DoD’s competition rate for all contract obligations declined over the past five fiscal years, from 62.6 percent in fiscal 2008 to 57.1 percent in fiscal 2012, GAO has said in calling for actions to increase competition.
In fiscal 2012, DoD obligated $359 billion through contracts and task orders, of which 57 percent was competed, and it obligates billions of dollars a year on contracts that are awarded competitively but for which the government received only one offer, according to GAO-13-325.
It said that the impact of a requirement introduced in 2010 designed to ensure adequate solicitation time, ensure that contract requirements are not unnecessarily restrictive, and to verify that offers received are fair and reasonable, is unknown because of unreliable data.
DoD agreed with recommendations to identify, track, and consider the specific factors that affect competition when setting competition goals, develop guidance to apply lessons learned from past procurements to help achieve competition in the future, and collect reliable data on one-offer awards.
