Podcast Show Notes
2025-08-26 Federal Market Insights Episode 21 — Session Overview
WPI Podcast Episode 21 Summary
Past performance – CPARS, SPRS. Reviewed by the contracting officer, Risk management – item, price, contractor, good results help. Poor performance hinders. Consequences last. CPARS – 6 years. SPRS 24 months. CPARS 15 categories evaluated. SPRS primarily evaluates by FSC and a companies quality and on-time delivery.
Contract Management is to an extent synonymous with Risk Management. FAR part 9 addresses Contractor Qualifications and specifically identifies the idea of Responsible and both general and specific characteristics of responsible. The FAR highlights that price alone is not the best determining factor for make an award. It states that “The award of a contract to a supplier based on lowest evaluated price alone can be false economy if there is subsequent default, late deliveries, or other unsatisfactory performance resulting in additional contractual or administrative costs.”
Also note, the last sentence – “A prospective contractor must affirmatively demonstrate its responsibility, including, when necessary, the responsibility of its proposed subcontractors.”
Primes are in charge of the work. They are responsible for their subcontractors, work performed, materials used and evaluating other factors such as price. A construction company received poor marks on a federal contract. In part, the company blamed the poor performance on the weather, government actions that delayed the project and their subcontractors. Eagerness to compete and win awards is absolutely needed. However, companies need to exercise prudence in their planning and select well-known and reliable subcontractors. The federal government is keen on using past performance and past performance is not transitory. For example, CPARS ratings remain active for six years. DoD also uses the SPRS system to evaluate contractor performance. SPRS is used for a larger range of award values; even very small amounts. SPRS evaluation looks primarily at quality and timeliness of performance by FSC – Federal Stock Classification. SPRS scores are active for 24 months.
Both primes and subcontractor should remember performance carries on to subcontractors.
Details – details matter. Companies will bid without reviewing all documents to make sure of their availability. They are awarded the contract and then find out, in some cases, too late that either the material or documents are not available. All required information was available and could be researched. Lack of appropriate research is the companies problem not the government’s.
If the solicitation type is an RFQ, it is possible that the government’s offer can be rejected. If the solicitation type is an RFP, then the company will need to perform or request a contract modification. The difference is that as stated in FAR 13.004 Legal effect of Quotations, a quote is not an offer and therefore it cannot be accepted to form a contract. See FAR 13.004 for more details.
It’s natural that companies want to move fast and go-after large contracts. It is perceived that this is where the money is. Large contracts tend to be complex and have many requirements. Smaller newer companies may not be well positioned to take on these requirements. The government doesn’t grade on a curve. The customer expects performance irrespective of size, experience or other factors. Ultimately a company may achieve its goal of winning a large contract, only to experience a variety of issues which lead to underperformance and a poor evaluation.
An alternative approach may be to select projects that match the company’s background and expertise. Companies should have a long view: successful performance and equally as important to receive a stellar past performance report. These goals are intertwined. Performance leads to good reviews and good reviews are needed for future work.
Familiarity with the regulations does not come only from reading documents or attending training. Familiarity comes from experience. Companies need to understand what documents are involved in government contracting and their importance. Some companies may not recognize the importance of SAM and the various contract attestations made. Rest assured, they all matter. Otherwise, they would not be required.
Once an attestation is made it becomes part of the contract documents. Such attestations may be for cybersecurity compliance, socio-economic certification and/or complying with the Buy America requirements. Sometimes the investigations are current and in other cases the investigations take place years after the attestation was made. Owners and company officers need to know what they are signing. They also need to orient their mind-set to the reality that they are doing business with the government and not the commercial sector.
Also post award meetings or start-of-work conferences can provide very useful information. The right participants are also needed. Often those who are in positions that will be executing the work can add tremendous value.
Part of this process can – should – include various forms of documentation such as before and after photographs, videos or other documents. Today are variety of tools are available to make creating usable documentation. If documentation is to be created, then the company should also plan for adequate secure storage and even providing the customer with a copy and agreement to its accuracy and relevance.
Resources:
Todd Construction, L.P. v. United States – CourtListener.com
Connecticut Company and Owner Settle Liability for False Claims Related to Violations of Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act:
FAR Part 9, Contractor Qualifications – Responsible: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-9#FAR_9_103
Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS):
https://www.cpars.gov/cparsweb/assets/documents/CPARS-Guidance.pdf
Supplier Performance Risk System: https://www.sprs.csd.disa.mil/pdf/SPRS_Awardee.pdf