Overview
This section outlines the conditions under which individual members of a joint research and development or production pool may bid on government contracts independently of the pool.
Key Rules
- Independence of Offers: Pool members retain the right to submit individual offers independent of the pool's collective submission.
- Exclusion for Competing Offers: A contracting officer is prohibited from considering an independent offer from a pool member if that member is also participating in a competing offer submitted by the pool for the same procurement.
- Responsibility Determination: When a pool member bids independently, the contracting officer must evaluate the pool agreement as part of the formal responsibility determination under FAR Subpart 9.1 to ensure the member has the capacity to perform.
Practical Implications
- Strategic Decision Making: Contractors must choose between participating in a pool bid or submitting an individual offer; attempting to do both for the same requirement will result in the individual offer being disregarded.
- Risk Assessment: The requirement for the contracting officer to review the pool agreement means that an individual member's external commitments to the pool could potentially impact their "responsibility" rating if those commitments jeopardize their ability to perform the individual contract.