Procurement
Contract Review Board Standard Operating Procedures
Contract Review Board
Standard Operating Procedures
June 1999
Revised:
January 2001
December 2001
CONTRACT REVIEW BOARD
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
PURPOSE
This document establishes the standard operating procedures of the Acquisition and Property Division (PPD) Contract Review Board (CRB). This document
applies only to contract actions conducted by PPD and will supplement
and not replace, normal supervisory and Contracting Officer’s responsibilities.
Ten (10) working days shall be allowed for the review process.
SCOPE OF REVIEW
The CRB shall review actions outlined in these procedures to ensure
that the proposed action, when properly executed, will --
(1) Comply with established acquisition policies, procedures, and
regulations;
(2) reflect sound business judgement; and
(3) be in the best interest of the Government.
ACTIONS TO BE REVIEWED
The following actions shall be reviewed by the CRB:
(a) All solicitations exceeding $1 million (inclusive of option terms);
(note: does not include commercial item acquisitions since these actions
do not generate a solicitation document.)
(b) All proposed competitive range determinations associated with the
above solicitations;
(c) All proposed contract awards associated with the above solicitations;
and
(d) All proposed Terminations for Convenience or Termination for Default
actions.
(e) Any other solicitation, contract, or other documentation (see examples
below) which the Director or Branch Chiefs wish to be reviewed by the
CRB.
(f) All source procurement actions (this includes modification to existing
contracts or new contract actions).
OTHER FILE DOCUMENTATION
a. For acquisitions exceeding $1 Million, provide any associated Clearances
(i.e., Small Business, Advisory & Assistance, Information Technology,
etc.).
b. For all proposed contract awards associated with the solicitations
previously reviewed by the CRB, provide the Summary of Negotiations.
c. For eligible service contract requirements, you are required to
use performance-based acquisition strategies. In order to maximize performance,
innovation, and competition, the use of Performance-Based Service Contracts
(PBSC) should be used whenever possible. If an eligible service requirement
is NOT going to be acquired as a PBSC contract, then you must provide
a written justification which documents why the acquisition is not being
pursued as a PBSC contract.
d. For all sole source procurement actions, submit the Justification
for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) and proposed Commerce
Business Daily (CBD) notice for the Board's review. Should the subsequent
CBD notice result in any contractor response, then the Board shall further
review the pre-award documentation for the sole source modification
and contract action including the contractor(s) response and procurement
office documentation addressing why the action merits continued sole
source action.
BOARD MEMBERSHIP/ATTENDANCE
The CRB membership shall be three (3) individuals as follows:
- Chief of the Policy Branch (PB) (Chair);
- Branch Chief from either Contracts Branch (CB) or Procurement and
Property Branch (PPB), depending upon which Branch’s action is
being reviewed; and
- Procurement Analyst, Senior Contract Specialist, or a Level III
Contracting Officer (one of these will serve on the CRB).
In the absence of the Chief, Policy Branch, the individual who is designated
to serve as the Chairman of the CRB will be the Acting Chief, PB (or
another individual if identified at the discretion of the Director,
PPD or Chief, PB to chair the Board).
REVIEW BOARD PROCESS
1. Request for CRB Meeting. The contract
specialist or the contracting officer shall provide Exhibit A, "PPD
Contract Review Board Request Form," and Exhibit B, CRB Review
Form along with the solicitation, proposed contract action, and required
file documentation to the Secretary, PB. Three (3) copies of the document(s)
shall be provide for review.
2. Scheduling. Upon receipt of a fully
approved request (Exhibit A) and documentation, the Secretary, PB shall
--
- Contact the Branch Chiefs to determine who will serve as the CRB
member from the Procurement Analysts, Senior Contract Specialists
and Level III Contracting Officers;
- Schedule the CRB meeting, identify time and place, notify all participants
and distribute copies of the documentation to be reviewed;
- Maintain a file of CRB actions, findings, minutes and comments as
directed by the Chairperson.
3. Pre-Meeting Preparations. Each
CRB member shall ensure that a qualified replacement is provided if
they are unable to attend; thoroughly review the documents prior to
the meeting making written notes of problems and other questionable
items and provide comments, suggestions, and recommendations, as appropriate,
to improve the document and bring it into compliance with established
policy, procedure and regulation.
4. Conduct of Meeting. CRB members shall
discuss the action under review including any questions or problems
identified by individual members. The Contracting Officer or Contract
Specialist shall be present to explain or clarify any issues the CRB
wants to discuss. Recommendations shall be provided along with approval/disapproval
of the reviewed action. Findings and recommendations shall be documented
in Exhibit B. All disapprovals must be documented in the findings.
The Chairperson shall conduct the CRB meetings within the scope described
above and shall ensure consensus of CRB members in the approval, disapproval,
or conditional approval of the reviewed documents. The Chair will also
ensure agreement among board members that the recommended changes are
deemed either major or minor.
