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DARS PART 9 -- CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS



PART 9 -- CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUBPART 209.1--RESPONSIBLE PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTORS

209.104-1 General standards.

SUBPART 9.2 — QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS

9.202 Policy.

9.206 Acquisitions subject to qualification requirements.

9.206-1 General.

SUBPART 9.3 -- FIRST ARTICLE TESTING AND APPROVAL

9.305 Risk.

SUBPART 9.4 -- DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION, AND INELIGIBILITY

209.405 Effect of listing.

9.406-3 Procedures.

SUBPART 9.5 -- ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSULTANT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

9.500 Scope of subpart.

9.501 Definition.

9.502 Applicability.

9.503 Waiver.

9.504 Contracting officer responsibilities.

9.505 General rules.

9.507 Solicitation provisions and contract clause.

9.508 Examples.

PART 9 -- CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

SUBPART 209.1--RESPONSIBLE PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTORS

209.104-1 General standards.

(g)(i) Ownership or control by the government of a terrorist country.

(C) Submit waiver requests for Secretary of Defense approval through Director, Network Services to PLD/ Contract Policy (PL21). PL21 serves as the liaison between DISA and Deputy Director, DPAP/ Contract Policy and International Contracting (CPIC) to include logging and tracking of the request once it has been submitted to CPIC. Properly identify in the subject line “Waiver of the Prohibition of an Award to a Contractor with Ownership or Control by the Government of a Terrorist Country, DFARS 209.104-1(g)(i)(B).”

(ii) Ownership or control by a foreign government when access to proscribed information is required.

(C) Submit waiver request and proposed NID for Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD(I)) approval through Director, Network Services to PL21. PL21 serves as the liaison between DISA and DPAP/USD(I) to include logging and tracking of the request once it has been submitted to DPAP. Properly identify in the subject line “Waiver of the Prohibition of an Award to a Contractor with Ownership or Control by a Foreign Government with Proscribed Information Access, DFARS 209.104-1(g)(ii)(C).”

SUBPART 9.2 — QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS

9.202 Policy.

(a)(1) The "designee" is the HCA.

(b) The "other official" is the HCA.

(e) The "designee" is the HCA.

9.206 Acquisitions subject to qualification requirements.

9.206-1 General.

(b) The designee is the HCA.

(e)(3) Whenever a decision is made not to enforce a qualification requirement, the contracting officer (KO) shall request concurrence from the activity that established the requirement.

SUBPART 9.3 -- FIRST ARTICLE TESTING AND APPROVAL

9.305 Risk.

The HCO is the approving official.

SUBPART 9.4 -- DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION, AND INELIGIBILITY

209.405 Effect of listing.

(a) The contracting officer shall provide a written determination explaining the compelling reason to continue to do business with contractor’s who are suspended or debarred to PL21 Policy Branch for review and coordination with the HCA for approval before submitting it to GSA’s Office of Acquisition Policy.

(b)(ii) The contracting officer shall provide a written determination for a Code “H” exemption to PL21 Policy Branch for review and coordination with the HCA for approval before notifying the Environmental Protection Agency.

9.406-3 Procedures.

(a) Investigation and referral. Refer any matter that may be a cause for debarment to the HCA. The HCA shall (1) consult with DISA GC regarding an appropriate investigation method, (2) request an investigation by the DoD Inspector General or other office, and (3) if warranted by the results of the subsequent investigation, prepare a formal recommendation to debar and submit the recommendation to the debarment official (DISA GC).

(b) Decision making process. Based on a review of the recommendation to debar, the GC initiates proposed debarment by taking the actions listed in FAR 9.406-3(c). The contractor shall be given an opportunity to submit, in person, in writing, or through a representative, information and argument in opposition to the proposed debarment. For actions listed in FAR 9.406-3(b)(2), the contractor shall be given the opportunity to make a presentation of matters in opposition, as provided in FAR 9.406-3(b)(2)(i). The presentation shall be conducted before the GC or a designee. If the contractor’s presentation of matters in opposition raises a genuine dispute over material facts, DISA GC may withdraw the proposed debarment or require additional fact-finding that shall be conducted in accordance with the principles in FAR 9.406-3(b).

SUBPART 9.5 -- ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSULTANT CONFLICTS

OF INTEREST

9.500 Scope of subpart.

(a) Establishes policies and procedures for identifying, avoiding, mitigating, evaluating, and resolving Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest (OCCI) prior to and after contract awards. To avoid the potential for OCCIs or related appearance issues, government and industry must share a common understanding of the ground rules.

