National Reconnaissance Office Acquisition Circular 2018-03 23 July 2018 The National Reconnaissance Office Acquisition Manual revisions published in this circular and summarized below are effective 26 July 2018. Item Subject 1 NAM Interim Change 2018-03-01 2 NAM Interim Change 2018-03-02 3 Competition Requirements 4 Acquisition Planning 5 Contractor Qualifications 6 Contracting by Negotiation 7 Types of Contracts 8 Application of Labor Laws to Government Acquisitions 9 Patents, Data, and Copyrights 10 Contract Financing 11 Major System Acquisition 12 Research and Development Contracting 13 Service Contracting 14 Contract Administration and Audit Services 15 Government Property 16 Independent Contractors 17 Contract Payments 18 Price Negotiation Memoranda 19 NRO Profit Guidelines 20 NRO Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition 21 Administrative Revisions Change Summaries Item 1 NAM Interim Change 2018-03-01 (Effective 24 April 2018). Part N2, paragraph N12.301(b)(4), and section N13.302-70 are revised to increase the micro-purchase threshold to $10,000 and the simplified acquisition threshold to $250,000. Item 2 NAM Interim Change 2018-03-02 (Effective 22 June 2018). The following new clauses are added for use in lieu of corresponding FAR clauses in order to implement the increased threshold for requiring certified cost or pricing data to $2M: N52.215-015, Subcontractor Certified Cost or Pricing Data N52.215-016, Subcontractor Certified Cost or Pricing Data Modifications N52.230-001, Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certifications
N52.230-002, Cost Accounting Standards N52.230-003, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices N52.230-004, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices Foreign Concerns N52.230-005, Cost Accounting Standards Educational Institution Prescriptions and implementing guidance for these clauses are added at N15.403-4-70, N15.408-70, and N30.201. NRO Form N4-52, Acquisition Plan, is revised to require a description of the proposed competition strategy vice acquisition strategy, and identification of any requirement for the contractor to design, develop, or operate a system of records on individuals that will be subject to the FAR Privacy Act and Privacy Training clauses. NRO Form N4-53, Inherently Governmental Function Assessment and Determination, is redesigned. Item 3 N6 Competition Requirements. Part N6 is extensively revised as follows: clarifies that additional justification is required when citing the Class J&A; removes the requirement to provide an approved acquisition plan when submitting a J&A for D/OC approval; moves the requirement for a copy of the previous acquisition J&A for a follow-on procurement to N75; authorizes digital signatures on J&As; to clarify the dollar thresholds for J&A review and approval; and removes guidance on completing the Price Negotiation Memorandum (PNM). Item 4 N7 Acquisition Planning. Part N7 is extensively revised as follows: refines the definition of terms; emphasizes Acquisition Strategy Council (ASC) guidance; deletes references to Designated Acquisition Activities; and defines Inherently Governmental Functions. Item 5 N9 Contractor Qualifications. Section N9.104-1 is added to provide guidance on contractor financial reviews; Section N9.104-2-70 is revised; Section N9.104-70 is revised to require the SCO to notify the D/OC via email if a CRWL-listed company earns an unsatisfactory FDO determination; Section N9.104-71 is re-numbered; and N9.104-5 and clause N52.209-009, Representation by Corporations Regarding an Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction Under Any Federal Law, is deleted along with the prescription at N9.104-71(a). Item 6 N15 Contracting by Negotiation. Section N15.370, Streamlined Procurement, is revised as follows: increases the maximum number of members on the procurement evaluation team; changes the criteria for assigning the Source Selection Authority; and alters the allowable non-cost evaluation factors. Section N15.405-70 is deleted. Section N15.406-1(b)(S-70) is re-numbered to N15.406-1(b) and revised to clarify guidance regarding pre-negotiation objectives and briefings. New Section N15.406-70 is added to address negotiation outcomes that exceed a DNROapproved ASDM. Section N15.506 is revised to eliminate the requirement for associated documents in the official summary of post-award debriefings. 2
Item 7 N16 Types of Contracts. Section N16.102-70 policy on prohibition on Direct Labor Equivalents is deleted. N16.470-4 Award Fee Procedures is clarified by: adding language for D/OC verbal or electronic notification when a company already on the CRWL receives less than a 50 Award Fee score; clarifying OCP submission prior to DNRO review; and combining the timelines for the briefing and modification. Section N16.5 is extensively revised as follows: clarifies definition and use of IDIQ contracts at the NRO; IDIQ clauses are extensively revised to model the FAR and to remove the contractor option to exceed maximum value, changing it to agreement of the parties; a new clause (N52.216-018) called Ordering is created from the prior section B system clause; removes in lieu of on 2 FAR clauses (actually provisions). All contract payment withholding clauses are moved to Part 32. Section 16.603, Letter Contracts, is changed to clarify the definition of undefinitized modifications as change orders and to