Use of Legislative Incentive for Performance-Based Contracting Unknown
Abstract
In October 2000, Congress passed section 821(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, which allows DOD to treat performance-based service contracts or task orders as contracts for the procurement of commercial items under specified conditions. The conditions are that the contract or task order must: (1) be valued at $5 million or less; (2) define the work in measurable, mission related terms; (3) identify a specific end product or output; (4) contain a firm, fixed price; and (4) be awarded to a contractor that provides similar services to the general public under terms and conditions similar to those offered to the federalgovernment. The use of performance-based contracts to acquire services offers a number of potential benefits. Performance-based contracts can encourage contractors to be innovative and to find cost-effective ways of delivering services. By shifting the focus from process to results, they hold the promise of better outcomes and reduced costs. In view of the potential benefits, Congress has been encouraging greater use of performance-based contracting, and the administration has set a general goal that 20 percent of eligible service contracts should be performance based. 4 DOD has a goal that 50 percent of its service contracts will be performance based by 2005.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2003
- Accession Number
- AD1149494
Entities
People
- William T. Woods
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office