The analysis of technical and cost proposals to determine which proposal offers the best trade-off between price/cost and performance, where quality is considered an integral performance factor.
ECS III Glossary
A fixed price contract provides for a fixed price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the prime contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract. This contract type places maximum risk on the prime contractor. It also provides maximum incentives for the prime contractor to control costs and perform effectively.
The individual appointed by the AMO who serves as the principal point of contact between the customer, the task order vendor and NITAAC. This individual provides technical direction to the task order prime contractor.
One of the prime contractors holding an ECS III ID/IQ contract awarded by NITAAC. Only these contractors may receive ECS III DO awards from customers. While a contractor may have a subcontractor associated with this contract, the Government maintains a contractual relationship only with the prime contractor. The contractor is also referred to as the "vendor".
This term includes personnel in both NIH ordering activities and in all other Federal Agencies. The term "external customer" means any customer agency that is not a part of the NIH.
A written, signed and dated document that orders the delivery products or services from an established ECS III contract, issued to a contractor by one who has authority and legal right to claim or order delivery of goods. Note: ECS III DOs require that there be an established price in the contract for the product or service. For example, a service such as installation or maintenance of a product purchased on the contract is sold for a set price, not at hourly rates.
The ECS III Quoting System assigns Delivery Order Authorization Numbers for each contractor quote that the customer awards with a DO. All DOs sent to the ECS III Financial Team must contain the ECS III Delivery Order Authorization Number. If a DO modification is received, a suffix (e.g., .01, .02, .03, etc.) is assigned to the original ECS III Delivery Order Authorization Number and is placed on the DO Modification furnished to the ECS III Financial Team. The contractor will not accept any orders which do not have a Delivery Order Authorization Number.
Lot 6 support services performed by an ECS III contractor that are required for the implementation and/or continued operation of Lots 1-5 products/services that are being (or have been) acquired under ECS III.
The contracting officer must provide each awardee a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding $3,000 issued under multiple delivery-order contracts or multiple task-order contracts, unless one of the exceptions defined at FAR 16.505(b)(2) exists. All ECS III prime contractor teams (primes and their designated subcontractors) are considered to possess the basic qualifications for success in the IT areas (Lots) of the contract awarded to them. Therefore the statutory and regulatory requirement for fair opportunity for consideration will be deemed to have been met when the customer makes timely notice to all contractors that are pre-qualified in the IT areas of the order by submitting an Request for Quotes (RFQ) through the ECS III Quoting System, reviewing contractor quotes and properly documents his/her file as to the rationale for selection of the DO contractor. This procedure does not apply if one of the exceptions at FAR 16.505(b)(2) is applicable. See below for exceptions.
The exceptions to the fair opportunity process (selecting a single ECS III prime contractor for a specific DO applicable to the ECS III contract are:
- The agency need for services is of such urgency that providing such opportunity would result in an unacceptable delay (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i).
- Only one ECS III contractor is capable of providing the required products/services at the level of quality required because the products/services ordered are unique or highly specialized (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii). (Consideration may be given to this exception when the contractor's products/services are proprietary.)
- The DO must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to a previous DO(s) issued under this contract, provided that “fair opportunity to be considered" rules were adhered to in the award of the original DO (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(iii).
This is the unique customer number identifying the Funding Document/Order. The funding document/order also must cite the CIO-SP3 Task Order Authorization Number and must include the proper processing fee as a separate FFP line item, where appropriate.
This is the fee that NITAAC receives for processing a task order or task order modification to award and is intended to cover the costs associated with the solicitation, award, and administration of its GWACs.
