How fair opportunity works on SEWP VI
What FAR 16.505(b) and clause A.1.13 require of buyers and of contract holders, and what a contract holder is not allowed to do.
SEWP VI is a multiple-award contract. Several contract holders sit in each category, and the rules that decide how work is spread among them are called fair opportunity. This page is a plain reading of clause A.1.13 of the SEWP VI Terms and Conditions, which SOLAIYA reproduces verbatim on the contract page.
What it means for a buyer
Under FAR 16.505(b), each contract holder in the relevant category must be given a fair opportunity to be considered for each order. On SEWP that happens through the SEWP RFQ tools: you issue your request through the online quoting system and every eligible contract holder can see it and respond.
Two things the clause makes easier than you might expect:
- No selection documentation goes with the order. Clause A.1.13 says the documentation for the order selection is to be maintained by the issuing procurement office, not submitted with the order.
- Quote validity is stated on the quote. A contract holder must say how long a quote is valid for, and must honour any order placed within that window.
What a contract holder may and may not do
The clause is stricter on contract holders than on buyers, and it is worth knowing the rules so you can tell a compliant response from a non-compliant one.
A contract holder may only quote what is on its contract. In response to an RFQ or a Market Research Request, a contract holder may only offer items that are already listed on its SEWP contract, and at no more than the price in the SEWP database of record at the time the quote is issued. If it cannot fully meet the requirement from its contract, it must respond with a No Bid.
Partial quotes are not allowed unless the RFQ says so. The contractor must respond fully to all requirements specified in the RFQ.
Items not yet on contract can only appear in an RFI response. If the Government issues a Request for Information as market research, a contract holder may include items not yet on its SEWP contract, but only if they are clearly marked as not yet available and the contractor submits a technology refreshment request to add them.
Nothing may be marketed before it is in the database of record. The clause is direct: the contractor shall not market, quote or otherwise offer for sale any solutions not listed under the contract until they are included in the SEWP database of record and available to all Government end users. That is why pricing on this site is gated until the listings are confirmed.
Government information from the Contract Holder Only Page stays there. RFQs and RFIs posted to the SEWP tools may only be used to propose on SEWP requirements. Passing them to a third party that is not a contract holder is prohibited.
Why this is on our site at all
Statement of Work A.5.1(2) requires every SEWP VI contract holder’s public website to identify the contract as part of a multi-award GWAC and to post the Fair Opportunity Clause accurately, as written. This page is the explanation; the contract page carries the clause itself, reproduced without modification.