$/-8&$5 &R GSA Schedule Joint Venture (JV) Objective: To form partnership - joint venture(s) that act as potential prime contractor(s) (with all team members being on the Schedule), in order to avoid traditional, time-consuming full and open competition procedures. Teams Contractor Teaming Agreement (CTA) are typically formed AFTER all firms have individual schedules, but they don't have to be. Teams are valid as long as: "The arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective." FAR 9.603. Total solutions, otherwise impossible under individual GSA Schedule contracts, can be put together quickly and easily. Benefits of upfront JV to traditional CTA: 1. Each team member DOES NOT pay the IFF1 for the portion of the work from their Schedule. 2. Each team member DOES NOT have privity of contract with the government and CAN NOT interact directly with the government.
ALJUCAR & Co. JV | Schedule Framework
The IFF is a fee paid by customers to cover GSA’s cost of operating the Federal Supply Schedules program. The fee is a percentage of reported sales under Schedules contracts.
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CONTACT: Rudy Sutherland – 202.540.8178 | rudy.sutherland@aljucar.com
Government Decision Consultants a JV
TO: GSA - FABS Contracting FROM: Government Decision Consulting, a JV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Government Decision Consulting has formed a partnership - joint venture (JV) that acts as a prime contractor, for the purpose of applying for a GSA Schedule, in order to avoid traditional, time-consuming full and open competition procedures. It is generally accepted in Government Procurement that The JV or team is able to compete for larger more technically complex contracts by combining the capabilities and assets of various team members. Moreover, it is generally accepted in federal government procurement that the overall capability, past-performance, and financial capacity of the JV participants will be viewed collectively for purposes of the Joint Venture. PROBLEM – SET The issue we have concern with, and are seeking documented clarity on, is the timing of establishing the Contractor Teaming Agreement (CTA) for purposes of getting on a GSA Schedule. Specifically, the GSA has setup its processes to facilitate CTAs that are formed AFTER all firms have individual schedules. In addition, the GSA has an informal practice in how it deals with JVs that apply for schedules which disaggregates the capability, financial capacity, and past-performance of the members rather than taking them as an entity; which is what a Joint Venture is. We can find no basis for this in the FAR or GSA Policy. Moreover, this practice is to the unfair advantage of the GSA, and makes the small business JV-CTA less competitive with large firms because a CTA structured after GSA Schedules have been individually obtained posits: 1. Each team member HAS TO pay the IFF1 for the portion of the work from their Schedule rather than the JV as a single entity – which negatively affects the pricing offered to the government. 2. Each team member HAS privity of contract with the government and CAN interact directly with the government vs. the JV having sole privity and serving as a single point of contact with the government – which has the effect of creating confusion during negotiations and in managing the relationship with the government. Now, the FAR states in Subpart 9.6—Contractor Team Arrangements (see in RED):
The IFF is a fee paid by customers to cover GSA’s cost of operating the Federal Supply Schedules program. The fee is a percentage of reported sales under Schedules contracts. 1
CONTACT: Rudy Sutherland – 202.540.8178 | rudy.sutherland@aljucar.com
Government Decision Consultants a JV 9.601 Definition. “Contractor team arrangement,” as used in this subpart, means an arrangement in which— (1) Two or more companies form a PARTNERSHIP OR JOINT VENTURE to act as a potential prime contractor; or (2) A potential prime contractor agrees with one or more other companies to have them act as its subcontractors under a specified Government contract or acquisition program. 9.602 General. (a) Contractor team arrangements may be desirable from both a Government and industry standpoint in order to enable the companies involved to— (1) Complement each other’s unique capabilities; and (2) Offer the Government the best combination of performance, cost, and delivery for the system or product being acquired. (b) Contractor team arrangements may be particularly appropriate in complex research and development acquisitions, but may be used in other appropriate acquisitions, including production. (c) The companies involved normally form a contractor team arrangement before submitting an offer. However, they may enter into an arrangement later in the acquisition process, including after contract award. 9.603 Policy. The Government will recognize the integrity and validity of contractor team arrangements; provided, the arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective. The Government will not normally require or encourage the dissolution of contractor team arrangements.
Nowhere in the FAR (nor in any GSA policy that we could locate) does it state that a Joint Venture, whose members are not already on schedule, cannot apply and successfully be afforded a GSA schedule based upon their collective capability, financial capacity, and past-performance; which is the accepted government procurement practice when dealing with Joint Ventures. SUMMARY: We are seeking documented clarity on the above in light of our desire to submit an application to obtain a GSA Schedule as a newly formed Joint Venture whose members are not already on schedule and whose capability, financial capacity, and pastperformance exist only as a collective. If formal information is available from the GSA that speaks to our concerns, we request that it be shared with us.
CONTACT: Rudy Sutherland – 202.540.8178 | rudy.sutherland@aljucar.com