The definitions in this section reflect NITAAC's interpretation of terms and concepts used in the CIO-SP2 guidelines.

Accountable Management Official (AMO) - The individual within the customer's organization (whether NIH or external), who is authorized to obligate or expend the Government funds. This individual has the authority to bind the Government to the extent of the authority delegated to him/her. The dollar threshold set forth in the individual's delegation may not be exceeded. The AMO is typically a Contracting Officer, if the customer chooses to issue orders locally (i.e., through its own agency channels). Only when a local contracting office is not available, the AMO may be a project official who must be given authorization by his/her agency to direct the transfer of funds to the designated contracting office.

Best Value Analysis - The analysis of technical and cost proposals to determine which proposal offers the best trade-off between price/cost and performance, where quality is considered an integral performance factor.

CIO-SP2 Task Order (TO) Authorization Number - This is the number that NITAAC assigns to a task order once the Selection Recommendation Document Package (SRDP) has been approved. It is provided to the customer (with a copy to the prime contractor) via the approval letter. It must appear on the customer's funding document/order. In the case of NIH Records of Call, the CIO-SP2 Task Order Authorization Number must appear in the description block of the Record of Call. The prime contractor shall not accept any orders without this number.

Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) - The individual appointed by the AMO who serves as the principal point of contact between the customer, the task order vendor and NITAAC. This individual provides technical direction to the task order prime contractor.

Contract Type: Time and Material (T&M) -The acquisition of supplies or services on the basis of: (1) direct labor hours at specified fixed hourly rates that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit and (2) materials at cost, including, if appropriate, material handling costs as a part of material costs.

A T&M Task Order may only be used when it is not possible at the time of placing the order to estimate accurately the extent or duration of the work or to anticipate costs with any reasonable degree of confidence. This contract type places maximum risk on the Government. The requirements of FAR 16.601 must be followed by the customer.

Contract Type: Cost Reimbursable - Contracts that provide for payment of allowable incurred costs to the extent prescribed in the contract. There is an estimate of the total costs for the purpose of obligating funds and a ceiling that the vendor may not exceed (except at its own risk) without approval of the contracting officer.

(i) Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) - A cost reimbursement contract that provides for payment to the vendor of a negotiated fee that is fixed at the inception of the contract.

(ii) Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) (typically greater than $2 million) - A cost reimbursement contract that provides for a fee consisting of (a) a base amount (which may be zero) fixed at the inception of the contract and (b) an award amount, based upon a judgmental evaluation by the Government, sufficient to provide motivation for excellence in contract performance. Award fee evaluation criteria must be specified in the TORP

Note: Both (i) and (ii) above require that the fee shall not exceed the applicable, FAR?cited statutory percentage limitation of the estimated cost, excluding fee (see FAR 15.903(d)(1)). Per FAR 15.903(d)(2), a deviation to this limitation may be authorized in the case of cost plus award fee contracts in accordance with FAR Subpart 1.4. In addition, the fixed labor rates cited in the CIO-SP2 contracts do not apply to Cost?reimbursement Task Orders.

Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price (FFP) - A firm fixed price contract provides for a firm price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the prime contractor's cost experience in performing the contract. This contract type places maximum risk on the vendor. It also provides maximum incentive for the vendor to control costs and perform effectively.

Customer - This term includes personnel in both NIH ordering activities and in all other Federal Agencies. The term "external customer" means any customer agency that is not a part of the NIH.

Fair Opportunity to be Considered - All prime contractor teams (primes and their designated subcontractors) are considered to possess the basic qualifications for success in all of the information technology task areas of the contract. Therefore the statutory and regulatory requirement for "fair opportunity to be considered" will be deemed to have been met by the announcement (through the designated Internet Web site or e-mail) of all task orders that do not fall under one of the exceptions at FAR 16.505(b)(2). See below for exceptions. Each task order will be evaluated, at a minimum, on selection criteria that include past performance, technical/management approach, and price/cost.