Minor changes. Minor changes involving grammar or typing
mistakes may be corrected by the Contracting Officer and the action
may be released without further CRB review.
Major changes. Major changes shall be disapproved by the CRB
and sent back to the Contracting Officer for revision or correction.
Examples of major changes include noncompliance with regulatory requirements,
significant deficiencies in the solicitation document, or an unsupported
award recommendation. Changes that are major in nature will require
a subsequent CRB review.
5. Resubmissions. If, at the completion
of the CRB review, it is concluded that the solicitation/contract must
be revised before it can be released, the Board shall disapprove the
release and recommend appropriate changes to the Contracting Officer.
The Contracting Officer shall revise the action, as appropriate, and
request a follow-on CRB meeting. At the time the document is resubmitted
for CRB review, the new request shall be identified as a Resubmission
in large letters at the top of Exhibit A and the causes of the earlier
rejection should be appended to the Exhibit to expedite a second review.
At the election of the Chairperson, the revised action may be reviewed
by the entire CRB membership or by the Chairperson alone.
6. Documentation of Findings. The approval,
disapproval, or conditional approval of the document by the CRB shall
be reflected on the CRB Review Form (Exhibit B) under Review Board
Findings. Each CRB reviewer shall affix his signature and date to
denote approval and concurrence with the decision.
When the CRB disapproves an action the CRB Review Form shall identify
those findings of specific elements which did not comply with established
acquisition policy, procedure, or regulation. The findings shall be
attached to Exhibit B. Other CRB recommendations may be appended thereto,
as necessary.
Conditional approval shall be granted by checking the appropriate block,
signature by participating reviewers, and identifying all conditions,
in writing, which must be completed before the action is released. The
contracting officer shall comply with the CRB recommendations and make
the required revisions. No further CRB review will be required prior
to release.
The Minutes of each CRB shall be the findings and documentation contained
in or accompanying the CRB Review Form (Exhibit B) and any written CRB
member comments on the action being reviewed. Each CRB member shall
note, in writing, any questions, problems, irregularities, deficiencies,
and omissions in the documentation identified during their review of
the action. (The Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer, whose action
is being reviewed by the CRB, is responsible for recording the Minutes.)
These findings will be discussed and resolved or result in a finding
of disapproval or conditional approval. The resolved and unresolved
issues which the CRB requires to be addressed by the contracting officer
shall be documented, in writing, by the contract specialist.
Any restrictions or limitations placed upon the action under review
by the CRB shall also be indicated on the CRB record. The reasons for
disapproval of any action shall be entered on Exhibit B and returned
to the Contracting Officer/Contract Specialist for action and resubmission.
Each resubmission will require a new record.
A copy of the completed CRB approval form shall be retained in PPD
Policy Branch. The original shall be placed in the contract file. At
the discretion of the Chair, a copy of the findings may also be forwarded
to the Director, PPD.
WAIVER OF CRB REVIEW REQUIREMENT
Waiver of the CRB requirement for any of the above actions may be granted
by the Director, PPD. A written request which includes the reasons why
the waiver is necessary must be submitted through the Chief, PB to the
Director, PPD.
EFFECTIVE DATE
The procedures outlined herein supersede all previous procedures and
become effective upon issuance and will be followed until revised or
canceled.
CRB Procedures Approved: ____/S/_________ _6/21/99__
Richard G. Irwin Date
Director, PPD
Exhibit A
PPD CONTRACT REVIEW BOARD REQUEST FORM
I. TO BE COMPLETED BY THE REQUESTING BRANCH
SOLICITATION/CONTRACT NO: ________________________________
DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICE: _________________________
__________________________________________________________
ESTIMATED DOLLAR AMOUNT (including options): _____________
TYPE OF ACTION TO BE REVIEWED: ___________________________
CONTRACT SPECIALIST: _____________________________________
(signature) (date)
CONTRACTING OFFICER: ______________________________________
(signature) (date)
BRANCH CHIEF: _____________________________________________
(signature) (date)
COMMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS: ____________________________________
___________________________________________________________
II. COMPLETED BY Policy Branch
CRB SCHEDULED FOR: __________________________
(Date and Time)
LOCATION: ___________________________________
MEMBERS: ______________________ _________________________
______________________ _________________________
______________________ _________________________
______________________ _________________________
EXHIBIT B
CRB REVIEW FORM
Date __________
ACTION REVIEWED (SOLICITATION/CONTRACT NO): ______________
CONTRACT SPECIALIST: _____________________________________
CONTRACTING OFFICER: _____________________________________
REVIEW BOARD FINDINGS
APPROVED __________ DISAPPROVED __________
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL subject to the conditions noted below
(Signature and date)
BOARD MEMBER: ___________________________________________
(signature) (date)
BOARD MEMBER: ___________________________________________
(signature) (date)
CHAIRPERSON _____________________________________________
(signature) (date)
REMARKS: Findings of disapproved reviews will be identified
in writing and attached to the approval form.
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file: crb-sop.wpd