The U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) awarded eight (8) prime contracts for the CR2 Program on 31 January 2003.

ARINC received an ID/IQ contract award from CECOM with a ceiling value of $2.778 Billion. The CR2 Program is an 8-year ID/IQ contract consisting of a 2-year base period and three 2-year option periods.

What is the CR2 Program?

The CR2 Program is an ID/IQ contract vehicle administered by the US Army CECOM. The CR2 Program provides the Department of Defense (DOD) and other federal agencies with a rapid response contracting vehicle to get work awarded quickly to support Government systems, platforms and item managers worldwide. The CR2 Program provides Federal Government customers with access to prime contractors who lead teams of multiple subcontractors, capable of providing the broad range of services and support needed to accommodate varied user demands. The CR2 Statement of Work is very broad and scope and establishes the requirements for contractor-provided services to research, develop, upgrade, install, fabricate, test, maintain and support new and existing Federal Government platforms, systems, subsystems and items. Contract requirements will be competed amongst the primes in a full-and-open competitive environment. Task orders awards are Time and Materials (T&M) or Firm Fixed Price (FFP).

CR2 Streamlined Acquisition Process

The purpose of the CR2 Program is to enable Federal Government customers to get work on contract quickly. The experienced and dedicated staff at CECOM accomplishes this objective through its implementation of a streamlined acquisition process. By providing step-by-step technical / contract / budget instruction to its customers, CECOM is able to achieve a 19-to-40 day competitive award process.

CR2 Statement of Work Scope

The CR2 Statement of Work (SOW) is deliberately broad in scope to allow for the greatest flexibility in responding to federal contracting needs. CR2 offers the following services

Research and Development System Integration Installation Hardware Fabrication Test and Evaluation Studies and Analyses Product Data Maintenance and Repair Coating Publications		Technology Insertion System Engineering Incidental Construction Software Fabrication Certification Logistics Support Configuration Management Painting Sealing
	Logistics Support Analyses
	Packaging Handling Storage Marking Transportation Training Acquisition Support

Virtually every type of engineering support services are available, providing maximum breadth to accommodate the entire federal inventory.

How to Prepare the CR2 Data Package:

The following step-by-step instructions will serve as a guide for Federal Government Customers on how to prepare and submit the documents required by CECOM in order to get a Task Execution Plan (TEP), [also known as a Request for Proposal (RFP)] bid and awarded under the CR2 Program

STEP 1
CONTACT THE US ARMY CECOM CR2 PROJECT OFFICE TO REGISTER A NEW PROJECT

In order to begin the process, the Government customer needs to contact the CECOM CR2 Project Office. The points-of-contact are as follows:

Ms. Jelica Potter
Phone: (732) 427-5527
E-Mail: jelica.potter@us.army.mil

Mr. Jim Hardeman
Phone: (732) 532-3658
E-Mail: james.hardeman@us.army.mil

Mr. Dwayne Terry
Phone: (732) 427-8027
E-Mail: dwayne.terry@us.army.mil

The Government customer needs to specify that this is a registration for a new project on the CR2 Program, and will provide the following information

• Project Title
• Name of Requesting Activity
• Brief Description of the Effort
• Name of Primary Point of Contact (Must be a Government Employee)
• Name of Financial/Budget Point of Contact
• Estimated Dollar Amount of the Effort
• Type and Year of Funds
• Desired Award Date
• Known Source to Perform the Work
• Expected Period of Performance

STEP 2
PREPARE TASK PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT / STATEMENT OF WORK

The Government customer will be asked to prepare a Performance Work Statement (PWS) that describes the required work effort. CECOM has a PWS template for the customer's use.

STEP 3
PREPARE INDEPENDENT GOVERNMENT COST ESTIMATE

The Government customer will need to prepare an independent Government cost estimate. The CECOM CR2 Project Office will also provide a template for the estimate.

STEP 4
PREPARE FUNDING TRANSFER DOCUMENT

The Government customer will need to prepare and send a funding transfer document or Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requisition (MIPR) to CECOM in order to fund the project. The Government customer will also need to include funds to pay for CECOM's 1.25% fee for utilizing the CR2 contracting vehicle. The CECOM CR2 Project Office will help coordinate the completion of this task.

STEP 5
IDENTIFICATION OF EXCEPTIONS TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY REQUIREMENTS

Each CR2 Prime Contractor will be given an opportunity to submit a TEP for each CR2 task order bid on the CR2 Program, unless one of the applicable exceptions of FAR 16.505 is present. These exceptions are summarized below

Unique or Highly Specialized Supplies/Services
• Only one contractor is capable of providing the required support at the required level of quality because the supplies or services being ordered are unique or highly qualified.
• Occurs when the contractor possesses proprietary or highly unique expertise or data regarding a specific item, system, or process.

Logical Follow-on
• The original work was awarded under a previous CR2 delivery order.
• When the original order was bid, all CR2 contractors were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

Urgency
• If there truly is a compelling urgency for this requirement, then an exception to fair opportunity can be granted.

If one of these exceptions applies, the Government Customer will need to prepare a Source Rationale. CECOM will provide a template.

Task Execution Plan (TEP)

Once the CR2 data package is finalized, and the Government Customer has approved its release for bid, the CECOM will electronically send the Request for Task Execution Plan (RTEP) to the prime contractors on the CR2 Program. The prime contractors will prepare their bid responses to the RTEP and submit their team's bid within the timeframe specified (usually 7 calendar days). The TEP responses will include a technical description of the work to be performed, labor, materials breakdown, and a cost proposal.

Government Award Process

Once the TEP responses have been submitted by the prime contractors, The CECOM CR2 Project Office will request that the Government Customer review the bids and provide an evaluation report and recommendation for award. CECOM will provide the template for the evaluation report.

The Government Customer will be asked to complete the evaluation of the bids within five (5) calendar days. An additional seven (7) calendar days is set-aside to resolve any discrepancies with the proposals, and prepare the required award documentation.

Upon delivery order award, the CECOM CR2 Project Office will provide the Government Customer with an electronic version of the task order award.

CR2 Website and Points of Contact

For additional information about the CR2 contracting vehicle visit the US Army CECOM Website contact the CR2 Project Office at CECOM or talk to the ARINC TeamR2 Program Office.