Multiple-award IDIQ pools, ceilings, and fair opportunity
Two competitions on multiple-award — base pool placement and order-level — plus ceiling math.
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Base pool versus order award
On a multiple-award , base-contract competition creates the pool and usually a minimum guarantee; order-level competition awards specific work. Above the micro-purchase threshold, FAR 16.505(b) requires a fair opportunity for each eligible multiple-award contractor unless a listed exception applies with contracting-officer documentation. Incumbency is not an automatic follow-on right. Capture plans under IDIQs are order campaigns — and staff them that way.
Watch for
Don’t cancel the IDIQ to run Part 15 for every order; award every order to the lowest base labor rate; or let a holder waive fair opportunity for everyone else.
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IDIQ ceiling
An IDIQ ceiling is the stated maximum the Government may not exceed under FAR 16.504 — often in dollars, sometimes shared across holders. follows the contract: shared versus per-contract maximums, and which orders count. When the maximum is shared, advise capacity from remaining aggregate room — not from your wins alone. Customer advising and bid/ both need a current ordering report, not a slide from award day.
Watch for
Don’t treat the maximum as a non-binding planning estimate; wait until final payment to reduce remaining capacity; or calculate remaining room from your wins alone on a shared ceiling.
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Fair-opportunity exceptions
Fair-opportunity exceptions are listed rationales in FAR 16.505(b)(2) — urgency, only one capable source, logical follow-on in the Government’s interest, satisfying a minimum guarantee, and others — each requiring contracting-officer documentation. Urgent recovery work should not silently expand into years of routine operations without returning to fair opportunity when practicable. Size bridges to the emergency and protect the competition record for enduring work.
Watch for
Don’t treat program-office ‘high priority’ labels as a substitute for findings; skip documentation because urgency ‘is obvious’; or use the first outage to shield all future operations from fair opportunity.