COR Tool KitDOE COR Program

Tom McAllisterOffice of Procurement and Assistance Management

COR-Integral Member of the Federal Acquisition Work

Force

• OFPP Memo--Revisions to the Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives (FAC-COR) dated September 2011

• Identified early in Acquisition Planning Phase (CD-1 or before) and continued involvement through Contract/Project Close Out

• CORs play a critical role in contract management—arguably the most important aspect of the project/contract life cycle.

COR Issues

• CO-COR roles and responsibilities not clearly defined (Dep Sec Summit December 2010)

• Certification requirements burdensome (Field Management Council, 2011)

• No clear department wide nomination, certification, and appointment process

• 1 COR appointed to huge and complex contracts• COR appointed to as many as 20 contracts at one time• “Technical Monitors” acting as CORs

COR Tool Kit

• The COR Tool Kit is a compilation of templates, reports, training and other tools to help you perform your COR duties with respect to contract administration, your roles and responsibilities as a COR as well as information on Contracting Officer and Contractor relationship building. In addition, the Tool Kit is for Contracting Officers and Program Managers as well—containing interview templates and staffing tools to use when appointing CORs.

The Tools

1. CO/COR Roles and Responsibilities Template2. Standardized Lead COR and Assistant COR Appointment

Process3. COR Staffing and Work-Load Models4. Program Office COR Interview Template5. Contract Specific Training Guide6. DOE COR Handbook/Desk GuideMost tools include guides and instructions for their use

Tool 1 CO/COR Roles and Responsibilities

Template

• Provides clear guidance on CO and COR roles and responsibilities pre and post award for Non-M&O and M&O contracts. Also lists Program Manager and Technical/Task Monitor roles and responsibilities.

CO/COR Roles and Responsibilities Template

Tool 2Lead COR and Assistant COR

Appointment Process

• This tool details the entire COR appointment process to include appointing Lead and Assistant CORs. This tool can be used by Program Offices as well as Contracting Officers.

Lead COR/Assistant COR Nomination, Certification and Appointment Process

Tool 3COR Staffing and Work Load

Models

• This tool suite is to be utilized before CORs are appointed

• These tools are patterned after and adapted from the DOE Project Staffing Model. These models can be used by the Program Office and Contracting Office to determine how many CORs/Lead and Assistant CORs are needed to effectively manage a contract. In addition, the Work-Load model provides an easy to use tool to “right size” a COR’s contracts portfolio.

Staffing Model

Work Load Model

Tool 4COR Interview Template Tool

• This tool is to be utilized by the Program Office to facilitate indentifying potential COR candidates.

• The tool is a template to guide the Program Office through a COR interview and to grade the potential candidate on specific COR competencies.

COR Interview Template

Tool 5Contract Specific Training

This tool is to be used by the Contracting Officer (CO) once the COR(s) (Lead and Assistant CORs if applicable) have been indentified. The CO conducts a face to face meeting to brief the COR(s) regarding contract specific duties, responsibilities, terms and conditions, deliverables and other information regarding the contract.

Contract Specific Training

Training is divided into seven modules1. Procurement Authority in Government Contracting2. Overview of Procurement Officials 3. Ethics and Standards of Conduct4. Overview of Government Contracts5. Specific COR Roles and Responsibilities and “How to”

- Pre Contract Award6. Specific COR Roles and Responsibilities and “How to”

- Post Contract Award7. COR Do’s and Don’ts

Tool 6 DOE COR Handbook/Desk

Guide

• This guide is a complete desk reference for the COR encompassing most contract administration and contract management topics.

DOE COR Handbook/Desk Guide