Overview
FAR Part 11 establishes the policies and procedures for how executive agencies must describe their needs for supplies and services. Its primary objective is to ensure that requirements are drafted in a way that promotes full and open competition, prioritizes the use of commercial products and services, and utilizes performance-based specifications rather than restrictive design-oriented descriptions.
Key Rules
- Order of Precedence: Agencies must follow a specific hierarchy when selecting requirements documents: (1) Mandated by law, (2) Performance-oriented (e.g., PWS or SOO), (3) Detailed design-oriented, and (4) Other Government standards.
- Performance-Based Preference: To encourage innovation and competition, requirements should be stated in terms of functions to be performed, performance required, or essential physical characteristics.
- Commercial Item Advocacy: Requirements must be defined to enable offerors to provide commercial products or services. Agencies must modify requirements if they unnecessarily exclude commercial solutions.
- Brand Name or Equal: Using a brand name is permitted only if "salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics" are included so that "equal" products can be considered.
- Restrictive Specifications: Requirements peculiar to one manufacturer (sole source or proprietary features) are prohibited unless supported by a formal Justification and Approval (J&A) and posted publicly for acquisitions over $25,000.
- Sustainability and Accessibility: Agencies are mandated to procure sustainable products (via the Green Procurement Compilation) and must comply with Section 508 accessibility standards for Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
- Material Requirements: Agencies cannot require "virgin materials" unless compelled by law, safety, or performance; there is a regulatory preference for recycled, reconditioned, or remanufactured supplies.
Responsibilities
- Requiring Activity (Program Managers): Responsible for conducting market research, defining the technical requirements, identifying Section 508 accessibility needs, and establishing metric system guidance for the acquisition.
- Contracting Officers (CO): Responsible for ensuring requirements do not unnecessarily restrict competition, documenting justifications for "brand name or equal" or proprietary specifications, and ensuring delivery schedules are realistic.
- Agency Chief Information Officer (CIO): Responsible for overseeing IPv6 compliance and granting waivers for internet protocol requirements when necessary.
- Acquisition Officials: Must ensure that prime contractors and subcontractors incorporate commercial products as components to the maximum extent practicable.
Practical Implications
In real-world contracting, FAR Part 11 prevents "gold-plating" (adding unnecessary requirements that increase costs) and "lock-in" (writing specs that only one favored vendor can meet). For example, if an agency needs laptops, they cannot simply list a specific Dell model number; they must list the required RAM, processor speed, and ports (salient characteristics) to allow HP or Lenovo to compete. Furthermore, the emphasis on realistic delivery schedules means that if a CO sets an impossible deadline, it can be legally challenged as a restriction on competition. Contractors should also note the Market Acceptance rule: an agency can require proof that a product has been sold in the commercial market before, which protects the government from being a "guinea pig" for unproven technologies.