DOS - AUD-MERO-21-37 - 1

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive amend the Foreign Affairs Handbook to include a subsection in 14 FAH-2 H-320, Acquisition Planning, providing direct guidance on sole source noncompetitive contracts or contract extensions with an existing contractor to bridge the time between the original end of that contractor’s contract and the competitive award of a follow-on contract, including providing definitions to the terms: “bridge contract” or “bridge actions,” the parameters under which these sole source noncompetitive contracts and extensions can be used, and a requirement to provide additional information necessary to justify consecutive uses of a noncompetitive sole source award.