General Services Administration (GSA) recently released updated guidelines for Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTAs) that clarifies administrative details, expectations on agreement documents, and GSA’s limits on oversight. In light of this, we’ll cover some of the most common points of confusion we see from prospective contractors, including what CTAs are and what they aren’t.
What are CTAs?
MAS CTAs (not to be confused with CTAs outlined by Federal Acquisition Regulation clause 9.6) are agreements that allow two or more MAS vendors to work together to compete for orders they might not qualify for independently. Vendors participating in a CTA must each have their own Schedule award. The agreements are drafted by participating vendors and GSA does not provide oversight on the management of agreement documents but will review the document itself for key components outlined in the updated guidance.
What aren’t CTAs?
There are two other types of valid GSA partnerships that can be easily confused for CTAs but have key differences: subcontracting and joint ventures.
Subcontracting: The use of subcontractors to fulfill GSA orders is encouraged, and for businesses categorized as “Other than Small,” it’s required. While these subcontractors may assist in the fulfilment of orders that are placed using the GSA Schedule, their work is not considered a direct sale to the government, they are not required to hold their own GSA contract, and they do not have the right to establish the terms or incur liability for orders placed through the prime’s GSA contract.
Joint Ventures (JVs): A Joint Venture is when two or more businesses combine their resources to compete for one Schedule contract award, whereas CTAs involve two or more businesses that already have Schedule contracts. CTAs, whether order-level or contract-level, can be dissolved without the participating vendors losing their Schedule contract, but Joint Ventures cannot participate in the MAS program without their collaboration.
For more information on the difference between CTAs, subcontracting, and Joint Ventures, visit our previous blog post.
What is GSA’s Role in CTA Agreements?
CTA agreements are negotiated and drafted between CTA members, and the government does not participate in the drafting process, nor does it hold members liable for the responsibilities outlined in the agreement. However, CTA agreements must be submitted to GSA Contracting Officers for review and will be expected to be available to government buyers.
Contracting Officers will look for key components in a CTA agreement, including but not limited to clear delegations of responsibilities, duration of the agreement, how orders will be invoiced, and how CTA members will be replaced in the event they leave the agreement. A complete list of components can be found in the updated guidance page on GSA’s website.
What is the Difference Between CTA Leads and CTA Members?
Because CTAs are established between two or more MAS contractors, GSA requires roles in the agreement to delegate shared responsibilities, namely the CTA Lead and the CTA Members. While the responsibilities of the lead versus the team members can vary contract to contract and are determined by what is put forth in the CTA agreement, generally the CTA Lead will manage submitting the agreement to their Contracting Officer, invoicing the products or services ordered through the CTA agreement, and modifying the CTA agreement as necessary.
Who Will Get a CPARS Report?
In orders fulfilled by CTAs, the ordering agency is only required to fill out a Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Report for the contractor identified as the “preponderance of revenue.” This may be the CTA Lead but does not have to be. Additionally, the ordering agency may opt to fill out multiple CPARS for different CTA members but is not obligated to. It’s important to note that CTA Leads are not responsible for the individual performance of any CTA Member, and unfavorable member performance will not reflect on them in systems such as CPARS.
How Do I Determine Pricing?
The prices proposed within the CTA agreement must match the prices that are included in an individual member’s Schedule contract. In the event that more than one member has pricing listed for the contracted products or services, the pricing will be derived from the CTA member that is fulfilling that portion of the order.
Do I Need All the SINs That Are Required by One Order?
Because CTAs are made to allow multiple businesses to compete for orders they would not independently qualify for, it is not required or expected that the CTA members each have all the Special Item Numbers (SINs) required to fulfill the order. As it pertains to the scope of the order, each team member only needs the SINs relevant to the work they are individually responsible for. As mentioned previously, these responsibilities should be clearly defined in the CTA agreement.
What About Orders that are Small Business Set-Asides?
Small Business set-asides are orders or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) reserved by the federal government which limit competition to only qualifying small businesses. There are multiple types of set-asides, such as small business, Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and more.
To compete for contracts designated as small business set-asides using a CTA, each participating CTA member must individually qualify for the set-aside. For example, if a CTA comprises three entities and only two out of the three are considered small businesses, they cannot compete for a small business set-aside under their CTA.
Do You Have Questions About MAS CTAs?
CTAs can be a great strategic move to enhance the opportunities available on the GSA MAS. They are one of the multiple ways that businesses can collaborate to be competitive. If you’re interested in learning more about the types of collaboration structures available to existing or prospective vendors, Winvale’s team of experts can help answer your questions.
