11.002 Policy
Source: FAR 11.002 on acquisition.gov
FAR 11.002 requires agencies to define acquisition needs to maximize competition, encourage commercial and sustainable solutions, and ensure accessibility and technical compliance.
Overview
FAR 11.002 establishes the foundational policy for how agencies must describe their needs when acquiring supplies and services. It emphasizes the use of market research, competition, commercial solutions, sustainability, metric measurements, accessibility, and technical standards. The regulation aims to ensure requirements are stated in a way that promotes competition, leverages commercial and sustainable products, and accommodates users with disabilities, while also allowing for industry input and flexibility in performance specifications.
Key Rules
- Market Research and Competition
- Agencies must use market research to define needs, promoting full and open competition and avoiding unnecessary restrictive requirements.
- Commercial and Nondevelopmental Items
- Requirements should be defined to encourage commercial or nondevelopmental solutions, and prime/subcontractors should incorporate these where possible.
- Metric System
- Agencies must use the metric system unless impracticable or detrimental to U.S. firms.
- Industry Input and Flexibility
- Agencies should allow offerors to comment on requirements and avoid premature detailed design mandates.
- Sustainable Acquisition
- Agencies must procure sustainable products/services and use the Green Procurement Compilation for guidance, unless exceptions apply.
- Performance Specifications
- Performance levels may be set as targets, not just minimums.
- ICT Accessibility
- Requirements must address accessibility for users with disabilities and reference applicable standards.
- IPv6 Requirements
- IT acquisitions must reference USGv6 standards unless waived.
- Telecommuting
- Agencies cannot prohibit telecommuting in solicitations without a written determination.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: Ensure requirements promote competition, sustainability, accessibility, and technical compliance; obtain necessary documentation; avoid unnecessary restrictions.
- Contractors: Respond to requirements as defined, provide commercial/sustainable solutions, and comply with accessibility and technical standards.
- Agencies: Oversee compliance, provide guidance, and allow industry input.
Practical Implications
- This policy ensures acquisitions are competitive, innovative, and inclusive, while supporting sustainability and technical modernization. Contractors must be prepared to offer commercial, sustainable, and accessible solutions, and agencies must justify any restrictive or non-standard requirements. Common pitfalls include overly restrictive specifications, failure to consider sustainability or accessibility, and not leveraging commercial solutions.
(a) In fulfilling requirements of https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section3206&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">10 U.S.C. 3206(a), https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section3453&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">10 U.S.C. 3453, http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title41-section3306(a)&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">41 U.S.C. 3306(a), and http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title41-section3307&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">41 U.S.C.3307, agencies shall-
(1) Specify needs using market research in a manner designed to-
(i) Promote full and open competition (see part 6), or maximum practicable competition when using simplified acquisition procedures, with due regard to the nature of the supplies or services to be acquired; and
(ii) Only include restrictive provisions or conditions to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the agency or as authorized by law.
(2) To the maximum extent practicable, ensure that acquisition officials-
(i) State requirements with respect to an acquisition of supplies or services in terms of-
(A) Functions to be performed;
(B) Performance required; or
(C) Essential physical characteristics;
(ii) Define requirements in terms that enable and encourage offerors to supply commercial products or commercial services or, to the extent that commercial products suitable to meet the agency’s needs are not available, nondevelopmental items, in response to the agency solicitations;
(iii) Provide offerors of commercial products, commercial services, and nondevelopmental items an opportunity to compete in any acquisition to fill such requirements;
(iv) Require prime contractors and subcontractors at all tiers under the agency contracts to incorporate commercial products, commercial services, or nondevelopmental items as components of items supplied to the agency; and
(v) Modify requirements in appropriate cases to ensure that the requirements can be met by commercial products or commercial services or, to the extent that commercial products suitable to meet the agency’s needs are not available, nondevelopmental items.
(b) The Metric Conversion Act of 1975, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section205a&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">15 U.S.C. 205a, et seq.), designates the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce, and it requires that each agency use the metric system of measurement in its acquisitions, except to the extent that such use is impracticable or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to United States firms. Requiring activities are responsible for establishing guidance implementing this policy in formulating their requirements for acquisitions.
(c) To the extent practicable and consistent with subpart 9.5, potential offerors should be given an opportunity to comment on agency requirements or to recommend application and tailoring of requirements documents and alternative approaches. Requiring agencies should apply specifications, standards, and related documents initially for guidance only, making final decisions on the application and tailoring of these documents as a product of the design and development process. Requiring agencies should not dictate detailed design solutions prematurely (see 7.101 and 7.105(a)(8)).
(d)
(1) Agencies shall procure sustainable products and services (as defined in 2.101) in accordance with subpart 23.1).
(2) Unless it is not practicable (see 23.104(a)) or an exception or exemption applies (see 23.105 and 23.106, respectively), agencies shall incorporate the use of sustainable products and services when—
(i) Developing, reviewing, or revising Federal and military specifications, product descriptions (including commercial item descriptions) and standards;
(ii) Describing Government requirements for products and services; and
(iii) Developing source-selection factors.
(3) The Green Procurement Compilation (GPC) available at https://sftool.gov/greenprocurement" target="_blank">https://sftool.gov/greenprocurement provides a comprehensive list of sustainable products and services and other related sustainable acquisition guidance. Agencies should—
(i) Consult the GPC when determining which purchasing programs apply to a specific product or service; and
(ii) Incorporate into agency requirements any required standards, specifications, or ecolabels identified in the GPC for a specific product or service.
(e) Some or all of the performance levels or performance specifications in a solicitation may be identified as targets rather than as fixed or minimum requirements.
(f) In accordance with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title29-section794&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">29 U.S.C. 794d), the contracting officer shall obtain from the requiring activity the requirement documents, which must identify—
(1) The needs of current and future users with disabilities to determine how–
(i) Users with disabilities will perform the functions supported by the information and communication technology (ICT);
(ii) The ICT will be developed, installed, configured and maintained to support users with disabilities;
(2) The applicable ICT accessibility standards (see subpart 39.2); and
(3) Any ICT accessibility standards that cannot be met due to an exception or an exemption for any component or portion of the product (see 7.105(b)(5)(iv), 39.204, and 39.205).
(g) Unless the agency Chief Information Officer waives the requirement, when acquiring information technology using Internet Protocol, the requirements documents must include reference to the appropriate technical capabilities defined in the USGv6 Profile (NIST Special Publication 500-267) and the corresponding declarations of conformance defined in the USGv6 Test Program. The applicability of IPv6 to agency networks, infrastructure, and applications specific to individual acquisitions will be in accordance with the agency's Enterprise Architecture (see OMB Memorandum M-05-22 dated August 2, 2005).
(h) Agencies shall not include in a solicitation a requirement that prohibits an offeror from permitting its employees to telecommute unless the contracting officer executes a written determination in accordance with FAR 7.108(a).