisition. When justified in accordance with FAR 6.302-2 (c)(1), the solicitation may be released and the acquisition cycle continued (including contract award) prior to the signing of the FAAA. The contracting activity shall request the FAAA as early as possible.

(vii) For full and open competition acquisitions that support quick reaction capability, the contracting officer may release the solicitation and continue the acquisition cycle up to, but not including contract award, prior to the signing of the FAAA. The contracting activity shall request the FAAA as early as possible.

(d) Review and coordination of AFMC acquisition plans.

(1) For AFMC PEO acquisitions, the SCCO shall be afforded three work days to review/comment on all APs for development/production actions (see 5302.101) of $25 million or more and APs for support/sustainment actions (see 5302.101) of $15 million or more prior to submission to the PEO or other approval authority, if delegated.

(2) For AFMC DAC acquisitions, all APs for development/production actions (see 5302.101) exceeding $25 million and APs for support/sustainment actions (see 5302.101) exceeding $15 million shall be coordinated with the Senior Center or Laboratory Contracting Official.

(e) Changes. If a change occurs to the program which significantly affects the AP (e.g., scope, dollar value, contract type), the contracting officer shall submit a revised AP to the approval authority with a statement summarizing the changes. The revised AP should reflect the current status of the action(s) described. Changes in the AP shall be identified by a vertical bar in the right margin.

5307.104-91 Acquisition Strategy Panels (ASPs).

(a) General. An ASP shall be held for all acquisitions that require a written acquisition plan in accordance with DFARS 207.103 (c) and 5307.103 (c)(i)(C), even if the acquisition plan requirement is satisfied by a Single Acquisition Management Plan (SAMP), except acquisitions for basic and applied research (6.1 and 6.2 funds) and replenishment parts. MAJCOMs, FOAs, and DRUs shall prescribe procedures for conducting ASPs. In general, each ASP should:

(1) Take place as early as possible in the acquisition planning process to develop a systematic and disciplined approach to achieve an efficient/effective acquisition; and

(2) Address user requirements, final acquisition objectives, and the alternative methods to attain those objectives. The ASP shall address all relevant requirements of the written acquisition plan (see FAR 7.105) and any other considerations needed to fully assess the planned acquisition approach.

(b) Responsibility for convening the ASP. For Major, Selected, and Other Programs, the System Program Director (SPD), Program Director (PD), or Program Manager (PM) has responsibility for convening the ASP. For other acquisitions, the contracting officer is responsible for initiating the ASP, which will be convened in accordance with procedures established in the MAJCOM, FOA, or DRU Supplement.

(c) ASP chairpersons. SAF/AQ is the ASP chairperson for ACAT I programs; however, SAF/AQ may delegate this authority to PEOs/DACs. PEOs/DACs are the ASP chairperson for their assigned non-ACAT I programs; however, this authority may be delegated (see 5301.601-92 (d)). ASPs for other acquisitions in AFMC shall be chaired in accordance with procedures in the command supplement. In MAJCOMs other than AFMC, the MAJCOM Director of Contracting will chair the ASP. In other organizations, ASPs will be chaired in accordance with procedures in the organization’s supplement. The ASP chairperson may designate another official to chair an ASP and may approve waivers to ASP requirements, in accordance with procedures in MAJCOM, FOA, or DRU Supplements. The rationale and approval for all ASP waivers must be documented in the contract file.

(d) ASP membership. The ASP chairperson has responsibility for selecting ASP members, as follows:

(1) Legal, engineering, comptroller, and contracting communities and the user organization(s) shall be invited to participate;

(2) For acquisitions for ACAT programs, the ASP members will be from the applicable standing ASP created from the test, legal, operations, engineering, contracting/competition advocate, comptroller, logistics/sustainment, and program management areas and a representative of the Defense Contract Management Command; and

(3) Additional members should be invited as appropriate for the specific acquisition. The ASP chairperson should consider representatives from other disciplines, such as test and evaluation, logistics, manufacturing, quality assurance, competition advocate, base environmental, safety, and bioenvironmental and medical (occupational health).

(e) The ASP chairperson shall ensure that minutes are prepared and distributed to principal attendees and that written recommendations are provided to the program manager or other individual with responsibility for preparing the acquisition plan or Single Acquisition Management Plan (SAMP). Written acquisition plans or SAMPs should be consistent with ASP discussions and any recommendations. Copies of the ASP minutes, the written recommendations, and disposition of any written recommendations should be included in the contract file.

(f) The person responsible for convening the ASP should consider reconvening the ASP if significant changes in program baseline or acquisition strategy occur.

5307.105 Contents of written acquisition plans.

(a) Acquisition background and objectives. The AP preparer shall ensure that reviewers at all management levels have access to documents referenced in the AP. Accomplish this by providing the document, reproducing and attaching pertinent extracts, or quoting the reference within the body of the plan, whichever is most practical. Documents may be referenced provided they can be made available for immediate use if needed by the reviewing officials.

(1) Statement of need.

(A) Applicability of a Decision Coordinating Paper (DCP), Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), and/or Internal Service Reviews. Use the AP to develop the acquisition methodology contained in the DCP and to support review actions of the Air Force Systems Acquisition Review Council (AFSARC) or the DAB. The plan also becomes an integral part of the program management plan (PMP).

(b) Plan of action.

(16) Security considerations. APs which contain information which should not be released outside the Government shall be marked "FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY" and handled accordingly.

(17) Other considerations. If any contract(s) under the AP will authorize decentralized ordering (i.e., ordering by a contracting office at any other location), describe the oversight procedures for tracking orders, enforcement of contract terms and conditions, and prevention/identification of abuses, such as issuance of out-of-scope orders.

SUBPART 5307.3—CONTRACTOR VERSUS GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

5307.306 Evaluation.

(b) Negotiation. See 5308.705 (f) for procedures relating to cost comparison studies involving the acquisition of services from workshops for the blind or severely disabled.

5307.390 Implementation of the right of first refusal.

(a) For detailed procedures related to contracting officer responsibilities in implementing the right of first refusal, see AFP 26-12, Guidelines for Implementing the Air Force Commercial Activities Program.

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