CONTRACTING & ACQUISITION
DOE’s End States Contracting Model Needs to Consider the Community (the Ultimate EM Customer)
ECA Staff | 3/13/2019
[ECA Note: This article is the second in a series ECA is sharing this week highlighting presentations and papers prepared by ECA members and staff for the 2019 Waste Management Symposia (WMS), March 3-7, 2019 in Phoenix, AZ.]
- Appropriately balance the risk in contracts
- Rely on proven contract types that encourage competition
- Incentivize small business opportunities and healthy subcontracting
- View the host communities as the ultimate “customer”
Mr. McLeod stated that community commitment remains a critical consideration of the contracting process, and ECA’s recommendations are important as DOE looks to implement an their new contracting model: end state contracting.
According to DOE, end state contracting will “provide EM the ability to partner with industry and stakeholders of the Program to openly negotiate the right, risk-based interim and final end states.”
Mr. McLeod’s panel highlighted a number of key questions for EM and local governments to consider regarding contracting model:
- How does end states contracting work when there is no agreement on a change to end states with the local communities?
- What is DOE’s plan to engage local governments? When?
- How will contractors engage local governments in (re)defining end states?
Mr. McLeod noted that some concerns with the end state contracting model are:
- Short term task orders may not be the best mechanism for long-term cleanup success and enduring partnerships with the community.
- Causes changeover in employment (impacting workers and benefits).
- No significant investment in the community (since a contractor may only be there for a year or two and they won’t have enough funds to support the programs).
- Contractor must comply with all current, applicable, regulatory requirements, such as Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) milestones and Records of Decision (ROD), pending approval of any proposed changes.
- Attracting and retaining workforce will problematic and transient.
In his presentation, Mr. McLeod also provided guidance to contractors on engaging with host communities both before and after a contract is awarded. For example,
McLeod identified that before a contract is awarded, the contractor should become familiar with the local community; identify workforce availability and demands; and identify economic strengths and challenges within the community. Host community should prepare to help potential contractors understand the lay of the land; establish a listing of points of contact for the contractor to use; be consistent
in communication with the contractor; and have a data package available for contractors that provides community information with which contractor should be familiar.
After a contract is awarded, contractors should meet with local government and other community representatives, develop an effective communication process for the term of the contract, identify needs of near-term and the out-years, prioritize needs alights to company budget constraints, and develop a draft community commitment plan and share with the appropriate community points of contact.
Explore ECA resources on contracting and acquisition:
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ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, DOE stakeholders, and other parties who may be interested in learning more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
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