increase UCA funding from 40% to 50% of CROM. Item 8 N22 Application of Labor Laws to Government Acquisitions. Section N22.104 reference to Agency Labor Advisor is deleted. Item 9 N27 Patents, Data, and Copyrights. Section N27.7103 is modified to warn against incorporating contractor proposals by reference and to require DD/OC approval when a Contracting Officer decides to not use clause N52.227-011, Technical Data and Computer Software: Withholding of Payment. Item 10 N32 Contract Financing. Section 32.1 is extensively revised as follows: includes contract payment withholding language prescriptions and clauses from N16; Section N32.170, financial review requirements for responsibility determination is deleted and moved to N9; N32.706, Contract Clauses, is revised for clarification of prescriptions and to remove the prescription and clause N52.232-011, Contract Funding Allotment and Obligation. Item 11 N34 Major System Acquisition. Section 34.005-70, Earned Value Management, is extensively revised as follows: adds definitions; establishes the NRO Focal Point for Earned Value; streamlines contractor requirements for proposal submission; removes N52.234-001 solicitation provision; and revises N52.234-002 clause to coincide with current Cost and Acquisition Assessment Group EVM Center of Excellence (CAAG/ECE) earned value practices. Item 12 N35 Research and Development Contracting. Section N35.003-70 is revised to require DD/OC approval, versus SCO approval, for recoupment of funding from contractors and to clarify the request for recoupment preparation instructions. N35.010 is revised to clarify the prohibition of delivery of scientific and technical reports to DTIC. N35.015-70 is revised to include University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) in the approval process for NRO contracts with U.S. educational institutions. Section N35.016 is revised to establish approval levels for BAA evaluation and selection plans. 3
N35.017 is edited to include BPO/RM as the NRO focal point for FFRDC requirements. Item 13 N37 Service Contracting. Section N37.570 is revised to reference the NRO Services Framework ND 10-3 and NI 10-3-1 as the governing documents. Contract clause N52.237-002 is deleted in its entirety. Appendix N76, Service Contracting, is deleted in its entirety. Item 14 N42 Contract Administration and Audit Services. N42.12 is revised to remove NRO Settlements Team (NST) as the Novation office and is replaced with a D/OC appointment of a Novation Contracting Officer. N42.1502, Contractor Performance, is extensively revised to focus on contract performance versus source selection past performance evaluations which are captured in N15. The entire N42 is revised with several administrative changes. Item 15 N45 Government Property. Section N45.7101 is revised to include the dollar value to capital assets effective January 1, 2018. Section N45.7101-1 is revised to clarify the definition of Equipment, Material, and IT as Equipment in accordance with the FAR and several administrative definitions to coincide with N45 clause definitions. Item 16 N61 Independent Contractors. N61.1 is revised to add a prohibition on LLCs receiving IC contracts. N61.2 is revised to clarify formalization of the IC contract timing and negotiations with CIA employees in the Agency s Career Transition Program. N61.301 is revised to add a preference for FFP contracts for IC contracts, to add PDD/NRO approval for over $110 per hour, and to remove the allowance for travel reimbursement outside of the IC contract. N61.303 is revised to add Directorate/Office (D&O) OC Team Chief coordination on IC J&A s. N61.304 adds an annual period of performance limitation and requires an annual review and validation of the IC requirement by the requesting D&O. Item 17 N65 Contract Payments. N65.102 is extensively revised to clarify the role of DCAA in the NRO invoice approval process. N65.103.1 is revised to include guidance for potential duplicate vouchers in the electronic invoicing system. Item 18 N67 Price Negotiation Memorandum. N67 is extensively revised to distinguish the pre-negotiation objective documentation from the post-negotiation documentation of the negotiations. Item 19 N70 NRO Profit Guidelines. N70 is revised for minor clarifications. Item 20 N75 NRO Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition. N75 is extensively revised for the following administrative matters: removed duplicative information with FAR, removed policy restated from N6, removed duplicative information within the document (contents of template and template), and several administrative edits for clarity and readability. 4
Item 21 Administrative Revisions. Section N4.475 is revised to require the Contracting Officer to portion mark the program name and description in the Epx Studio Star Tab. Appendix N74, NRO Purchase Card Program, Attachment B, Letters of Agreement, is updated to cite the current versions of FAR clauses 52.212-3 and 52.212-5. Guide N94, Contracting Officer s Technical Representative and Contract Line Item Number Manager Letters of Appointment, is revised to clarify that the COTR must review and approve Contract Data Requirements List deliverables, or provide the basis for disapproval. The NAM Table of Contents, Clause Matrix, and Appendix N64, Acquisition Approval Matrix, are updated to reflect the changes in this Circular. /signed/ James C. Marson Director, Office of Contracts 5