Independent Government Cost Estimates.

EP 1110-3-8

9 Apr 04

(b) Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). Because of the dollar levels involved in the

procurement, the USACE district procurement and contracting office will generally use SAP to

process the approved TAPP request as a purchase order. The benefits of using SAP are that

solicitations can be shorter, contracting methods more direct, payment methods quicker, and

documentation generally less burdensome. Factors other than price, such as prior performance

or the demonstration of other specialized skills, may be considered and require only a minimal

amount of documentation when SAP is used.

(c) Independent Government Cost Estimates. The independent government cost estimate is

developed by the COR or his or her delegated representative based on the SOW. The district

procurement and contracting office must be aware of the source and limits of funding for TAPP

projects (see paragraph 3-10). The RAB/TRC should be notified if the government cost estimate

for a proposed project exceeds the planned budget. In such instances, unless a waiver to the

current policy limits on TAPP expenditures (see paragraph 3-10b) is approved, the procurement

as proposed will not proceed. Given this circumstance, the RAB/TRC community members

might wish to modify the SOW so that it more closely matches the available resources and

resubmit the procurement request.

(d) COR. The COR directs the technical aspects of the contract and assesses the

performance of the contractor, with input from the community, at the conclusion of the project.

The USACE RAB Co-Chair will in most instances perform the function of the COR. It is

important to remember that, although the RAB/TRC initiates the project and has a significant

stake in its outcome, the contract is a government contract, and the contractor must receive

direction from the government Contracting Officer. The COR must ensure that the contractor

understands this relationship. Likewise, it is important that the RAB/TRC community members

understand their relationship to the contractor. New tasks or changes to the work schedule or

scope must come through the COR to the district Contracting Officer because the community

members of the RAB cannot task the contractor directly. Communications between the

3-16