Glossary
Federal contracting, in plain English.
Government contracting runs on vocabulary that is precise, load-bearing and almost never explained. Getting one of these terms wrong does not cost you style points. It costs you the bid, because the requirement you misread was the one that disqualified you.
Each entry answers one question directly, in the first sentence, with no preamble.
Click any of the terms below to learn more.
Terms (17)
BOE
A Basis of Estimate (BOE) is the written justification for every cost element in a proposal. It names the source of each labor hour, material dollar and travel cost. A government analyst can then trace the number to a defensible method rather than a guess.
Broad Agency Announcement
A Broad Agency Announcement is the instrument a federal agency uses to buy basic and applied research. FAR 35.016 governs it. A peer or scientific review panel evaluates each proposal against the criteria the announcement states. Proposals do not compete head to head, because a BAA carries no common statement of work.
CDRL
A CDRL (Contract Data Requirements List) is the contractual list of every data product a contractor must deliver to the government. A DD Form 1423 records each item with its own identifier, governing Data Item Description, delivery schedule, and format.
CMMC
CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) is the Department of War program that verifies contractor cybersecurity. It reaches your company through a contract clause, so the level you need varies contract by contract.
Compliance Matrix
A compliance matrix is a table that maps every requirement in a solicitation to the exact place in your proposal that answers it. The proposal team and the government evaluator both use it to confirm that no requirement went unanswered.
CPARS
CPARS (Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System) is the government's official record of how a contractor performed on past contracts. FAR 42.15 requires the evaluation, and FAR 15.305 requires source selection to consider past performance. A rating written on the contract you hold today scores the proposal you write tomorrow.
DID
A Data Item Description (DID) is a standard DoW document that states the required content, format, and preparation instructions for one type of deliverable. A CDRL cites the DID by number, so both parties know what the delivered document must contain.
GPR
Government Purpose Rights (GPR) let the government use, modify and disclose technical data or computer software for any government purpose. A government purpose includes release to a competitor, but excludes commercial use. By default, GPR converts to unlimited rights five years after execution of the contract.
OCI
An Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) exists when the other work, relationships or information access of a contractor produce one of three effects. The contractor would lose its objectivity, would gain an unfair competitive advantage, or would set the ground rules for a competition it intends to enter. FAR Subpart 9.5 governs the condition.
Pass-Through Charges
An excessive pass-through charge is indirect cost or profit that a contractor adds to subcontracted work for which it adds no or negligible value. FAR 52.215-22 and 52.215-23 apply when a contractor expects to subcontract more than 70 percent of the total cost of work. The contractor must then identify that fact and justify the value it adds.
Recompete
A recompete is the new competition for work that an existing contract already covers. It runs when that contract reaches the end of its period of performance, with the incumbent defending the work and everyone else challenging for it. "Recompete" is an industry term rather than a FAR term. The FAR governs the mechanics behind it through the option, extension and competition rules.
ROM
A ROM (Rough Order of Magnitude) is a fast, non-binding cost estimate with an explicitly stated uncertainty band. A contractor gives a ROM early, often for market research, to show roughly what a requirement will cost before a formal proposal exists.
Section L
Section L of a federal solicitation is "Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors." It tells you how to write and submit your proposal, including volume structure, page limits, formatting rules, and required content.
Section M
Section M of a federal solicitation is "Evaluation Factors for Award." It states what the government will score, how the factors rank against each other, and how technical merit compares to price.
Sources Sought
A sources sought notice is a market research announcement. A government agency asks industry to identify itself and describe its capability before any solicitation exists, and the responses directly determine whether the eventual contract goes to small business as a set-aside.
WBS
A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a product-oriented hierarchical decomposition of everything a contract requires. Each element is a discrete piece of scope that a team can describe, schedule, estimate, and later report against.
Wrap Rate
A wrap rate is the multiplier that converts direct hourly labor cost into a fully burdened billing rate. The multiplier covers fringe benefits, overhead, general and administrative expense, and fee.