Exceptions to the fair opportunity process (selecting a single CIO-SP2 prime contractor for a specific task order) include:

• The agency need for services is of such urgency that providing such opportunity would result in an unacceptable delay;
• Only one CIO-SP2 prime contractor is capable of providing the required services at the level of quality required because the services ordered are unique or highly specialized. Consideration may be given to this exception when the SOW is required to be written in a manner that would reveal proprietary information of a single prime contractor. Proprietary information could include a single prime contractor's technical or intellectual solution or a unique method of solving a problem.
• The task order is a logical follow-on to a previous task order(s) issued under this contract and "fair opportunity to be considered" rules were adhered to in the award of the original task order. In citing this exception, the customer must make a case that at least a significant subtask has been completed on the previous task order and the follow?on is a logical continuation or next phase of the task(s).
• The task order is awarded to meet the minimum contract requirements.

Funding/Award/Obligation:

Award Amount: The dollar amount of the task order over the life of the order, e.g., includes incremental funding and the option dollar amounts.
Funded Amount: The total amount of money to be obligated in a fiscal year. This amount may be spread over several task order modifications, each containing a portion of the funded amount as the obligation of that particular task order modification.
Obligated Amount: The dollar amount of the task order. This may or may not equal the funded amount, depending on how the agency determines to allocate the funded amount over the fiscal year.

Funding Document/Order Number - This is the unique customer number identifying the Funding Document/Order. The funding document/order also must cite the CIO-SP2 Task Order Authorization Number and must include the proper processing fee as a separate FFP line item, where appropriate.

Loaded Labor Rates - These are the rates that are provided in each prime contractor's CIO-SP2 contract. These rates are fully burdened composite hourly rates used in T&M and FFP orders. They include overhead, G&A and profit; they do not include Other Direct Costs (ODCs) and travel. ODCs are set out as multipliers (which do not include profit) that are set forth in the prime contractor's contract and rate schedule. The handling of the rates is different for each order type.

1. FFP Orders - The contractor estimates the quantity of hours required for the effort to arrive at the firm fixed price of the labor portion of the order. ODCs are computed separately (using the ODC multiplier) and added to the labor price to arrive at the order's total FFP. No post award accounting of hours expended or personnel qualifications are required.

2. T&M Orders - The prime contractor is reimbursed at the applicable rate for each hour of effort delivered. Personnel must meet the minimum qualifications of the labor category against which they are billed. ODCs are computed separately.

NIH Processing Fee - This is the fee that NITAAC receives for processing a task order or task order modification to award and is intended to cover the costs associated with the solicitation, award, and administration of the twenty contracts under CIO-SP2.

NITAAC Approval Letter - A memorandum signed by the CIO-SP2 Contracting Officer authorizing approval of the selected vendor and provided the CIO-SP2 Task Order Authorization Number and processing fee information.

NITAAC Tracking Number - This is the number assigned by NITAAC at the beginning of step one of the task order award process. It is used by both NIH and external customers. It is used for internal tracking of the task order until SRDP approval is provided and a CIO-SP2 Task Order Authorization Number is assigned.

Prime Contractor - A vendor holding a CIO-SP2 IDIQ contract awarded by NITAAC. Only prime contractors may receive task order awards from customers. Each prime contractor leads a team of subcontractors that may perform work on a customer's order, but it is the prime contractor with whom the Government maintains a contractual relationship. The prime contractor is also referred to as the "vendor".

Program Manager (PM) - The individual within the NIH who provides the technical management of the CIO-SP2 contracts.

Solution Recommendation Document Package (SRDP) - The documentation which includes a discussion of the evaluation process and the rationale for award, copies of all proposals, checklist and signature by the AMO. These orders may be funded fully in the first year, funded by options, or incrementally funded.

Task Order Requirements Package (TORP) - The complete documentation prepared and submitted by the customer (both NIH and external) to initiate a task order request.



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