“Do You Know” the reasoning behind the mandatory inclusion of FAR 52.201-1’s market research requirement in solicitations and contracts with a value in excess of $5M?

The answer can be found in the regulatory history that is referenced in the brackets below FAR 10.003. See 76 Federal Register 14562.

The reason for the clause appears to be directly tied to a directive from Congress that is set forth in Section 826 (Market Research) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2008 (Public Law 110-181). That law specifically required that an acquisition regulation be promulgated by the FAR Council which requires prime contractors, who enter into a contract valued in excess of $5M with any executive agency, to conduct market research to determine whether commercial item subcontractors could assist in the provision of supplies or services in excess of the SAT.

Note that similar requirements, which provide that prime contractors providing “other than commercial items” must seek out commercial item subcontractors “to the maximum extent practicable” to assist in providing supplies or services to the Government, can be found at FAR 44.402 and 52.244-6.

Related Post

Did You Know? Fun with the FAR Session 15

By David Gallacher, Partner, Sheppard Mullin We had a great discussion on Fun with the FAR, Episode 15 on June 2, 2021 with host Steven Daoust discussing FAR Part 25, Foreign Acquisitions, with co-host David Gallacher (partner, Sheppard Mullin). We started talking...

Did You Know? Fun with the FAR Session 12

By Brett Egusa, Senior Legal Editor at Thomson Reuters Today we learned that the Federal Government has many unique and flexible contracting methods that it can use to fulfill special procurement needs. Under FAR 17.1 and 17.2, for example, we learn that the...

Did You Know? FUN with the FAR Session 7

Did You Know? By: Jason Workmaster, Partner, Miller & Chevalier If you’re a commercial company interested in contracting with the Federal Government, then you’ll want to understand the in’s and out’s of how the government contracts for commercial items under FAR...