There are lots of ways for the government to buy things from industry. There is rarely “the way” to buy something…it’s usually “a way” among many options. As a result, the government acquisition team may need to make formal determinations in the buying process.
Some of those determinations require approval…or at least formal documentation of the reasoning behind the determination. In those cases, the government team, normally the contracting officer, uses the Determination and Finding (D&F) format. In the D&F, the Contracting Officer outlines the “determination” they made, as well as the “findings” that support that determination.
In this episode Kevin and Paul cover the why, what and how behind the “D&F”.
As a follow up: In episode 460 (with Desmond Culler) Kevin talked about buying commercial services in #GovCon. Buying commercial services is one of those areas where a D&F may be required….and in that episode he realized we had not created an episode about “what is a D&F”…so, as promised in that episode, here is it. ☺