This memorandum authorizes
agencies to enter into multiagency contracts for information technology
and sets forth good management practices to be followed by agencies
that do so.
Authority:
Section 5124(a)(2)
of the Clinger-Cohen Act (formerly the Information Technology
Management Reform Act of 1996)(ITMRA), 40 U.S.C. 1424(a)(2), states
that an Executive agency may "enter into a contract that
provides for multiagency acquisitions of information technology
in accordance with guidance issued by the Director." The
accompanying Conference Report, H.Rep. 104-450, states that "the
requirements and limitations of the Economy Act, and other provisions
of law, apply to these multiagency acquisitions." Accordingly,
to the extent practicable, and consistent with the requirements
of the Economy Act, 31 U.S.C. 1535, and other relevant provisions
of law, agencies may permit use of their contracts by other agencies,
and award contracts for multiagency use.
This guidance is limited
to multiagency contracts issued by agencies pursuant to Section
5124(a)(2) of ITMRA, 40 U.S.C. 1424(a)(2). Under Section 5124(a)(3)
of ITMRA, 40 U.S.C. 1424(a)(3), the Director may authorize an
agency to enter into a multiagency contract for procurement of
commercial items of information technology that requires each
agency covered by the contract either to procure the items under
that contract or to justify an alternative source of the items.
Similarly, under Section 5112(e) of ITMRA, 40 U.S.C. 1412(e),
the Director may designate one or more heads of Executive agencies
as executive agents for government-wide acquisitions of information
technology. The CIO Council is encouraged to identify appropriate
candidates. This guidance does not apply to contracts under Sections
5124(a)(3) and 5112(e).
Policy:
The ITMRA provides
agencies the flexibility to acquire information technology effectively
and efficiently. Multiagency contracts permit aggregation of agency
demand to encourage vendors to offer the best possible prices,
and serve to reduce the overhead associated with multiple acquisitions,
particularly by smaller agencies. In order to realize these benefits,
a management commitment commensurate with the potential size of
the contracts is essential. This is especially important because
customer demand can be difficult to anticipate, potentially exceeding
the agency's ability to manage the contracts, disrupting business
relationships among agency customers and vendors.
Agency heads should,
with regard to multiagency contracts:
- assure that their
Chief Information Officers and Senior Procurement Executives
work together to assign responsibilities and establish clear
lines of accountability;
- see that the agency
component conducting the acquisition has established effective
contract management systems and has an adequately trained and
sized staff available to administer the resulting contracts;
- monitor the progress
of the contracts and ensure that adequate management resources
continue to be devoted, particularly if the contracts prove
to be unexpectedly popular or otherwise begin to strain existing
management resources;
- assure agency compliance
with Federal Acquisition Regulation section 16.504(a) by setting
an initial dollar or quantity limit on such contracts; and,
- consider placing
an initial limit on the amount of interagency usage, subject
to periodic adjustment (either upward or downward) depending
on the agency component's demonstrated ability to adequately
manage the contracts in light of the volume of orders received.
Additional Information:
If you need further
information regarding this guidance please contact the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, (202)395-3785. If you need
information regarding procurement-related issues please contact
the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, (202)395-3501.
OMB continues to review
procurement-related matters on the use of multiagency contracts
and will issue additional guidance in the future as appropriate.
This memorandum supersedes OMB Memorandum M-96-36, issued August
6, 1996.