Section I. Contract Clauses/General Provisions
Section I incorporates government procurement requirements and laws that apply to the contract action. As a general rule, only clauses included in FAR Part 52 (and a federal agency’s FAR supplement Part 52) are included in this section. Each clause derives its authority from the FAR or from a public law, statute or executive order. Most clauses included in this section are referenced by the clause number, title, date, and regulation source. Some clauses must be incorporated in full text if:
This section could also include information about:
REVIEW ACTION
Read clauses at their original source as they may change over time. Be on the lookout for new, unfamiliar clauses which are easy to spot because of the date of the clause (e.g., 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).
This section is often fraught with errors due to copy and paste, so review clauses for missing data items and inconsistencies with other parts of the proposal, e.g., dollar values, dates, quantities.
SUCCESS TIP
Locate, read and understand each clause carefully. Don’t waste time and effort competing for contracts that you cannot legally fulfill.
SUBMISSION ACTION
Even though this section identifies the contract clauses incorporated by reference, these clauses carry the same force and effect as if they were given in full text and are incorporated into the contract. While this section doesn’t require a separate response, its terms will be legally binding.
Clauses regarding information technology and sensitive information are important, and the RFP may require you to submit an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Plan with your proposal.
WARNING
Offerors tend to skip over this section. Remember, these are the laws and statutes that apply to the contract action.
Most clauses included in Section I must “flow down” to subcontractors. In other words, the same clauses that apply to the prime contractor must apply to the subcontractor. As the prime, you are responsible for ensuring that your subcontractors adhere to all of the terms and conditions of the contracts that have flow-down requirements.
Watch for hidden proposal instructions and fill-in the blank items. Fool proof method: read entire section end-to-end and mark instructions and blanks with a highlighter.
- The FAR or an agency regulation specifically requires full text
- The clause requires the contractor to fill in required information
- Section I should a complete list all of contract clauses that have been incorporated by reference in the other RFP sections. You may see occurrences of the phrase “the contractor shall."
This section could also include information about:
- Access to and release of sensitive information
- Agency FAR supplements (e.g., DOD, NASA)
- Disadvantaged business concerns
- Estimate of percentage of recovered material content for EPA-designated items
- FOB origin/destination
- General contract clauses
- General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) clauses
- Notice of price evaluation adjustment for small business
- Ombudsman
- Option to extend service or terms of contract
- Ordering and limitations
- Providing accelerated payment to small business
- Release of sensitive information
- Restriction on funding activity with China
- Security requirements for unclassified information technology resources
- Statement of equivalent rates for federal hires
- Subcontracting rules
- Technology resources
- Union specifications including dues or fees
- Set-asides including 8(a) contract conditions, if designated as a set-aside
REVIEW ACTION
Read clauses at their original source as they may change over time. Be on the lookout for new, unfamiliar clauses which are easy to spot because of the date of the clause (e.g., 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).
This section is often fraught with errors due to copy and paste, so review clauses for missing data items and inconsistencies with other parts of the proposal, e.g., dollar values, dates, quantities.
SUCCESS TIP
Locate, read and understand each clause carefully. Don’t waste time and effort competing for contracts that you cannot legally fulfill.
SUBMISSION ACTION
Even though this section identifies the contract clauses incorporated by reference, these clauses carry the same force and effect as if they were given in full text and are incorporated into the contract. While this section doesn’t require a separate response, its terms will be legally binding.
Clauses regarding information technology and sensitive information are important, and the RFP may require you to submit an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Plan with your proposal.
WARNING
Offerors tend to skip over this section. Remember, these are the laws and statutes that apply to the contract action.
Most clauses included in Section I must “flow down” to subcontractors. In other words, the same clauses that apply to the prime contractor must apply to the subcontractor. As the prime, you are responsible for ensuring that your subcontractors adhere to all of the terms and conditions of the contracts that have flow-down requirements.
Watch for hidden proposal instructions and fill-in the blank items. Fool proof method: read entire section end-to-end and mark instructions and blanks with a highlighter.
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