Emergency Contracting Strategies for Federal Projects

During the past decade, government agencies have struggled to adequately respond to emergency events that require labor, materials, equipment, and services provided by construction contractors. In fact, the criticism directed at government agencies during their response to, and recovery after, recent events is a testament to the insufficient contracting strategies that were implemented. Countless media headlines highlighted the fragmented approach used to hire contractors expeditiously, and several agencies were criticized for their inconsistent contracting methods. As a result, a study was initiated to investigate the differences between normal federal contracting procedures, as outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and emergency acquisition procedures that are permitted by the FAR. The study found six examples of waivers to the usual regulations or expedited contracting techniques permitted by the FAR. Furthermore, the study highlighted five emergency contract strategies that are available to the Navy (as one example of a government agency with contracting authority) and may be available to other governmental contracting authorities as well. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to identify emergency contract strategies that can be used by government agencies and to outline the criteria that must be met to use each strategy.