NASA Procurement: Use of Award Fees for Achieving Program Outcomes Should Be Improved

摘要

Cost-plus-award-fee contracts accounted for almost half of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's (NASA) obligated contract dollars for fiscal years 2002-2004. Since 1990, we have identified NASA's contract management as a high-risk area--in part because of a lack of emphasis on end results. Congress asked us to examine (1) the extent NASA's guidance on award fees addresses problems previously identified with the use of award-fee contracts and (2) whether NASA follows its guidance in using award fees to achieve desired outcomes. We reviewed the top 10 dollar value award-fee contracts active from fiscal years 2002 through 2004. NASA guidance on the use of cost-plus-award-fee (CPAF) contracts provides criteria to improve the effectiveness of award fees. For example, the guidance emphasizes outcome factors that are good indicators of success in achieving desired results, cautions against using numerous evaluation factors, prohibits rollover of unearned fee, and encourages evaluating the costs and benefits of such contracts before using this contract type. However, NASA does not alwaus follow the preferred approach laid out in its guidance.