FCC OCI & Procurement Integrity 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which FAR subpart provides the primary regulatory framework governing Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI)?
- FAR Subpart 3.1
- FAR Subpart 9.5 (Correct answer)
- FAR Subpart 15.3
- FAR Subpart 52.2
Correct answer: FAR Subpart 9.5
FAR Subpart 9.5 (Organizational Conflicts of Interest) establishes the rules and procedures COs must follow to identify, avoid, neutralize, or mitigate OCIs.
Question 2: A contractor helped the government write the Statement of Work for a major IT acquisition. The same contractor now wants to compete for the resulting contract. What type of OCI does this represent?
- Impaired objectivity
- Unequal access to information
- Biased ground rules (Correct answer)
- Revolving door conflict
Correct answer: Biased ground rules
Biased ground rules OCI occurs when a contractor drafts specifications, SOWs, or evaluation criteria that could favor its own proposal in the resulting competition.
Question 3: Under the Procurement Integrity Act, for how long after leaving a federal position are senior procurement officials prohibited from receiving compensation from contractors who received awards they were personally involved with?
- 6 months
- 1 year (Correct answer)
- 2 years
- 5 years
Correct answer: 1 year
The Procurement Integrity Act imposes a 1-year cooling-off period prohibiting former senior officials from accepting compensation from awardees on procurements where they personally and substantially participated.
Question 4: A systems engineering contractor evaluating proposals for the government notices that one offeror uses technology it holds a financial interest in. Which OCI type best describes the risk?
- Biased ground rules
- Unequal access to information
- Impaired objectivity (Correct answer)
- Appearance conflict
Correct answer: Impaired objectivity
Impaired objectivity OCI exists when a contractor's financial interest in a competing firm or product could bias its evaluation or advisory work for the government.
Question 5: What must a contracting officer do after identifying a potential OCI that cannot be avoided or mitigated?
- Automatically disqualify the contractor
- Request a waiver from the agency head (Correct answer)
- Refer the matter to the Inspector General
- Cancel the procurement
Correct answer: Request a waiver from the agency head
FAR 9.503 allows the agency head (or designee) to waive OCI requirements when in the government's best interest; the CO must request that waiver rather than acting unilaterally.
Question 6: Which action by a contractor employee during a source selection constitutes a violation of the Procurement Integrity Act?
- Submitting a Best and Final Offer
- Discussing compensation with a competing offeror's recruiter (Correct answer)
- Requesting a debriefing after award
- Reviewing publicly posted solicitation amendments
Correct answer: Discussing compensation with a competing offeror's recruiter
The Procurement Integrity Act prohibits contractor personnel from discussing future employment with government officials or competitors' recruiters during a source selection in which they are participating.
Question 7: A contracting officer discovers that a contractor submitted an OCI mitigation plan but failed to implement the required firewall procedures. What is the CO's most appropriate first action?
- Terminate the contract for default immediately
- Consult legal counsel and consider whether corrective action is sufficient (Correct answer)
- Issue a cure notice with a 30-day correction window
- Refer the contractor to the SAM exclusions list
Correct answer: Consult legal counsel and consider whether corrective action is sufficient
The CO should consult legal counsel to assess the severity of the breach and determine whether corrective action, contract modification, or termination is warranted under the specific circumstances.
FCC OCI & Procurement Integrity 2
Which FAR subpart provides the primary regulatory framework governing Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI)?