Michelle A Scala

Michelle A. Scala serves as a Contracting Officer responsible for managing complex acquisition initiatives centered on scientific and technical research services. She plays a pivotal role in executing the agency’s mission to advance innovation through competitive, compliant procurement processes, primarily overseeing sole-source and sealed-bid contracts under FAR Part 15. Her portfolio focuses on high-precision R&D services requiring specialized technical expertise, ensuring alignment with federal standards for performance, accountability, and value. She routinely handles task orders and basic ordering agreements for engineering, physical sciences, and social science research, often involving multi-year performance-based contracts with rigorous deliverable tracking. While specific contractor names are not publicly identifiable, her procurement patterns indicate consistent engagement with firms possessing advanced technical capabilities in laboratory research, data analysis, and experimental design. She cultivates relationships with vendors capable of delivering non-commercial, custom-engineered solutions under performance-based service contracts, emphasizing technical merit, past performance, and qualified personnel over low-price, technically acceptable evaluations. Her contracting approach favors clear statement of work development and robust evaluation criteria to ensure mission-critical outcomes. Ms. Scala’s set-aside preferences reflect a strong orientation toward open competition, with 93.8% of awards issued as non-set-aside actions. Nevertheless, she maintains a deliberate commitment to small business participation, consistently allocating approximately 6.3% of her portfolio to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. This demonstrates a balanced approach—prioritizing technical excellence while ensuring equitable access for qualified small businesses without compromising mission requirements. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541712 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences, except Biotechnology), accounting for 77.2% of her activity, followed by NAICS 541715 (excluding Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). She procures services such as experimental testing, analytical modeling, prototype development, and applied research in fields like materials science, environmental engineering, and behavioral studies, reflecting deep domain expertise in non-biotech scientific innovation.