In accordance with HHSAR 352.211-3, Paperwork Reduction Act, the Contractor shall not proceed with surveys or interviews until such time as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Clearance for conducting interviews has been obtained by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer has issued written approval to proceed.
267
****(USE BELOW IN ALL SOLICITATIONS AND CONTRACTS)****
ARTICLE H.44. RESTRICTION ON PORNOGRAPHY ON COMPUTER NETWORKS
The Contractor shall not use contract funds to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography.
268
****(USE BELOW IN ALL SOLICITATIONS AND CONTRACTS)****
ARTICLE H.45. GUN CONTROL
The Contractor shall not use contract funds in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control.
269
****(USE BELOW IN ALL SOLICITATIONS AND CONTRACTS OVER $5,000,000.)****
ARTICLE H.46. CERTIFICATION OF FILING AND PAYMENT OF TAXES
The contractor must be in compliance with Section 518 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY 2014.
270
****(USE BELOW, WHEN THE CONTRACT WILL CONTAIN OPTIONS. COMPLETE ACCORDING TO TIME PERIODS NEGOTIATED. INCLUDE APPROPRIATE CLAUSE IN SECTION I.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO COMPLETE THIS ARTICLE:
Select the applicable Option Clause from the Drop Down List.
Select the appropriate information within the brackets. Delete the information that does not apply.)****
ARTICLE H.47. OPTION PROVISION
Unless the Government exercises its option pursuant to the Option Clause set forth in SECTION I., the contract will consist only of the Base Period of the Statement of Work as defined in Sections C and F of the contract. Pursuant to [FAR Clause 52.217-6, Option for Increased Quantity/FAR Clause 52.217-7, Option for Increased Quantity-Separately Priced Line Item/FAR Clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services/FAR Clause 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract] set forth in SECTION I. of this contract, the Government may, by unilateral contract modification, require the Contractor to perform additional options set forth in the Statement of Work and also defined in Sections C and F of the contract. If the Government exercises this option, notice must be given at least 60 days prior to the expiration date of this contract, and the [ Use for Cost-Reimbursement Contracts: estimated cost [plus fixed fee] of the contract will be increased as set forth in the ESTIMATED COST [PLUS FIXED FEE]/ Use for Fixed-Price Contracts: price of the contract will be increased as set forth in the OPTION PRICES] Article in SECTION B of this contract.
271
****(USE BELOW WHEN THE CONTRACT WILL BE PERFORMANCE-BASED AND OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IS REWARDED BY AN EXTENSION OF THE CONTRACT PERIOD (AWARD TERM). Notes: (1) This "award term" incentive differs from the "award option" incentive in the next Article in that this item is a contractual entitlement earned by the contractor and, once earned, should be awarded contingent only upon lack of funds availability or continued need for the supplies/services; and,
(2) When awarding a Performance Based Acquisition using an "Award Term" incentive, make sure to include the cost/price information for the Award Term(s) in the appropriate Article in Section B. of your contract.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO COMPLETE THIS ARTICLE:
Paragraph a:When no FEE, remove [ ] language in paragraph, below. If FEE, keep the language and remove the brackets.
Paragraph b.1: Fill in the information as appropriate. Make sure to delete any sentences that do not apply.
Subparagraph b.3.a: Insert the date of the "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards."
Subparagraph b.3.b.(1) & (2): IMPORTANT NOTE: The language contained within the brackets in subparagraphs (1) and (2), is suggested only. It is set for a Five year base with two Award Term years. If this is not appropriate for your project, modify the paragraphs to be consistent with your requirement.)****
ARTICLE H.48. AWARD TERM
Award Term Contract
This contract contains Award Term incentive(s). Award Terms will be awarded based on the criteria set forth in paragraph b. below. The final decision whether the Award Term has been earned will be made annually and is at the sole discretion of the Contracting Officer.
Award Terms that have been earned, but not yet awarded are contingent on the availability of funds and/or the continuing need of the items or services set forth in the Statement of Work. As the determination not to award the Award Term is not considered a termination, no equitable adjustments to the contract price will be made. There is no guarantee the Government will continue Performance beyond the base performance period.
If the Contracting Officer determines that the Award Term has been earned and the Government's need for the items or services still exists and funds are available, the estimated cost [plus fixed fee] will be increased as set forth in the ESTIMATED COST, [FIXED FEE] AND AWARD TERM Article in SECTION B of this contract.
