Acquisition Authorities and Responsibilities

Citation
301 FW 1
FWM Number
N/A
Date
Supersedes
301 FW 1, 04/6/17
Originating Office
Division of Acquisition and Property Policy Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TopicsSections
OVERVIEW

1.1 What is the purpose of this chapter?

1.2 What is the scope of Part 301 in the Service Manual?

1.3 How is Part 301 organized?

1.4 What are the principal objectives of the chapters in Part 301?

AUTHORITIES

1.5 What are the authorities and guidance that govern the Service’s acquisition program?

1.6 Where can more information be found on how acquisition regulations, policies, and other authorities are applied at the Service?

RESPONSIBILITIES1.7 Who is responsible for the Service’s acquisition program?

OVERVIEW

1.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter:

A. Provides an overview of how Part 301 is organized,

B. Describes the principal goals and objectives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) acquisition policies,

C. Lists the principal authorities that govern the acquisition process, and

D. Identifies the Service officials who perform general functions in the acquisition process.

1.2 What is the scope of Part 301 in the Service Manual? The chapters in Part 301 apply to all Service employees who are involved in procurement.

1.3 How is Part 301 organized? See Table 1-1.

Table 1-1: Part 301, Acquisition Policies and Procedures

Chapter titleTopics
301 FW 1Acquisition Authorities and Responsibilities
301 FW 2Acquisition Planning
301 FW 3Conflicts of Interest and Other Legal and Ethical Prohibitions
301 FW 4Procurement Procedures
301 FW 5Unauthorized Commitments
301 FW 6Promotional Items
301 FW 7Sustainable Procurement

1.4 What are the principal objectives of the chapters in Part 301? The objectives of our acquisition policies are to:

A. Achieve full compliance with acquisition statutes and regulations;

B. Avoid conflicts of interest, unauthorized commitments, and unfair preferences;

C. Perform advanced acquisition planning to allow sufficient time for consideration of all applicable procurement factors, and ensure the advanced acquisition planning begins when the acquisition need is first identified;

D. Assist the Service in meeting small business Federal contracting goals that support and improve socioeconomic conditions. We do this by, when appropriate, setting acquisitions aside for small businesses, or awarding prime contracts and requiring sub-contracts be awarded to small businesses that meet designated U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) contracting assistance programs;

E. Maximize competition; and

F. Obtain high-quality products and services at fair and reasonable prices.

AUTHORITIES

1.5 What are the authorities and guidance that govern the Service’s acquisition program?

A. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR)is the primary document that codifies acquisition regulations and policies for executive agencies.

B. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76, Performance of Commercial Activities.    

C. OMB Circular A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control.

D. OMB Circular A-131, Value Engineering.

E. The Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulation (DIAR) (48 CFR 14) is the Department's supplemental acquisition regulation to the FAR.

F. 205 Departmental Manual (DM) 11, Procurement and Contracting.

G. 401 DM 1, Procurement Regulations.

H. 402 DM, Requisitioning.

I.  404 DM, Procurement Planning.

J. The Department of the Interior Acquisition, Arts, and Asset Policy (DOI-AAAP) Framework provides policy and guidance on acquisition regulations.

K. Acquisition Policy Memoranda are Service polices and guidance issued by Acquisition & Property Policy Management (APPM) supporting internal Service and Departmental policies.

1.6 Where can more information be found on how acquisition regulations, policies, and other authorities are applied at the Service?

A. The Contracting Officer’s Handbook (COH) is an online guide that supplements the DIAR and the FAR. The Acquisition Policy and Training (APT) Branch updates the COH, which:

(1) Contains procedures for implementing the acquisition program that are unique to the Service; and

(2) Provides guidance for implementing the FAR, OMB Circulars, DIAR, DM, and DOI-AAAPs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1.7 Who is responsible for the Service’s acquisition program? See Table 1-2.

Table 1-2: Responsibilities for the Service Acquisition Program

These employees...Are responsible for...
A. The Director

(1) Ensuring the Service has an acquisition program in place that meets Federal requirements, and

(2) Approving or declining to approve acquisition policy.

