IR&D

On January 4, 2017, the Department of Defense’s top acquisition official issued a memorandum further clarifying the implementation of a November 2016 final rule concerning the reimbursement of major contractors’ Independent Research & Development (“IR&D”) costs.  In a move likely intended to reassure major defense contractors, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, Frank Kendall, stressed that the recent final rule “merely codifies a long standing practice” used by contractors.  Mr. Kendall also emphasized that DoD does not require major contractors to obtain formal or “de facto” approval of IR&D projects before incurring such costs.

But while DoD’s efforts to comfort industry are commendable, some key questions remain, including most prominently: whether and how DoD auditors will utilize the results of pre-IR&D “technical interchange” meetings to question the allowability of IR&D costs.Continue Reading DoD Reassures Major Contractors It’s Not Returning to Old IR&D Practices, But Significant Questions Still Remain

On March 8, 2016, a final rule changed the position of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (“NASA”) suspending and debarring official (“SDO”).  The SDO had been NASA’s Assistant Administrator for Procurement.  The final rule reassigns the position to NASA’s Deputy General Counsel.  Public comments were not accepted because NASA concluded that the change “affects only the internal operating procedures” of the agency.
Continue Reading A Change to the SDO Position at NASA

The Department of Defense (DoD) will require contractors to disclose more information about their Independent Research & Development (IR&D) projects before the Government will reimburse IR&D costs, the Pentagon said in a proposed rule issued earlier this week.  The proposed rule, which was previewed in an August 2015 white paper, is the latest sign that DoD is poised to overhaul the regulatory framework that applies to IR&D performed by defense contractors.  Indeed, just last week, DoD issued yet another proposed rule that would change the way proposed IR&D projects are evaluated in DoD procurements.
Continue Reading Defense Contractors Must Share (Even More) Information About Their IR&D Projects Before DoD Will Reimburse IR&D Costs