Training contracting officer representatives in contracting topics, technical or functional areas, and general competencies often leads to better contract outcomes in quality, timeliness, completeness, or cost of contract deliverables, the Merit Systems Protection Board has said.
It said while various laws and regulations require CORs — generally the technical monitors of contracts — to have training in federal contracting, there is no data indicating whether training in certain topics corresponds to improved contact outcomes.
“CORs who reported more positive outcomes in contract quality, completeness, and cost also reported receiving more training in contracting topics such as the legal aspects of representing the government, contracting ethics, processing contract actions, and contract close-out,” MSPB said.
It said however that COR training is seldom focused on topics more directly related to outcomes, and that while contracting courses focus heavily on documentation and regulations concerning competition and contracting method, there is a limited relationship between these topics and the four contract outcomes mentioned above.
CORs who report more training in specific contracting topics typically report better outcomes in terms of quality and cost, MSPB said.
