Statement of Objectives
The Statement of Objectives (SOO), as the name implies, specifies the government's objectives to be achieved under the resulting task order. The SOO is one of three optional work statement methods - the others being the Performance Work Statement and the Statement of Work - that may be used in an ITES-2S Task Order Request.
The ITES-2S Ordering Guide (1.2M MS Word file) describes the SOO in Chapter 3, paragraph 5, and with an annotated example provided in Attachment 4.
The SOO is an emerging new approach in PBSA. It is being used more frequently, in part, because it requires competing bidders to develop a PWS as part of the proposal process. It effectively turns things around where the contractor proposes a PWS including QASP, rather than the government providing these as part of the Task Order Request. This approach is in line with commercial best practices, in which the agreement (contract) tends to be focused on the outcomes or final products rather than the methods used.
A Task Order Request based on the SOO gives contractors significantly more flexibility in proposing creative and innovative products and services. Also, the contractor has significant freedom in the proposed performance standards, AQL, and incentives for the task order. The key here is "proposed." If selected to perform the task order, then the requiring agency negotiates task order measures, metrics, and incentives as documented in the PWS/QASP with the contractor.
Perhaps more so than with a PWS or SOW, this approach encourages partnership between the government and the contractor in the resulting task order.
Developing the SOO
A Statement of Objectives should be easy to develop - it is typically less than 10 pages and often much shorter. The challenge, of course, is finding those perfect, succinct words that adequately summarize the objectives of the requiring agency that a contractor will satisfy under an ITES-2S task order.
Several suggestions for consideration while developing the SOO and in handling
the subsequent acquisition:
- The SOO summarizes key outcomes expected from the services being ordered
- The SOO must guide the bidders with regard to all applicable constraints
- Must, through the introduction or task order request documentation, make sure that all requiring agency and end user expectations are clearly known by the bidders
- Consider a due diligence period; this might extend the period for proposal responses
- Review all objectives to make sure that they remain consistent with the stated scope or mission of the SOO
Contractor-Provided PWS and QASP
The Task Order Award Process for ITES-2S includes a newer approach that is rooted in the PBSA objectives. The requiring agency can develop a Statement of Objectives as part of the Task Order Request, and the contractors are requested to submit a Performance Work Statement with a Draft Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan as part of their technical and cost proposals. This truly addresses the flexibility issue that PBSA attempts to give to the contractors.
Several key considerations in this approach include:
- The proposed PWS and QASP elements dealing with measures, metrics, and incentives that must be negotiated between the requiring agency and the contractor prior to task order award
- The QASP becomes a government document and the government retains the responsibility for execution of the document
- The government must carefully consider and document all constraints and expections as part of the Task Order Request to help guide the bidders to respond with acceptable proposed solutions
- Consider a due diligence period during the proposal process to permit contractors a period of dialog with the requiring agency to clarify objectives, constrains, and needs
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