Award Term Provisions
This contract has a base performance period of years [insert dates]. The Contractor will have the opportunity to earn additional years of work [insert dates here] using the evaluation process described herein. These additional years of work are called Award Terms. The total duration of this contract, including all Award Terms, shall not exceed a period of years [insert dates].
A unilateral contract modification to add the Award Term will be issued when scoring meets or exceeds that set forth in the contract. The Government shall issue this modification at least 60 days prior to contract expiration. The Award Term determination and the methodology for determining the award term are unilateral decisions made solely by the Government and are not subject to dispute.
Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)
The Contractor's performance under this contract will be observed and evaluated continuously by the Government. The Contractor Assessment Report will be used to assess Contractor performance and determine whether the Contractor will receive Award Term(s). The Contractor Assessment Report includes Performance Indicators and Standards which identify the indicators to be evaluated and the associated standards for each indicator. A copy of the "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards," dated is included as an attachment in SECTION J of this contract.
The "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards" will be prepared by the Government, resulting in an overall rating which will be disseminated to the Contractor annually. The Award Term earned will be determined based upon review of the Contractor's performance against the performance indicators and standards as follows:
[ Using the 0-5 point score in the Plan, the Contractor must receive an average of 3.5 or better for the first three years of Contractor performance. In years four and five, the Contractor must receive an average of 3.8 or better in each year to earn the Award Term.] These goals are intended to be a stretch for the Contractor, but achievable.
[ At the conclusion of year four, in addition to the year four "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards," the Government will prepare a summary report which will set forth the average rating for the first three years' of performance and the year four rating. This summary report will be used to determine if the Award Term for year six has been earned. Likewise, at the conclusion of year five, the Government will prepare a "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards"and a summary report of year five to determine if the Award Term for year seven has been earned.]
The advance evaluation of performance is required to allow adequate time for recompetition of the requirement in the event that Contractor performance does not meet the Award Term requirements. If the Contractor does not earn the first Award Term, there will be no opportunity to earn subsequent Award Term(s) and the contract expiration date will remain unchanged.
The "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards" described herein contains rating criteria used solely to assess whether the Contractor has earned the award term specified in this contract. This report differs from the Contractor Performance Report described in the POST AWARD EVALUATION OF CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE Article in SECTION G of this contract, which uses a standard rating criteria established for the Federal Contractor Performance System to evaluate overall contract performance. For this reason, the Contractor's performance scores for determining authorization of the award term(s) may differ from the Contractor's performance scores for overall contract performance.
Changes to the Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards
Unilateral changes to the Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards may be made if the Contractor is provided written notification by the Contracting Officer at least 30 days before the start of the upcoming evaluation period. Changes affecting the current evaluation period must be by mutual agreement of both parties.
Contractor Performance Assessment
The Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), and other Government personnel as appropriate, will use the "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards" and the associated performance elements and standards to score contract performance for the Award Term determination. The Contracting Officer is responsible for making the final decision on the Contractor's score and for determining whether the Contractor has earned the Award Term.
Contractor Performance Evaluation
The COR and Contracting Officer will prepare reports required by FAR 42.15 and described in the POST AWARD EVALUATION OF CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE Article in SECTION G of this contract to determine the Contractor's overall contract performance. Unless specifically identified as a rating criterion in the "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards," this evaluation report will not be used in the Award Term determination.
272
****(USE BELOW WHEN THE CONTRACT WILL BE PERFORMANCE-BASED, WITH THE INCENTIVE OF AN AWARD OPTION FOR EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE. THIS ITEM SHOULD BE USED WHEN THE CONTRACTING OFFICER HAS DETERMINED THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE GOVERNMENT TO HAVE THE AWARD TERM EVALUATION SERVE AS THE PRECURSOR TO THE DECISION TO EXERCISE THE AWARD OPTION. Note: This item may be more appropriate in high dollar and/or highly complex contracts.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO COMPLETE THIS ARTICLE:
Subparagraph a (last paragraph): When no FEE, remove [ ] language in paragraph, below. If FEE, keep the language and remove the brackets.
Subparagraph b.1: Fill in the information as appropriate. Make sure to delete any sentences that do not apply.
Subparagraph b.3.a: Insert the date of the "Contractor Assessment Report/Performance Indicators and Standards."
Subparagraph b.3.b.(1) & (2): IMPORTANT NOTE: The language contained within the brackets in subparagraphs (1) and (2), is suggested only. It is set for a Five year base with two Award Term years. If this is not appropriate for your project, modify the paragraphs to be consistent with your requirement.)****
