# MP5317.5 Interagency Acquisitions under the Economy Act

#### Mandatory Procedure

MP5317.5
Interagency Acquisitions under the Economy Act

[Revised August 3, 2009]

MP5317.500 Scope of Subpart

(a) The Economy Act also applies for direct acquisitions by Air Force contracting officers ordering from non-DOD contracts when no other specific statute authorizes the order. In accordance with AFI 65-116, Air Force Purchases Using Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs), the requiring official will contact the assisting agency to determine whether the Economy Act or a specific authority applies. When the assisting agency has a specific statutory authority, follow AFFARS 5317.78.

(b) Coordinated Acquisitions prescribed in DFARS 208.70 and Project Orders (41 U.S.C. 23) are examples of orders that do not fall under the Economy Act. Project orders are authorized for use when one Government agency wishes to procure a supply or service from another Government agency. Volume 11A, Chapter 2 of Department of Defense (DOD) 7000.14-R, governs the use of project orders within the DOD. There are several conditions for use of the project order, including the requirements that the servicing agency must be capable, be authorized, and produce the item or perform the service in-house. Only an incidental portion of a project order may be contracted out by the servicing agency.

(c) Air Force activities typically obtain supplies/services under the authority of the Economy Act using a DD Form 448 (MIPR) to identify and fund the requirement. Supporting Air Force contracting office review responsibilities for orders placed using a MIPR are established in AFI 65-116. Warranted contracting officers are required to review MIPR packages exceeding $500,000 that will result in a contract action for compliance. Either warranted contracting officers or contract specialists will review MIPR packages below that threshold. Contracting offices will not accept or review manually created MIPRs.

(d) The following procedures should be considered when orders are placed with the Air Force as a servicing agency under the Economy Act:

(1) The Air Force is not required to accept the requesting agency’s order, if accepting the order will prevent the Air Force from fulfilling its mission or the requesting agency fails to provide appropriate supporting information, funding, and evidence of an appropriate level of requesting agency approval;

(2) The Air Force should process the order in accordance with normal internal policies and procedures for similar contract actions. This includes complying with the Competition in Contracting Act;

(3) The Air Force contracting officer should execute and issue all Determination and Findings (D&Fs) or Justification & Approvals (J&As) required by Air Force regulations to place the order on contract, just as if the requirement was generated by an Air Force activity; and

(4) Before allowing a non-sponsoring agency to use a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), the Air Force should ensure that the work falls within the purpose, mission, general scope of effort, or special competency of the FFRDC. (See FAR 17.504(e) and FAR 35.017; also see FAR 6.302 for procedures to follow when using other than full and open competition.) If the order does not conform to these requirements, the Air Force may not place the order with the FFRDC. The order also may not be placed with the FFRDC if the sponsoring agreement does not permit work from other than the sponsoring agency.

MP 5317.503 Determinations and Findings Requirements.

(e) A D&F is always required for an Economy Act MIPR going outside of the DoD (see AFI 65-116 for a sample Economy Act D&F) regardless of whether the MIPR is for recurring services. In accordance with DoDI 4000.19, Interservice and Intragovernmental Support, paragraph 4.4, Intragovernmental Support, the D&F must be approved by the head of the major organizational unit ordering the support and attached to the support agreement. This authority may be delegated, although designees may not be lower than Senior Executive Service, Flag, or General Officer. For agreements for support that will be provided via contract administered by a servicing agency not covered by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, approval of the D&F may not be delegated below the Air Force Senior Procurement Executive, SAF/AQ. The approved D&F must be attached to the support agreement. In accordance with DoDI 4000.19, paragraph 4.3, Interservice Support, requesting and supplying activity determinations are signified by signing a support agreement (blocks 8 and 9 on DD Form 1144) and no further written D&Fs are required for agreements between DoD activities.

MP5317.504 Ordering Procedures.

(b) (6) Complete contract administration requirements and contract audit responsibilities appropriate for the type of contract and scope of work on all orders placed outside of the DoD;

(7) If it is necessary for the servicing agency to award a contract or modify an existing contract to accommodate the Air Force’s order, the Air Force requiring activity shall supply all supporting data necessary to prepare the required contract documentation; and

(8) The Air Force requiring activity shall also provide special terms or other requirements applicable to Air Force funds. This includes information such as special funds tracking and reporting requirements, additional administrative requirements, special delivery or packaging instructions, a copy of the executed determination, and any other supporting documents (i.e., plan outlining the method of assessing contractor performance, standards the contractor will be held to, and oversight and management of the contract).

(d) (1) In accordance with AFI 65-116, Air Force Purchases Using Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs), the requiring activity shall include with the MIPR, any documentation required to support the D&F. Examples include market research, independent cost estimates and documentation of urgency of need.