B. The Assistant Director – Management and Administration (AD-MA)

(1) Serving as the Bureau Procurement Executive;

(2) Taking overall responsibility for oversight and accountability over the Service’s contracting function;

(3) Approving the hiring action and selection of the Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA) in coordination with the Department’s Senior Procurement Executive; and

(4) Ensuring the integrity of our acquisition system by making sure the Service complies with acquisition-related laws, regulations, policies, and ethics rules.

C. Directorate Members, including Assistant Directors, Regional and Assistant Regional Directors, Director of the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC), and the Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS)

(1) Ensuring that proposed acquisitions are necessary to support our mission; and

(2) Supporting acquisition-related requirements such as:

     (a) Advance acquisition planning,

     (b) Socioeconomic and environmental preference programs when acquiring goods and services,

     (c) Ethical standards,

     (d) Performance-based acquisitions, and

     (e) Full and open competition.

D. The Division Chief, Acquisition & Property Policy Management (APPM), Joint Administrative Operations (JAO)

(1) Serving as the HCA;

(2) Working collaboratively with the Senior Chief of the Contracting Office (SCCO) in the shared management and oversight of the acquisition function;

(3) Providing oversight, accountability, and transparency of the entire acquisition function;

(4) Overseeing acquisition tools and internal controls;

(5) Developing and issuing uniform acquisition and property policies, procedures, and training;

(6) Conducting acquisition management reviews of the Acquisition and Property Operations (APO) Division in accordance with the Government Accountability Office’s “Framework for Assessing the Acquisition Function at Federal Agencies” and Departmental guidance;

(7) Promoting effective communication between the contracting workforce and leadership at the Bureau and Departmental levels;

(8) Promoting full and open competition as the Bureau Competition Advocate;

(9) Supporting the contract writing system (PRISM) and other acquisition Information Technology (IT) systems;

(10) Ratifying unauthorized commitments made using the Government purchase card (see 301 FW 5); and

(11) Reviewing contract files for compliance with acquisition policy and regulations.

E. The Branch Chief, Acquisition Policy and Training (APT), JAO

(1) Serving as Deputy to the HCA;

(2) Providing supervision and oversight to the APT Branch;

(3) Providing acquisition policy expertise and coordination for high visibility initiatives;

(4) Ensuring oversight of Departmental and Service acquisition-related reporting, internal control reviews, the small business program, and required certifications for the contracting workforce; and

(5) Developing and providing acquisition training for contracting personnel, contracting officer representatives, and internal customers.

F. The Deputy Ethics Counselor, Associate Ethics Counselors, and Assistant Ethics CounselorsInterpreting ethics laws and regulations that apply to acquisition matters (see 212 FW 1 for information about these officials).
G. The Division Chief, Acquisition & Property Operations (APO), JAO

(1) Serving as the Senior Chief of the Contracting Office (SCCO);

(2) Working collaboratively with the HCA in the shared management and oversight of the acquisition function;

(3) Managing the JAO Acquisition & Property Operations Division, and overseeing the contracting workforce;

(4) Assigning purchase requests or other requirements across the contracting activity to ensure proper personnel are assigned contracts, particularly for complex and specialized work;

(5) Providing supervision of all JAO APO personnel;

(6) Ensuring the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) has been consulted on applicable contracting requirements;

(7) Reviewing contract files for compliance with acquisition policy and regulations; and

(8) Supporting the contract writing system (PRISM) and other acquisition IT systems.

H. Branch Chiefs for Acquisition Operations, APO, JAO

(1) Serving as the Chief of the Contracting Office (CCO),

(2) Implementing acquisition policies within their designated branch, and

(3) Reviewing contract files for compliance with acquisition policy and regulations.

I. Section Chiefs for Acquisition Operations, APO, JAO

(1) Ensuring on-the-job training is available for Contracting Officers;

(2) Reviewing contract files of the Contracting Officers they supervise to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and policy for acquisition matters and ethics; and

(3) Serving as a field-level Small Business Specialist.

J. Contracting Officers, Acquisition Operations, APO, JAO

(1) Planning, soliciting, negotiating, awarding, administering, and terminating contracts;

(2) Making and documenting applicable justifications, determinations, and findings; and

(3) Ensuring the Service is in compliance with the laws and regulations pertaining to acquisitions.