Fed-Speak: Government Acronyms & Glossary

Glossary

A glossary does not define its terms but rather, explains or characterizes them within the general context of their use. There are dozens of terms that reflect the government procurement environment, but few of them are subject to precise, unerring definition. So, while the following explanations and characterizations are sound, the vendor is cautioned to remember that this is a glossary, not a dictionary. While it is always instructive, and sometimes necessary, to search the law for the regulatory base for the specific meaning and application of terms, there are times when it is helpful to understand their fundamental usage. That is the objective here.

ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR DELIVERY WITHIN CONSIGNEE'S PREMISES (INSIDE DELIVERY) – a separate service charge placed on the purchase order (and subsequent invoice)--only when requested by an ordering activity--for delivery to an exact location within the delivery site, i.e., room, suite.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION - when used in connection with Equal Employment Opportunity, a positive and continuing effort to attract, recruit, promote, counsel, train, and hire minorities, demonstrated through results obtained.

AGGREGATE SALES - the total sales to the Government under a contract. The basis for comparison of Government discounts with commercial discounts given on the basis of estimated or previous actual sales to commercial firms: e.g., national accounts.

AUDIT - the systematic examination of records and documents and/or the securing of other evidence by confirmation, physical inspection, or otherwise, for one or more of the following purposes: determining the propriety or legality of proposed or consummated transactions; ascertaining whether all transactions have been recorded and are reflected accurately in accounts; determining the existence of recorded assets and inclusiveness of recorded liabilities; determining the accuracy of financial or statistical statements or reports and the fairness of the facts they present; determining the degree of compliance with established policies and procedures relative to financial transactions and business management; and appraising an accounting system and making recommendations concerning it.

BARGAINING - Negotiations are exchanges with the aim of having an offeror revise the proposal. It includes persuasion, alternation of assumptions and positions, give and take, and may apply to price, schedule, technical requirements, type of contract, or other terms of a proposed contract.

BASIS OF AWARD - refer to FAR 15.304, refers to award decision based on evaluation factors and significant subfactors that are tailored to the acquisition.

BEST AND FINAL OFFER - See PROPOSAL REVISIONS

BEST VALUE - represents the overall "best" solution which is achieved by the ordering activity selecting the lowest overall price offered depending on the circumstances of the buy, e.g., the relative importance of cost or price, special features, the amount of performance risk, urgency, trade-in considerations, warranty, maintenance availability, etc.; that is all terms and conditions considered.

When determining what is a "best value," the following factors may be considered:

• Special features of the supply or service required but not provided by a comparable supply/service
• Trade-in considerations
• Probable life of the item selected compared to that of another item
• Warranty considerations
• Maintenance availability
• Past performance
• Environmental and energy efficiency considerations

BLANKET PURCHASE AGREEMENTS (BPA) - is a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies by establishing "charge accounts" with qualified sources of supply. When an agency uses an established schedule BPA, they save time and money -- time because they are convenient, money because they reduce administrative costs and allow agencies to take advantage of higher level discounts.

DISCUSSIONS - are negotiations that take place after the establishment of a competitive range. The primary objective of discussions is to maximize the Government's ability to obtain best value, based on the requirement and evaluation factors in the solicitation (FAR 15.306(d))

FEDERAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (FedBizOpps) - A World Wide Web-based application that provides an interface with the Commerce Business Daily Net (CBDNet) for creating synopses and permitting the uploading of solicitation files. The FedBizOpps provides vendors with access to agency business opportunities, by allowing them to view and download synopses and solicitation documents.

FedBizOpps also allows vendors to register to receive e-mail notification of business opportunities in their area of interest.

INCIDENTAL ITEM - for administrative convenience, open market (non-contract) items may be added to a Federal Supply Schedule BPA or the individual task/delivery order if the items are clearly labeled as such on the order, all applicable acquisition regulations have been followed, and price reasonableness has been determined by the ordering activity for the open market items. These can be referred to as a non-schedule item or as an open market item; as such these are minor items that are needed, and cannot be easily or reasonably separated from the Federal Supply Schedule item.

INDUSTRIAL FUNDING FEE (IFF) - is a fee paid by the ordering activity to fund the cost of operating the Schedules program. Ordering activities pay this fee when they purchase items from a Federal Supply Schedule vendor with a contract containing industrial funding provisions. The fee is included in the price of the item and not as a separate line item, because the Contracting Officer and the offeror negotiated the industrial funding fee into the contract price before award was made.

MODIFICATIONS - to the contract means any written change in the terms and conditions of a contract (FAR 43.103)

NEGOTIATIONS - are exchanges between the Government and offerors undertaken with the intent of allowing an offeror to revise their proposal (FAR 43.002).

ORAL PRESENTATIONS - may substitute or augment the written information provided in the proposal (FAR 15.102 for full discussion of oral presentation procedures). Within restrictions on the scope of exchanges of information and without providing opportunities for proposal revisions, presentations need not constitute "discussions". During an oral presentation, the Government conducts discussions (FAR 15.306(d), the Government must comply with FAR 15.306 and 15.307.

PROPOSAL REVISIONS (FAR 15.307(b)) has replaced "Best and Final Offers (BAFO)". Final proposal revisions are less formal than BAFO's. Although the common cut-off date remains, requests need not be in writing. CO's shall inform the offerors that their final proposal revisions must be in writing and that the Government intends to award without obtaining further revisions (FAR 15.307(b)).

REVISION - is the offeror's opportunity to clarify and document understandings reached during negotiations. Rather than having an offeror continually update the proposal, the Contracting Officer can maintain control and be more efficient by covering all issues, then calling for the submission of a proposal revision. With the revised proposal in hand, the Contracting Officer will have a complete picture of the offer, evaluate its relative merit and be assured that all significant issues are covered and understood. Revisions should be submitted only on the request or permission of the CO (FAR 15.307).

SPECIAL ITEM NUMBER (SIN's) - SINs in multiple award schedules represent groups of generically similar (but not identical) products that are intended to serve the same general purpose. These products normally compete in the market place for the same customer's business, although they may provide various methods or techniques for accomplishing a particular task.