(b) Provides a non-inclusive list of examples of OCCI.

9.501 Definition.

An OCCI means that a relationship or situation exists whereby an offer, subcontractor, or consultant has past, present, or currently planned personal or financial interests that either directly or indirectly may (1) diminish the ability to give impartial, technically sound, objective assistance, and advice and/or (2) result in the contractor having an unfair competitive advantage over others competing for the contract. The requirements found in the Federal Acquisition Regulation 9.5 subpart titled "Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest," embody two underlying concerns. One involves a competition-related self-interest or bias, and the other relates to an unfair advantage through access to proprietary information about a competitor or source-selection information not available to all competitors. The regulation is designed to help KOs and potential offerors/contractors recognize and avoid such conflicts.

9.502 Applicability.

This subpart applies to all DISA’s contracting organizations, prime contractors, and subcontractors.

9.503 Waiver.

The HCA is authorized to approve the waiver of any general rule or procedure of FAR Subpart 9.5, subject to prior consultation with DISA’s General Counsel (GC).

9.504 Contracting officer responsibilities.

(a)(1) Ensure the OCCI clause is incorporated into all solicitations and resulting contracts for supplies and services.

(2) Review the contractors’ Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest Plan (OCCIP) to determine if a potential or actual conflict exists.

(b) Seek General Counsel’s (GC) advice when making an OCCI determination.

(d) Use the remediation procedures in FAR Subpart 9.506 if appropriate to identify and evaluate potential conflict(s) of interest and/or to develop recommended actions. If a prime or subcontractor breaches any of the OCCI restrictions, does not disclosure, and/or misrepresents any relevant facts required to be disclosed concerning the contract, the KO may terminate the contract, disqualify the Contractor from subsequent related contractual efforts, and pursue any remedies as may be permitted by the contract or law.

9.505 General rules.

The general rules in FAR 9.505-1 through 9.505-4 prescribe limitations on contracting as the means of avoiding, neutralizing, or mitigating OCCI. Some examples are provided in FAR Subpart 9.508.

9.507 Solicitation provisions and contract clause.

(S-90) DISA’s ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSULTANT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (OCCIs) clause, DARS 52.209-9000, must be inserted into every DISA solicitation and resulting contract for supplies and services.

9.508 Examples.

(S-90) Contractor participation in more than one of the following areas may give rise to an unfair competitive advantage resulting from access to advance acquisition planning, source selection sensitive or proprietary information. Furthermore, contractor participation in more than one area may give rise to a real or apparent loss of contractor impartiality and objectivity where its advisory or planning assistance in one area potentially affects its present or future participation in another area. The following is not an inclusive list, but represents some potential circumstances where OCCIs may occur:

(1) Providing systems engineering, technical direction, product support. Services or end items required to meet the mission requirements of DISA’s activities and programs. This includes, for example: concept exploration and development; system design/engineering; system development and integration; COTS procurement and integration; internal development testing; deployment; installation; operations; and maintenance. When a contractor provides such services but does not have contractual responsibility for related development, integration, assembly or production for that system, that contractor is prohibited from competing either as a prime or subcontractor for a contract to supply that system.

(2) Preparing specifications and work statements. With certain exceptions, a contractor who assists with, prepares, and/or furnishes a statement of work (SOW) and/or specifications for a government requirement may not compete for the subsequent award because this may give that contractor an unfair competitive advantage. This includes, for example: requirements analysis, acquisition support, budget planning and management, business process reengineering, program planning and execution support, and independent technical management support.

(3) Providing evaluation services. Contractors cannot evaluate their own proposals, products and services, or those of their market competitors whose development or marketing contractor is or has been substantially involved because the contractor is placed in a position whereby their judgment may be biased. For example, it would be inappropriate for a vendor to assist in the evaluation of proposals if it will financially benefit from the selection of one company over another. Further, increased attention should be given to situations where a vendor is in a position to assess or evaluate a competitor where detrimental findings could serve, directly or indirectly, the interest of the advising vendor. Therefore, all parties involved must ensure proper safeguards are taken and integrity of the process to protect the government's best interest.

(4) Obtaining access to proprietary information. When a contractor requires proprietary information from others to perform on a Government contract and can use the leverage of the contract to obtain it, the contractor may gain an unfair competitive advantage unless restrictions are imposed. These restrictions protect the information and require companies to provide it when appropriate and necessary for contract performance. For example, services which, by their very nature, give the Contractor or Subcontractor access to extensive data about the contracts of other DISA contractors. Such an advantage could be perceived as an unfair by a competing vendor who is not given similar access to the same relevant information.

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